Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence for En-hancing Sustainable Tourism Competitiveness: A Literature Review

The rapid advancement of digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has fundamentally reshaped the management and development of the tourism industry. Digital transformation strategies offer substantial opportunities to enhance destination competitiveness while simultaneously supporting economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This study aims to systematically examine the role of digital transformation and AI in strengthening sustainable tourism competitiveness through a literature review approach. A total of 42 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2019 and 2025 were analyzed, drawing from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The analysis employed thematic synthesis to identify dominant patterns, conceptual relationships, and emerging themes across the literature. The findings indicate that AI-driven digital transformation enhances operational efficiency, enables personalized tourist experiences, supports data-informed resource management, and facilitates the development of smart tourism destinations. Nevertheless, persistent challenges related to human resource readiness, digital inequality, data governance, and ethical considerations remain evident. This review provides an integrated conceptual perspective on digital transformation and AI in sustainable tourism competitiveness and offers insights for policymakers, practitioners, and future research.