Navigating the robotics revolution: a review of research on service automation in shaping the future of tourism and hospitality

Tourism and hospitality activity worldwide has witnessed significant transformations over the past two decades, driven by economic recovery, technological advancements and shifting consumer preferences. Following the global recession of 2008–2009, tourism emerged as a resilient sector, experiencing exponential growth fueled by increased disposable incomes, improved connectivity and a growing middle class in emerging economies (Tran et al., 2023). The rise of experiential tourism and robotics-driven tourism (R tourism) has gained significant traction. Hotels and restaurants are increasingly deploying robotics and service automation in food and room service, information delivery and concierge support, like the robot “Connie,” the artificial intelligence (AI) concierge at Hilton McLean, Virginia. Service automation extended to front desk operations, facial recognition for room and facility access, contactless payments and intelligent room assistants, as seen in Japan’s Henn-na Hotel. These technologies, integrated with IoT and mobile applications, enable seamless, personalized and contactless service experiences, enhancing customer satisfaction through 24 / 7 customization and convenience. Robotics and service automation (RSA) refers to technologies enabling automated, intelligent and adaptive service delivery that augment or substitute for human labor. R-tourism (robotics-driven tourism) refers to the integration of robotics, AI and service automation into the tourism and hospitality ecosystem to enhance operational efficiency, service quality and visitor experiences. It encompasses applications such as robotic concierges, automated check-ins and AI-powered customer service, positioning itself as a key component of smart tourism (Gretzel, 2022).

Extant literature examines key themes such as consumer acceptance, operational efficiency and service quality in relation to robotic and automated services. Samara et al. (2020) highlighted the transformative role of big data and AI in enhancing efficiency, productivity and profitability for tourism providers, while simultaneously enriching the traveler experience through personalization. Osei et al. (2020) explored the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on hospitality, focusing on cost–benefit analyses within the sector. Li et al. (2021) identified key antecedents and outcomes of AI-based service encounters and their operational implications, and Doborjeh et al. (2022) reviewed AI methods and applications, outlining critical areas for future exploration. Knani et al. (2022) conducted a bibliometric review on AI in hospitality and tourism, while Ladeira et al. (2023) offered a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of service robots in the sector. More recently, Majid et al. (2023) and Xu et al. (2023) provided systematic reviews on intelligent automation and employee adoption of service robots, respectively, delineating major themes and proposing future research agendas (Table 1) (see supplementary materials). Lately, Law et al. (2024) contributed a focused review of AI applications in hospitality, limiting their analysis to publications in top-tier hospitality journals.

Santini et al. (2025) provide meta-analytic evidence on the contrasting emotional outcomes of robotic versus human service encounters, while Huang and Rust (2024) emphasize the role of feeling AI in empathetic and emotionally intelligent service delivery. Wirtz and Stock-Homburg (2025) examine how generative AI integrated into service robots reshapes frontline interactions, and Mele and Russo-Spena (2025) conceptualize on life and phygital practices as foundations of smart value co-creation. Complementing these perspectives, Mahr et al. (2025) situate robotics and AI within broader socio-technical systems, highlighting sustainability and systemic adoption challenges. Extant literature often treats AI, robotics or automation in isolation, focusing on either consumer acceptance, operational cost-benefit analyses without capturing the synergy across these domains. As a result, earlier reviews overlooked RSA’s holistic character at the intersection of technology, operations and experience, leaving gaps that this study aims to address through an integrative review.

This study advances knowledge on RSA in tourism and hospitality by offering a comprehensive and integrative review of research from 1998 to 2025. Unlike earlier studies that treated robotics, AI or automation in isolation, our synthesis highlights RSA’s holistic nature at the intersection of technology, operations, customer experience and sustainability. Conceptually, we propose five interconnected dimensions, operability, cognitive analytics, sustainable consumption, adaptability and smart tourism, that extend existing theories of service management, innovation diffusion and sustainability by incorporating robotic agents as active value co-creators. Thematic analysis helps to generate a conceptual framework that informs future research while offering practical insights for managers and policymakers. By linking RSA with service quality, sustainability and workforce transformation, the study positions automation as both a driver of innovation and a pathway toward resilient and human-centered tourism ecosystems.

