Trends in Personalization in Tourism Using Artificial Intelligence: A Theoretical Assessment from an Ethical and Privacy Perspective

Abstract

This study aims to examine AI-based personalization applications in the tourism sector within the context of data privacy and digital rights. The study explores the potential of AI-based personalization models to transform tourist experiences, while also discussing the risks arising in relation to privacy, ethical responsibility, and the protection of digital rights. A literature review method was employed for this research. The findings indicate that AI enhances customer satisfaction, destination management, and competitive advantage in tourism; however, significant challenges persist regarding the protection of personal data, transparency, and ensuring user consent. The study emphasizes the need for a balanced adoption of AI applications in tourism under the guidance of ethical approaches (utilitarianism, deontology, and ethical design). Additionally, the study highlights the delicate balance between personalization and privacy, drawing attention to the importance of approaches such as ethical design principles, transparency, and data security. In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that AI-driven personalization strategies in tourism can provide innovative and sustainable contributions to the sector if supported by policies that respect user rights.

Keywords

• Ethics
• Personalization
• Privacy
• Tourism
• Articial Intelligence

Yapay Zeka ile Turizmde Kişiselleştirme Eğilimleri: Etik ve Mahremiyet Açısından Kuramsal Bir Değerlendirme

Abstract

Bu araştırma, turizm sektöründe yapay zekâ temelli kişiselleştirme uygulamalarını veri mahremiyeti ve dijital haklar bağlamında incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmada, yapay zekâ temelli kişiselleştirme modelleri aracılığıyla turist deneyimlerini dönüştürme potansiyeli ele alınmış; aynı zamanda gizlilik, etik sorumluluk ve dijital hakların korunması konularında ortaya çıkan riskler tartışılmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında literatür incelemesi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Bulgular, yapay zekânın turizmde müşteri memnuniyetini, destinasyon yönetimini ve rekabet avantajını güçlendirdiğini; ancak kişisel verilerin korunması, şeffaflık ve kullanıcı rızasının sağlanması gibi konularda önemli sorunların devam ettiğini göstermektedir. Çalışma, etik yaklaşımlar (faydacılık, deontoloji ve etik tasarım) ışığında turizmde yapay zekâ uygulamalarının dengeli bir şekilde benimsenmesi gerektiğini vurgulamaktadır. Ayrıca çalışmada, kişiselleştirme ile mahremiyet arasındaki hassas denge vurgulanmakta; etik tasarım prensipleri, şeffaflık ve veri güvenliği gibi yaklaşımların önemine dikkat çekilmektedir Sonuç olarak, turizmde yapay zekâ destekli kişiselleştirme stratejilerinin, kullanıcı haklarını gözeten politikalarla desteklenmesi halinde sektöre yenilikçi ve sürdürülebilir katkılar sağlayabileceği ortaya konmuştur.

Keywords

• Etik
• Kişiselleştirme
• Mahremiyet
• Turizm
• Yapay Zeka

References

1. Airbnb (2026). Arama ve rezervasyon yapma. https://www.airbnb.com.tr/help/topic/1348
2. Aizenberg, E., & van den Hoven, J. (2020). Designing for human rights in AI. Big Data & Society, 7(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951720949566 Alrasheedi, N. M. (2025). Artificial intelligence and personalizing travel experiences: The future of tourism. Journal of Information Systems Engineering and Management, 10 (53), 780-794.
3. Alyasiri, O. M., Selvaraj, K., Younis, H. A., Sahib, T. M., Almasoodi, M. F., & Hayder, I. M. (2024). A survey on the potential of artificial intelligence tools in tourism information services. Babylonian Journal of Artificial Intelligence, 2024, 1-8.
4. Antczak, B. (2025). The impact of artificial intelligence on tourism industry: A marketing perspective. Journal of Modern Science, 2(62), 450-472.
5. Antony, P. &, Kannan, R. (2024). Revolutionizing the tourism industry through artificial intelligence: a comprehensive review of AI integration, impact on customer experience, operational efficiency, and future trends. International Journal Multidimensional Research Perspectives 2 (2), 01–14.
6. Aslan, A. (2025). Chatgpt’nin seyahat önerilerine duyulan güvenin gezginlerin davranışsal niyetine etkisi: algılanan riskin aracılık rolü. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 69, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.1559251
7. Aslantürk, E., & Erdem, A. (2021). Teknoloji kullanımına yönelik tutumun otellerde robot kabul edilebilirliği üzerine etkisi. Journal of Global Tourism and Technology Research, 2(2), 102-115.
8. Asıl, S. (2025). Yapay zeka etiği: Temel ilkeler, sorunlar ve disiplinlerarası yaklaşımlar. İnönü Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi, 10 (1), 152-175.