The tourism and hospitality sector is presently experiencing a significant transformation due to technological improvements, specifically the extensive incorporation of robotics and service automation. The use of this measure has been crucial in reducing the spread of viruses, while also creating new and inventive possibilities for the industry (Zhang et al., 2023). Service robots, which possess different degrees of AI, particularly mechanical intelligence with few learning prerequisites, have become a crucial component in this fundamental change, making a substantial contribution to mitigating the risk of viral transmission. The integration of robotics and service automation presents a multitude of health and safety benefits. These include the delivery of customized services, significant reduction in errors, improvement in overall service quality, cost savings and increased efficiency and productivity (Dixon et al., 2021).

This study is based on the service-dominant logic (SDL) framework, which suggests that value is not just built into products; it is created through interactions between service providers, technology and customers. SDL considers technology as an active participant in shaping service experiences (Lusch et al., 2007). As hotels and travel companies adopt service robots and AI-driven tools, they focus on crafting memorable, personalized experiences. RSA allows for real-time, interactive service that adapts to customer needs, making the process more engaging. SDL also highlights that customers are no longer just passive consumers. The study also incorporates the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which helps explain how people decide to embrace or resist RSA in tourism and hospitality (Yuzhanin and Fisher, 2016). TPB points out that individual behavior is driven by three core components: attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. Tourists’ willingness to interact with service robots and AI systems is influenced by their attitudes toward technological efficiency and personalization, social expectations around digital experiences and their perceived ease of using such technologies. Employees’ acceptance of RSA tools depends on their beliefs about job augmentation, peer acceptance and confidence in managing robotic systems. By integrating TPB, the study provides a psychological dimension to understanding RSA adoption, capturing the cognitive and normative factors that shape tourist experiences and workforce transitions in a robotics-enhanced service ecosystem.

The intersection of robotics and the realms of travel, tourism and hospitality has a rich history that extends back to 1993 when Schraft and Wanner pioneered the discourse with their groundbreaking publication on an aircraft cleaning robot (Schraft and Wanner, 1993). In its nascent stages, much of the exploration within this domain was steered by engineers, delving into the practical applications of robotics in these sectors (Elsayed and Unal, 1989). However, it is noteworthy that the infusion of a tourism and hospitality social science perspective into robotics research is a relatively recent development. This study aligns itself with this evolution by using a research methodology grounded in integrative research analysis, aiming to bridge technological advancements with the sociocultural dimensions of tourism and hospitality. The timeline of research in this field showcases a significant upswing from 1993 to 2025, driven by the growing integration of AI and robotics in the sector. The annual publication output rose sharply from a modest two articles per year between 1961 and 1987 to a peak of 165 in 2024, followed by 249 in 2025. The post-2016 period, in particular, marks a pronounced surge, with 46 publications appearing in that year alone, reflecting the accelerating scholarly interest in the intersection of robotics and the domains of travel, tourism and hospitality.

We follow the PRISMA guidelines for conducting and reporting research articles, as illustrated in Figure 1 (Liberati et al., 2009; Moher et al., 2009). Using the advanced search feature in Scopus, keywords such as “robots,” “artificial intelligence,” “tourism,” “hospitality” and “machine learning” yielded 3,062 documents. Scopus was selected for its wide coverage and its useful bibliometric functions, including citation counts, document types, author details, affiliations, publication years and h-index metrics. Results were then refined to business and management subject categories related to tourism or hospitality, yielding 1,116 documents. Further filtering to English review and journal articles resulted in 716 papers.

This study adopted a rigorous and systematic process to analyze the data. Using both inductive and deductive coding, researchers applied thematic construction to interpret the final corpus of 716 articles. Thomas (2006) defines inductive analysis as “approaches that primarily utilize meticulous examinations of raw data to extract concepts and themes.” In the first cycle, abstracts and relevant sections were read line by line to generate descriptive codes that reflected recurring ideas related to robotics, AI and tourism (Thomas, 2006). This phase allowed patterns to emerge directly from the data. In the second cycle, codes were reviewed and grouped into higher-order categories, combining inductive insights with deductive alignment to existing tourism and hospitality frameworks (Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2006). This iterative process continued until thematic saturation was reached. The categories were then organized into five dimensions that structured the analysis and coding consistency was checked throughout to ensure reliability, aligning the final structure with established review and bibliometric practices (Donthu et al., 2021).

A thematic map was used to identify overarching themes and visually represent the connections among concepts, helping to organize the data and highlight key areas for future research in tourism and hospitality (Gioia et al., 2013; Truong and Yu, 2020). Themes were classified using Callon’s measures, where centrality reflects how much a theme interacts with others and density indicates its internal development. These metrics help evaluate the relevance and maturity of each theme within the wider knowledge structure. The four quadrants represent well-developed motor themes, niche themes, emerging or declining themes and basic but underdeveloped themes. The analysis first used informant-centered terms, followed by researcher-centered concepts and dimensions. Thematic mapping and inductive analysis together offer insights into the use and impact of robotics and service automation. Mapping shows where these technologies appear, while inductive analysis identifies recurring factors shaping adoption and perception (Kent et al., 2020).

Inductive analysis (see Figure 2) generates theories and insights from specific data without predetermined frameworks. In qualitative research, it proves valuable when existing knowledge is limited, exploring new phenomena. In the realm of robotics, tourism and service automation, inductive analysis plays a key role. It systematically examines data, developing frameworks and identifying research hotspots (Sharma et al., 2023). In hospitality, it explores the impact of service robots on customer experiences and delves into the adoption of robotics in customer service operations. Broadly in automation and service design, it creates frameworks for automated service interactions and assesses factors influencing value co-creation in service automation. This showcases its adaptability in capturing diverse factors relevant to the adoption and impact of robotics and automation in the service sector.

Inductive analysis identifies five aggregate dimensions (ADs): operability, cognitive analytics, sustainable consumption, adaptability and smart tourism. Together, these dimensions consolidate diverse themes into higher-order concepts that reveal broader patterns in the literature. The reviewed articles were distributed across five aggregate dimensions: operability (188 papers, 23.5%), cognitive analytics (365 papers, 45.6%), sustainable consumption (47 papers, 5.9%), adaptability (33 papers, 4.1%) and smart tourism (168 papers, 21.0%). Figure 3 illustrates this distribution and the interrelationships among the identified dimensions. These ADs enhance academic insight and steer future research. Thematic mapping in hospitality and tourism (see Figure 4) uncovers connections among these dimensions. This top-down approach, beneficial across fields, structures data based on predetermined dimensions, aiding in detecting connections and patterns overlooked by traditional methods. This method enhances comprehension by revealing spatial patterns, trends and variances when data is superimposed on a map.

Synthesizing the literature, we unveil the role of robotics and service automation through six overarching themes derived from aggregate dimensions. Moving to sub-themes provides a deeper understanding of future research trajectories, covering familiar concepts like “motor,” “basic,” “niche” and “emergent.” Sub-themes enhance qualitative research, offering nuanced insights into the data’s complexity and diversity, aiding researchers in exploring individual occurrences within a conceptual framework. This comprehensive approach broadens our understanding of the dynamic interplay between robotics, service automation and the evolving landscape of tourism and hospitality.

“Operability” in the context of robotics and service automation in T&H refers to the seamless integration of these technologies. The growing adoption of AI, automation and robotics has been explored through themes like servicescape and machine learning. Guo et al. (2022) assessed service conditions in Guangzhou University Town, using catering as a key metric to evaluate service quality. This approach ensures practical and measurable conclusions for improving service standards. The integration of robotics extends beyond engineering, influencing human−robot interactions and service applications. This shift is reshaping automated customer service, requiring businesses to rethink human−machine interactions. The process involves technological, consumer and societal considerations, which researchers and practitioners must address during implementation (Wang et al., 2025).