9. Asiltürk Okutan, Y. (2024). Dijital dönüşümün turizme yansımaları: avantaj ve dezavantajlarıyla turizm işletmelerinde yapay zekâ kullanımı. Bozok Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 3(2), 52-65. https://izlik.org/JA68EB65LL Babatunde, S., Odejide, O., Edunjobi, T., & Ogundipe, D. (2024). The role of AI in marketing personalization: A theoretical exploration of consumer engagement strategies. International Journal of Management & Entrepreneurship Research, 6. 936-949.
10. Bag, S., Srivastava, G., Bashir, M. M. A., Kumari, S., Giannakis, M., & Chowdhury, A. H. (2022). Journey of customers in this digital era: Understanding the role of artificial intelligence technologies in user engagement and conversion. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 29(7), 2074-2098.
11. Banerjee, A., Banik, P., & Wörndl, W. (2023). Towards individual and multistakeholder fairness in tourism recommender systems. Frontiers in Big Data, 6, 1168692. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdata.2023.1168692 Bayhan, M., & Sarıışık, M. (2026). Akıllı turizm teknolojilerinin teknoloji deneyimi memnuniyeti, seyahat deneyimi memnuniyeti ve davranışsal niyetlere etkisi. İşletme Bilimi Dergisi, 14(1), 169-188. https://doi.org/10.22139/jobs.1678284
12. Bednar, K., & Spiekermann, S. (2024). Eliciting values for technology design with moral philosophy: An empirical exploration of effects and shortcomings. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 49 (3), 611-645.
13. Bedué, P., & Fritzsche, A. (2022). Can we trust AI? An empirical investigation of trust requirements and guide to successful AI adoption. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 35(2), 530-549.
14. Biega, A.J., Potash, P., Daum'e, H., Diaz, F., & Finck, M. (2020). Operationalizing the legal principle of data minimization for personalization. Proceedings of the 43rd International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval.
15. Bonicalzi, S., De Caro, M., & Giovanola, B. (2023). Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy: On the Ethical Dimension of Recommender Systems. Topoi 42, 819–832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-023-09922-5
16. Booking.com (2026). Gezginler için gizlilik bildirimi. https://www.booking.com/content/privacy.tr.html?label=gen173nr-10CBQoggJCB3ByaXZhY3lIM1gEaOQBiAEBmAEzuAEXyAEM2AED6AEB-AEBiAIBqAIBuAKyh9jUBsACAdICJGQ5NjA5MzY4LTEwODMtNDcwMi04MjhmLTg5MzhiYTYzODY1M9gCAeACAQ&sid=cd609a79266ea9b91dca1f98bd2117a0
17. Boz, B. (2025). Turizm Sektöründe Yenilikçi Veri Analizi: Yapay Zekâ ve Sektörel Uygulamaları. İçinde Başarır, Ç. & Yılmaz, Ö. (Eds.), Veri Çağında İnsan: Sosyal Bilimlerin Geleceği, (ss. 85-101). Özgür Yayınları. https://doi.org/10.58830/ozgur.pub1026.c4110
18. Buhalis, D., & Deimezi, O. (2004). E-tourism developments in Greece: Information communication technologies adoption for the strategic management of the Greek tourism industry. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 5(2),103-130.
19. Bulchand-Gidumal, J., William Secin, E., O’Connor, P., & Buhalis, D. (2024). Artificial intelligence’s impact on hospitality and tourism marketing: exploring key themes and addressing challenges. Current Issues in Tourism, 27(14), 2345-2362.
20. Cabiddu, F., Moi, L., Patriotta, G., & Allen, D.G. (2022). Why do users trust algorithms? A review and conceptualization of initial trust and trust over time. European Management Journal, 40 (5), 685–706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2022.06.001
21. Cassani, A., Ruberl, M., Salis, A., Giannese, G. & Boanelli, G. (2024). zIA: a GenAI-powered local auntie assists tourists in Italy. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2407.11830 Chavan, P., Havale, D. S., & Khang, A. (2024). Artificial Intelligence and Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis of Trends and Gaps. In Khang, A., Dutta, P. K., Gupta, S., Ayedee, N., & Chatterjee, S. (Eds.), Revolutionizing the AI-Digital Landscape (ss. 332-343). Productivity Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032688305-24