Beyond operational efficiency, “cognitive analytics” leverages AI and big data to enhance service experiences. Robotics combined with AI, cloud computing and biometrics opens new possibilities in service industries. Cognitive automation imitates human thinking to enhance productivity, while augmented reality-based systems strengthen cognitive engagement. This approach helps analyze tourists’ emotional and cognitive responses, including risk perception and post-COVID travel behavior, and supports understanding community resilience (Ghazi et al., 2025). Literature also shows that companion robots can reduce loneliness by acting as assistants, peers or emotional companions. The literature highlights three themes: sustainable development, AI/machine learning and automation in tourism. In tourism marketing, cognitive analytics identifies consumer preferences, guides advertisements and forecasts traveler behavior. Integrating these tools creates personalized interactions and improves innovation in tourism services (Elkhwesky and Elkhwesky, 2023).

As we delve further into technological advancements, “Sustainable consumption” leverages technology to reduce resource use and enhance efficiency in tourism. In China’s cruise tourism, service improvements and increased consumption drive sustainability. Robotics and automation optimize processes, cutting energy use and waste. This concept emphasizes using goods and services that improve life quality while minimizing environmental impact. This AD is further diversified into two significant themes tourism economics and sustainable development. The hospitality sector recognizes the importance of sustainable consumption, addressing attitudinal and behavioral dimensions. However, a gap remains between pro-sustainability attitudes and actual behaviors, requiring further study. Sustainable consumption integrates anti-consumption within lifestyles, shaped by motivations and values (Piligrimienė et al., 2020). It encompasses ecological and socio-economic aspects, influencing clothing, lodging and food consumption (Li et al., 2020). Greater awareness and integration of sustainable consumption in hospitality are needed, as it remains underexplored in sustainability research (Jones et al., 2016).

Transitioning to the segment of “Adaptability,” the exploration deepens into the flexible adjustment of systems, enhancing customer experiences and human−robot collaboration. Adaptability shapes the evolving role of robotics in service industries and ensures a competitive edge in tourism and hospitality (Reeves and Deimler, 2012). This dimension comprises the following sub-themes: hospitality and travel industry, tourism economics and sustainable development. T&H requires adaptability in customer attitudes, employment and organizational operations due to robotics and service automation. Demographic shifts and the COVID-19 pandemic highlight their importance. Regulations impact automation integration, while soft robots exemplify adaptability by dynamically adjusting behavior. Human−robot collaboration improves team performance. Service automation must be flexible to meet evolving consumer demands. The VUCA framework aids adaptive marketing, fostering resilience amid crises and enabling flexible consumer interactions for sector recovery (Lubowiecki-Vikuk et al., 2023).

In the realm of “Smart tourism and hospitality,” advanced technologies such as robotics and automation enhance customer experience and operational efficiency. These innovations are reshaping service delivery, processes and management practices (Kabadayi et al., 2019). Studies discuss the use of service robots to support physical distancing, highlighting both benefits and limitations. Information and communication technologies, including AI and robotics, play a central role in building smart tourism systems and destinations. This dimension connects with themes such as tourism economics, sustainable development, AI and machine learning and automation and tourism. The adoption of robotics changes sector dynamics and requires businesses to manage automation and human−machine collaboration. Van Pinxteren et al. (2020) developed a taxonomy of communicative behaviors in conversational agents (chatbots, avatars and robots), classifying them by modality and responsiveness. Growing automation reflects technological progress and demographic pressures on labor. Robots, chatbots and self-service kiosks are expanding across the sector, with AI-driven automation affecting employment, consumer behavior and organizational strategies (Guttentag et al., 2024).

A thematic map is a visual representation that illustrates core concepts within a specific framework, categorizing subjects strategically using measures of centrality and density (Cobo et al., 2011). The purpose of such a map is to make complex information more visually accessible, helping researchers identify trends and connections across themes. Density reflects the internal development of a theme, while centrality indicates its relevance to the broader network (Aparicio et al., 2019; Srivastava et al., 2023). In this study, the thematic structure of the field is derived from co-word analysis using Callon’s centrality–density framework, where themes are positioned according to their degree of centrality (x-axis) and density (y-axis) (Callon et al., 1983). The four quadrants represent distinct categories: motor themes (upper-right: high centrality, high density) that are well-developed and highly relevant (e.g. sustainable development, centrality = +0.5510, density = +0.7464); niche themes (upper-left: low centrality, high density), which are specialized but isolated (e.g. AI and machine learning, −0.4055, +0.6111; servicescape, +0.0024, +0.4589); basic themes (lower-right: high centrality, low density), which are transversal and foundational (e.g. hospitality and travel sector, +0.5542, −0.3092; tourism economics, +0.0656, −0.2705); and emerging or declining themes (lower-left: low centrality, low density), which are either nascent or fading (e.g. automation and tourism, −0.6379, −0.3527). The inclusion of numeric values ensures replicability and strengthens the transparency of the categorization, as also presented in the accompanying table. Figure 4 and Table 2 (see supplementary materials) present the thematic structure of the field.

Figure 5 illustrates the thematic map, where six topics are distributed across the four quadrants: hospitality and travel sector and tourism economics (basic themes); automation and tourism (emerging themes); AI and machine learning and servicescape (niche themes); and sustainable development (motor theme). While connections to other themes have grown over time, the relatively weaker internal linkages within certain quadrants highlight opportunities for further scholarly investigation (Rodríguez-Soler et al., 2020).

The “hospitality and tourism industry” is currently a significant center of attention, undergoing a current upward trajectory and expanding into diverse realms, including customer experiences and interactions. Rapid technological advances, along with the rise of robotics and automated services, have transformed the sector and drawn interest from other fields (Essien and Chukwukelu, 2022; Zhang et al., 2023). Existing literature examines how AI and service robots affect employment, consumers, businesses and society. Consumer perception remains central, with studies showing that robots in food and beverage services are associated with reliability, efficiency and advantages over human employees, emphasizing the need to maintain positive attitudes. Robotics now supports hotel operations by guiding guests and assisting with tasks. The literature also highlights how the sector is adapting to digital change, especially through mobile technologies and smart tourism applications (Foroudi et al., 2025; Zhang et al., 2025).

“Tourism economics” serves as a comprehensive theme covering both emerging and fundamental aspects. It includes regional development, employment, revenue generation and wider economic effects (Butler, 1999). It also examines how tourism connects with other sectors of the economy and the economic forces that shape these relationships (Nunkoo et al., 2020). The literature shows that tourism supports long-term economic growth and contributes to national development. A key element is the economic experience, which depends on how consumers perceive hotel fees, service costs and pricing. Research highlights how robotics and service automation may significantly alter these dynamics. The literature highlights that service robots can generate cost savings, improve productivity and enhance customer satisfaction, which may increase arrivals, sales and employment. Robotics can also reshape service encounters and guest experiences (Kong et al., 2023; Tung and Au, 2018). The research findings indicate a beneficial correlation between tourism and economic growth, suggesting that tourism can contribute to overall economic development in a country (Dritsakis, 2004).

Sharpley (2000) claims that eliminating the theoretical gap between sustainable development and tourism and adopting a more integrated approach will ensure the tourism sector’s long-term sustainability. This perspective emphasizes the importance of environmental, social and economic factors when examining the effects of robotics and automation in tourism and hospitality. Jabeen et al. (2021) show that robotics and service automation support sustainable development, with automation and AI helping organizations create sustainable strategies, communities and destinations. Service robots can enhance safety and offer innovative experiences that contribute to sustainable growth. Studies indicate that robots improve dining experiences and protect visitors and operations during health crises. They also help destinations adapt to changing travel conditions and disease outbreaks, supporting long-term resilience. Understanding consumer trust and responses to intelligent robots is crucial for effective adoption. Ivanov et al. (2023) further examine how robotics can advance the Sustainable Development Goals within the tourism sector.