22. Chen, A., Ge, X., Fu, Z., Xiao, Y., & Chen, J. (2024). Travelagent: An ai assistant for personalized travel planning. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2409.08069
23. Cheng, X., Su, L., Luo, X. (Robert), Benitez, J., & Cai, S. (2022). The good, the bad, and the ugly: impact of analytics and artificial intelligence-enabled personal information collection on privacy and participation in ridesharing. European Journal of Information Systems, 31(3), 339–363. https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2020.1869508
24. Chi, N. (2023). The impact of implementing chatbot on customer visit intention: Application for hotel management. International Journal of Technology Marketing, 17(2), 148-165.
25. Choe, Y., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2017). The Quantified Traveler: Implications for Smart Tourism Development. In D. Fesenmaier ve Z. Xiang (Eds.), Analytics in Smart Tourism Design: Conspets and Methods, (ss. 65–77). Springer.
26. Efe, A. (2021). Yapay zekâ risklerinin etik yönünden değerlendirilmesi. Bilgi ve İletişim Teknolojileri Dergisi, 3(1), 1-24.
27. Eren, D. (2026). Turizmde Akıllı Teknoloji Kullanımı ve Kişiselleştirilmiş Deneyimler. İçinde Sidal, Ö. (Ed.), Turizm Araştırmaları I, (ss. 1-16). Özgür Yayınları. https://doi.org/10.58830/ozgur.pub1260.c5128
28. Expedia (2026). Privacy statement. https://www.expedia.com/legal/privacy
29. Gedik, Y. (2025). Turizm sektöründe yapay zekâ: faydaları, zorlukları ve stratejileri üzerine kavramsal bir değerlendirme. Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Karadeniz Turizm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 3(2), 35-58.
30. Grundner, L., & Neuhofer, B. (2021). The bright and dark sides of artificial intelligence: A futures perspective on tourist destination experiences. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100511
31. Guo, Y.-M., Ng, W.-L., Hao, F., Zhang, C., Liu, S.-X., & Aman, A. M. (2023). Trust in virtual interaction: The role of avatars in sustainable customer relationships. Sustainability, 15(18), 14026, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151814026
32. Harmelling, T. (2025). What does a privacy-first approach to data collection actually look like? https://www.techradar.com/pro/i-am-a-privacy-expert-and-this-is-why-i-believe-user-personalization-is-the-future-of-privacy
33. Hermann, E. (2022). Artificial intelligence and mass personalization of communication content—An ethical and literacy perspective. New Media & Society, 24(5), 1258-1277.
34. Ionescu, A.-M., & Sarbu, F.A., (2024). Exploring the impact of smart technologies on the tourism industry. Sustainability 16 (8), 3318, 1-24.
35. Ivanova, L., & Vovchanska, O. (2023). Marketing technologies of personalization in tourism based on artifıcialintelligence. Eastern Europe: Economy, Business And Management, 2 (39), 23-29. https://doi.org/10.32782/easterneurope.39-4
36. Josimovski, S., Ivanovska, L. P., & Dodevski, D. (2023). Understanding the consumer dynamics of AI in North Macedonian e-business. Economics and Culture, 20(2), 64-75.
37. Koyilli, S. (2025). AI personalization in travel tech: A call for ethical design, safety, and societal alignment. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-personalization-travel-tech-call-ethical-design-safety-koyilli-hogxf
38. Kwong, A. T. M., Omar, S. I., & Aliah, M. N. (2024). The ethical ımplications of aı- powered personalization in hospitality and tourism. In Talukder, M. B., Kumar, S., & Tyagi, P. K. (Eds.), Impact of AI and Tech-Driven Solutions in Hospitality and Tourism, (ss. 103-122). IGI Global.
39. Lalicic, L., & Weismayer, C. (2021). Consumers’ reasons and perceived value co-creation of using artificial intelligence-enabled travel service agents. Journal of Business Research, 129, 891-901.
40. Lee, T.-H., & Jan, F.-H. (2022). Development and validation of the smart tourism experience scale. Sustainability, 14(24), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416421