The concept of “Servicescape” is evolving from a niche theme to a more central theme, signifying a growing need for enhancements and the inclusion of tourism policies. Servicescape refers to the physical setting in which services are delivered and shapes the interaction between customers and providers in tourism and hospitality (Akdim et al., 2023; Tuomi and Ascenção, 2023). Integrating robots into this environment requires understanding how they influence the servicescape and making appropriate adjustments. Kaminakis et al. (2019) have found that servicescape strongly affects emotional responses and shapes employee behavior, including their willingness to offer exceptional service. Studies highlight the importance of enhancing the servicescape through robotics and AI. Service robots act as autonomous interfaces for communication and service delivery and can either support or constrain value creation, as shown in elderly care settings. Digital marketing also plays a vital role, with service providers’ intentions helping align tourist expectations and support adoption (Yu and Meng, 2025).

The T&H sector increasingly uses “AI and machine learning” to enhance client service, experiences and efficiency, a subject of extensive research. AI refers to computer systems that perform tasks requiring human intelligence. Filieri et al. (2021) examined applications such as demand forecasting, behavior pattern analysis and models for AI-driven tourism ventures. Neural networks and natural language processing enable chatbots and virtual assistants that offer timely responses and streamline operations. Studies also note that AI is often anthropomorphized, which introduces concerns related to privacy and consent (Shin, 2022). The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated contactless technologies, encouraging research on consumer acceptance. Visual design and service autonomy shape perceptions of robot anthropomorphism, with autonomy emerging as a key predictor of acceptance (Chen et al., 2023). Scholars further argue that AI can transform service delivery by replicating key human capabilities, while reviews such as Cain et al. (2019) outline major trends and prospects.

The domain of “Automation and tourism” encompasses robotics tourism, where robots and automation technologies are used in tourism and hospitality to enhance customer experiences and service delivery (Ivanov and Soliman, 2023). In recent years, the sector has increasingly adopted robots and service automation (RAISA) as advances in AI and robotics encourage wider integration (Wang et al., 2023). These technologies reduce costs, improve service quality and strengthen operational efficiency, supporting overall sector development. Research on customer interactions with robots highlights the importance of understanding their present and future roles and examining broader applications. The extant literature shows that health and safety considerations significantly shape visitor satisfaction and loyalty in robot-delivered services. Robots reduce physical contact, lower infection risks and support adherence to health protocols, which is especially relevant in food tourism. Workforce studies indicate that hotels are preparing for robots as coworkers, while consumer research shows that expectations, perceived usefulness and positive attitudes influence acceptance (Christou et al., 2020).

The study’s findings offer clear guidance for tourism and hospitality policy and management. Strengthening robotic operability can improve service delivery, efficiency and sector resilience, while cognitive analytics enhances targeted marketing and risk management in a post-pandemic context. Automation-driven sustainable consumption supports environmental goals, and focused training and regulatory reforms can help the workforce adjust to technological change. Building smart tourism ecosystems that integrate robotics will promote innovation, enrich customer experiences and sustain competitiveness in a rapidly evolving digital environment. The six themes informed the development of aggregate dimensions, with servicescape, AI and machine learning contributing to operability and cognitive analytics, and sustainable development shaping sustainable consumption. Together, the five aggregate dimensions provide a comprehensive lens to understand the transformative role of robotics and identify key areas for strategic action, policy alignment and future research.

This section gives an insight into the future research agendas through a conceptual framework developed based on a thematic map and inductive analysis. This section also explores policies for managers and government policymakers.

The conceptual framework in Figure 6 offers a holistic viewpoint on the potential for low tourist influx regions to attain metaverse sustainability via operability and adaptability. This enhanced operability and adaptability are achieved by sustainable consumption and cognitive analytics. The metaverse sustainability shown in this conceptual framework further leads to smart tourism by promoting SDG goals, such as SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth) (Target 8.1 − sustainable economic growth), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) (Target 11.3 − Inclusive and sustainable urbanization) and SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production (Target 12.6 − Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and sustainability reporting).

Sustainable consumption and cognitive analytics are crucial for adaptability and operability in tourism. Encouraging sustainable consumer behavior requires cognitive efforts to influence environmental decision-making. Individual consumption is shaped by cognitive, effective and conative factors, forming a multidimensional construct of sustainable behavior. Social marketing plays a vital role in advancing sustainability by leveraging cognitive and environmental factors (Christie and Villiers, 2023). The sustainability of the metaverse relies on the adaptability of tourism enterprises. To sustain ecotourism and integrate emerging technologies, dynamic capabilities at individual, commercial and cluster levels are essential. Tourism enterprises must adapt to technological advancements such as robotics to ensure long-term viability in the metaverse. Climate change adaptation strategies in hotels also align with the need for tourism businesses to adjust to robotic-driven tourism.

Smart tourism, driven by digital technologies, contributes to responsible digitalization, corporate digital responsibility (CDR), inclusive urbanization and economic growth. Technologies such as blockchain, AI and extended reality are shaping the metaverse, facilitating sustainable tourism through digital tourism products (MacKenzie and Gannon, 2019; Wang et al., 2023) The future trajectory of responsible digitalization in tourism cannot be adequately envisioned without incorporating the emerging principles of CDR. CDR extends the foundational idea of corporate social responsibility to the digital domain, addressing ethical concerns around data governance, AI transparency and stakeholder inclusion (Lobschat et al., 2021). Wirtz et al. (2023) argue that organizations must develop structured frameworks for digital accountability that go beyond compliance to foster stakeholder trust. This enhances profitability while reducing physical visits and conserving natural resources. Smart tourism initiatives, including IoT-based modernization and intelligent infrastructure, improve economic progress. Additionally, digital tourism fosters sustainable education, enhancing learning environments and tackling urbanization challenges.

To achieve sustainability, metaverse tourism should incorporate sustainable consumption, cognitive analytics, digital responsibility, inclusive finance and urban development. These elements address tourist limitations, drive digital transformation and promote economic growth. The integration of robotics and automation in tourism presents legal and ethical challenges, requiring legislative frameworks to ensure consumer privacy and safety. Public−private partnerships are necessary to foster innovation and responsible implementation. Government funding is crucial for research and development to enhance competitiveness in the sector.

Despite advancements in tourism research, gaps remain in understanding the macro-level impacts of robotics on tourism enterprises, service delivery and visitor experiences. While technical aspects of robotics are well-studied, consumer experiences and cultural perceptions of service robots remain underexplored. Understanding how AI and robotics transform tourism services requires further research, particularly in addressing workforce concerns, customer expectations and human−robot interactions (HRIs).

The broader implications of robotics in tourism suggest a shift in service-dominant logic (SDL). Future research should explore the role of automation in value co-creation, integrating cultural theories into HRI frameworks. Examining cultural influences on robot acceptance and behavior can enhance effective, culturally attuned robotic applications. A comprehensive theoretical framework is needed to position AI and robotics as transformational agents in tourism, adapting innovation and organizational change theories to the sector’s context.

This study underscores the need for a concrete and inclusive policy framework to guide the responsible adoption of RSA in tourism. It advances theory by reframing traditional service, tourism and technology perspectives through five key dimensions. Operability challenges assumptions of human-delivered excellence, while cognitive analytics extends technology adoption models by integrating AI, big data and emotional intelligence into dynamic robot–human interactions. Sustainable consumption refines sustainability and development theories by weighing eco-efficiency benefits against life cycle costs and equity concerns. Adaptability highlights the need for continuous learning, reskilling and role reconfiguration, expanding service role theory to hybrid human–machine systems. Smart tourism positions RSA as central to future ecosystems, extending service ecosystem and smart destination frameworks to include autonomous robots as value co-creators.

Technology adoption and regulation should be advanced through national and international guidelines, mandatory safety and efficiency audits and collaboration between governments and tech firms to foster standardized systems. Consumer protection and privacy must be safeguarded by enforcing clear regulations on data collection, retention and consent, ensuring transparency in how operators use customer information and requiring robots to comply with existing privacy and data protection laws. Equally important, sustainability and green practices should be mandated by setting energy efficiency and waste reduction standards, encouraging integration of renewable energy.