41. Li, Y., Hu, C., Huang, C., & Duan, L. (2017). The concept of smart tourism in the context of tourism information services. Tourism Management, 58, 293-300.
42. Li, L., Lee, K. Y., Emokpae, E., & Yang, S. B. (2021). What makes you continuously use chatbot services? Evidence from chinese online travel agencies. Electronic markets, 31(3), 575–599. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-020-00454-z
43. Liu, X., Zou, J., Liu, L., & Cheng, P. (2019). Research on scenic spots recommendation algorithm based on tourism big data. 4th International Conference on Mechanical, Control and Computer Engineering (ICMCCE), 25-27 October, Hohhot, Chia, ss. 926-9263. https://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/ICMCCE48743.2019.00209
44. López Naranjo, A. L., Puente Riofrío, M. I., Carrasco Salazar, V. A., Erazo Rodríguez, J. D., & Buñay-Guisñan, P. A. (2025). Artificial intelligence in the tourism business: a systematic review. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 8, 1599391. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2025.1599391
45. Lv, L., Chen, S., Liu, G. G., & Benckendorff, P. (2024). Enhancing customers’ life satisfaction through AI-powered personalized luxury recommendations in luxury tourism marketing. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 123, 103914, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103914
46. Ma, S., & Zhang, L. (2024). Enhancing tourists satisfaction: Leveraging artificial intelligence in the tourism. Pacific International Journal, 7(3), 89-98.
47. Marti, C. L., Liu, H., Kour, G., Bilgihan, A., & Xu, Y. (2024). Leveraging artificial intelligence in firm-generated online customer communities: a framework and future research agenda. Journal of Service Management, 35(3), 438-458.
48. Menk, A., Sebastia, L., & Ferreira, R. (2019). Recommendation systems for tourism based on social networks: A survey. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1903.12099
49. Milton, T., & Philosophers, C. (2023). Artificial intelligence in tourism-a review of trends opportunities and challenges. International Journal for Multidimensional Research Perspectives, 1(2), 1-11.
50. Mounier, E. (2025). Personalization vs. Privacy: Finding the Right Balance in Travel Tech. https://globaltraveltech.org/news/personalization-vs-privacy-finding-the-right-balance-in-travel-tech/
51. Muhlenbach, F. (2020). A methodology for ethics-by-design AI systems: Dealing with human value conflicts. 2020 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), ss. 1310-1315. Toronto, ON, Canada. https://doi.org/10.1109/SMC42975.2020.9283185
52. Nagar, K., Meghana, Y.G., & Rout, A. (2024). Artificial Intelligence in Tourism and Advertising, In Hemachandran, K., & Rodriguez, R. V. (Eds.), Artificial Intelligence for Business: An Implementation Guide Containig Practical and Industry-Specific Case Studies. (ss. 71–85). Routledge.
53. Nira, R. A. (2025). AI-driven hyper-personalization in hospitality: application, present and future opportunities, challenges, and guest trust issues. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 9(04), 5562-5573. https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90400397
54. Nugroho, I. S., Priyanto, D., & Purnama, Y. (2024). Exploring the role of artificial intelligence (aı) in designing and optimizing personalization strategies to enhance customer experience in the tourism industry. Technology and Society Perspectives (TACIT), 2(3), 292-298.
55. Omrani, N., Rivieccio, G., Fiore, U., Schiavone, F., & Agreda, S.G., (2022). To trust or not to trust? An assessment of trust in AI-based systems: concerns, ethics and contexts. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 181, 121763.
56. Prahadeeswaran, R. (2023). A comprehensive review: The convergence of artificial intelligence and tourism. International Journal for Multidimensional Research Perspectives, 1(2), 12-24.