Ethical standards and workforce impact demand policies that ensure fair treatment of displaced workers, mandate reskilling and retraining programs and promote human-centered guidelines for AI and robot use in customer service. Economic support and innovation incentives can balance growth with social protection by offering tax credits and subsidies to businesses adopting robotics, establishing innovation hubs and partnerships between technology firms and tourism operators and introducing safety nets or compensation schemes for workers affected by automation. Collectively, these integrated measures advance digital rights, labor equity, environmental responsibility and innovation, positioning RSA as a cornerstone of sustainable and inclusive tourism development.

Table 3 (see supplementary materials) presents the projected action plans required to fulfill policy goals for the inclusion of robotics in tourism. One key recommendation involves mandating annual fitness and safety tests for robots deployed in high-traffic tourist areas such as airports and theme parks, ensuring compliance with minimum operational and safety standards. In line with consumer protection and privacy, tourism businesses, particularly hotels, could be required to clearly communicate how guest data is collected, stored and used, and offer opt-out options to uphold transparency and consent. This policy domain focuses on safeguarding tourists’ digital rights and fostering trust in AI-mediated service environments (Shin, 2022). While the ethical standards and workforce impact dimension addresses broader societal implications of service automation. It emphasizes fair employment transitions, retraining programs for displaced workers and ethical integration of robotic systems that augment rather than replace human roles (Cain et al., 2019). Tax credits or long-term subsidies can support businesses that adopt ethical and efficient robotic technologies, helping to ease labor market adjustments.

Sustainability and green practices represent an essential policy dimension as the tourism sector embraces robotics. Policies could mandate energy efficiency and waste reduction in robotic systems, encourage integration with renewable energy (e.g. solar- or wind-powered robots) and offer incentives for adopting green robotic solutions. Governments may also partner with technology firms to establish regulatory testbeds and develop cross-border frameworks for responsible, sustainable robotic tourism. While these domains, privacy, ethics and sustainability, may overlap in practice, they target distinct policy objectives. A differentiated but integrated approach ensures that digital rights, labor equity and environmental responsibility are simultaneously advanced within a robust governance framework for tourism robotics (Tuomi and Ascenção, 2023).

In the world of advancing technology, the incorporation of robotics will help in easy management and efficient functioning of the T&H sector. Currently, the assimilation of robotics in the T&H sector poses numerous problems. When implementing robots in hospitality services, it is important to consider the self-regulation processes of individual guests and the technical constraints of the robots. In addition, the sector must focus on addressing perceived value, empathy and information sharing to increase visitors’ willingness to use social robots. At present, the lack of cognitive analytics in improving operability and adaptability poses an aided problem. Creating a metaverse sustainability (as suggested by our conceptual framework) might help in achieving sustainable development goals. Presently, studies have explored different facets of this integration, such as the way customers perceive and interact with robots in the hospitality sector, the influence of AI and robotics on the tourism sector and the possibilities of using robots and automated services in the field of tourism and hospitality. Technological innovations are central to the development of robotic tourism. Academic and policy research has its task cut out to contribute toward enhancing robots’ ability to deliver personalized experiences to tourists. Future research may aim to evaluate this question using rigorous methods. The real agenda for the future scholarship would be to help design robots by considering cultural differences, psychological reactions for following up with diverse tourist segments for them to be more accepted and used in robotic services widely; and to devise a system through which their efficacy can be continually developed.

Erratum: It has come to the attention of the publisher that article Sharma, G.D., Kharbanda, A., Parihar, J.S., Dawar, G., Taheri, B. (2026), “Navigating the robotics revolution: a review of research on service automation in shaping the future of tourism and hospitality”. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 38 No. 13 pp. 49-69, Link to “Navigating the robotics revolution: a review of research on service automation in shaping the future of tourism and hospitality”Link to the cited website, incorrectly listed author Dawar’s affiliation.

This has now been amended from Apeejay School of Management, New Delhi, India to Apeejay School of Management, New Delhi, India and Jaypee Business School, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, India.

This error was introduced during the article publication process, for which the publisher apologises.

The supplementary material for this article can be found online.