57. Purnamasari, P., Matakena, S., Syafri, M., Nurussama, N., & Sairdama, S. S. (2023). Navigating the ethical challenges and innovations in personalized content recommendations, data privacy protection, and consumer trust within the realm of AI-driven e-marketing strategies. Internaiıonal Journal of Economic Literature, 1(1), 23-34.
58. Radanliev, P., Santos, O., Brandon-Jones, A., & Joinson, A. (2024) Ethics and responsible AI deployment. Front. Artificial Intelligence, 7, 1377011. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2024.1377011
59. Ricci, F., Rokach, L., & Shapira, B. (2015). Recommender Systems: Introduction and Challenges. In Ricci, F., Rokach, L., & Shapira, B. (Eds.), Recommender Systems Handbook, (ss. 1-34). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7637-6_1
60. Saßmannshausen, T., Burggräf, P., Wagner, J., Hassenzahl, M., Heupel, T., & Steinberg, F. (2021). Trust in artificial intelligence within production management–an exploration of antecedents. Ergonomics, 64(10), 1333-1350.
61. Šakytė-Statnickė, G., & Budrytė-Ausiejienė, L. (2025). Application of artificial ıntelligence in the tourism sector: benefits and challenges of AI-based digital tools in tourism organizations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Sweden. Tourism and Hospitality, 6(2), 67. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6020067
62. Said, S. (2023). The role of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics in enhancing guest personalization in hospitality. Journal of Modern Hospitality, 2(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.47941/jmh.1556
63. Shin, H., Jeong, M., & Cho, M. (2021). The impact of smart tourism technology and domestic travelers’ technology readiness on their satisfaction and behavioral intention: A cross-country comparison. International Journal of Tourism Research, 23(5), 726–742.
64. Shou, D. (2019). The Next Big Privacy Hurdle? Teaching AI to Forget. https://www.wired.com/story/the-next-big-privacy-hurdle-teaching-ai-to-forget/
65. Sousa, A. E., Cardoso, P., & Dias, F. (2024). The use of artificial intelligence systems in tourism and hospitality: The tourists’ perspective. Administrative Sciences 14 (165). https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14080165
66. Sustainability Directory (2025). What Are the Ethical Considerations of AI in Tourism? https://sustainability-directory.com/question/what-are-the-ethical-considerations-of-ai-in-tourism/
67. Trawnih, A., Al-Masaeed, S., Alsoud, M., & Alkufahy, A. (2022). Understanding artificial intelligence experience: A customer perspective. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 6(4), 1471-1484.
68. Tussyadiah, I. (2020). A review of research into automation in tourism: Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on artificial ıntelligence and robotics in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 81, 102883.
69. van der Rest, J. P., Sears, A. M., Kuokkanen, H., & Heidary, K. (2022). Algorithmic pricing in hospitality and tourism: Call for research on ethics, consumer backlash and CSR. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 5(4), 771-781.
70. Vereschak, O., Bailly, G., & Caramiaux, B. (2021). How to evaluate trust in AI-assisted decision making? A survey of empirical methodologies. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 5(CSCW2), 1-39.
71. Yang, X., Zhang, L., & Feng, Z. (2024). Personalized tourism recommendations and the e-tourism user experience. Journal of Travel Research, 63(5), 1183-1200. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875231187332
72. Yeşilkaya, N. (2023). Yapay zekaya dair etik sorunlar. Şarkiyat, 14(3), 948-963. https://doi.org/10.26791/sarkiat.1189864
73. Zheng, Y., & Xie, X. (2011). Learning travel recommendations from user-generated GPS traces. ACM Transactions on Intelligent Systems and Technology (TIST), 2(1), 1-29.
74. Zlatanov, S., & Popesku, J. (2019). Current applications of artificial intelligence in tourism and hospitality. International Scientific Conference on Information Technology and Data Related Research, ss. 84-90. Belgrade, Singidunum University, Serbia. https://doi.org/10.15308/Sinteza-2019-84-90