Artificial Intelligence, Social Unrest, and Economic Development as  Antecedents of Foreign Tourist Destination Choice

Žaklina Spalević; Radovan Dragić; Stefan Zdravković

doi:10.51738/kpolisa.2025.2r.001

Authors

Žaklina Spalević Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8502-2038
Radovan Dragić University Business Academy, Novi Sad, Serbia Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0691-4481
Stefan Zdravković MB University Belgrade, Serbia Faculty of Business and Law https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0047-3356

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51738/kpolisa.2025.2r.001

Keywords:

artificial inte ligence, social unrest, economic development, tourism, foreign destinations

Abstract

This study examines the influence of artificial inte ligence (AI), social unrest, and economic development as key antecedents in the selection of foreign tourist destinations. Specifica ly, it investigates the extent to which tourists utilize AI tools during the decision-making process and the role AI algorithms play in facilitating destination choice. Additiona ly, the research explores how social unrest, by disrupting stability and legal order, impacts tourists’ preferences, alongside the e fect of economic development on destination attractiveness. The empirical research was conducted in the Republic of Serbia in 2025 using the survey method, and the respondents' answers were analyzed using the statistical software SmartPLS 4. The total sample consisted of 310 respondents, and the findings indicate that a l variables exert a positive influence on the selection of foreign tourist destinations. By integrating technological, socio-political, legal and economic dimensions, this study offers valuable insights for tourism and hospitality service providers aiming to optimize their strategies and better cater to evolving tourist behaviors. The research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on how advanced technologies and contextual factors shape contemporary travel decisions, ultimately supporting more informed marketing and management practices in the global tourism industry.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ali, Y., Shah, Z.A., & Khan, A.U. (2018). Post-terrorism image recovery of tourist destination: A qualitative approach using Fuzzy-VIKOR. Journal of Tourism Analysis: Revista de Análisis Turístico, 25(2), 129–153. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTA-05-2018-0016

Awaritefe, O.D. (2004). Tourist’s values, activities and motivation for travel to third world destinations: Case study of Nigeria. Tourism Review, 59(1), 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb058428

Bagozzi, R.P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation model. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02723327

Barce los-Paula, L., Castro-Rezende, A., & Gil-Lafuente, A.M. (2024). Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 14(2024), 100216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2024.100216

Bjelajac, Ž., & Jovanović, M. (2013). Pojedini aspekti bezbedonosne kulture na Internetu [Certain aspects of security culture on the Internet]. Kultura polisa, 10(21): 99–114. https://kpolisa.com/index.php/kp/article/view/1244/1190

Bjelajac, Ž., & Filipović, A. (2020). Perspektive zaštite dece od zloupotreba na internetu [Perspectives of protecting children from abuse on the internet]. Kultura polisa, 17(41), 259–27.

Carvache-Francoa, W., Carvache-Francob, M., Carvache-Francoc, O., & Hernández-Larad, A.B. (2019). Segmentation of foreign tourist demand in a coastal marine destination: The case of Montañita, Ecuador. Ocean and Coastal Management, 167, 236–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.10.035

Chi, N.T.K., & Phuong, V.H. (2022). Studying tourist intention on city tourism: The role of travel motivation. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 8(2), 497–512. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-03-2021-0042

Das, P., & Maitra, S. (2025). Improvement of pedestrian facilities at tourist destinations based on tourists’ satisfaction in the context of walk. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 21, 101505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2025.101505

De Carlo, M., Feri li, G., d’Ange la, F., & Buscema, M. (2021). Artificial inteligence to design colaborative strategy: An application to urban destinations. Journal of Business Research, 129, 936–948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.013

Dong, Y., & Qu, Y. (2023). The impact mechanism and boundary conditions of tourists' restoration perception on destination attachment: A resource conservation perspective. Tourism Management Perspectives, 48, 101165. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101165

Dong, Y., Li, Y., Hua, H.-Y., & Li, W. (2025). Postpandemic international tourism restart: Effect of border control and vaccination. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 40(3), 573–585. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-08-2021-0371

Eddyono, F., Darusman, D., Sumarwan, U., & Sunarminto, T. (2025). Optimization model: The innovation and future of e-ecotourism for sustainability. Journal of Tourism Futures, 11(1), 96–113. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-03-2021-0067

Fazili, A.I., Charag, A.H., Bashir, I., Alshiha, A.A., & Sofi, M.R. (2023). Conflicts and tourists’ destination choice intention: A study of Kashmir Va ley in India. Tourism Review, 78(5), 1336–1357. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-04-2022-0177

Harrington, R.D. (2021). Natural disasters, terrorism, and civil unrest: Crises that disrupt the tourism and travel industry – a brief overview. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 13(3), 392–396. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-01-2021-0008

Isaac, R.K., & Van den Bedem, A. (2021). The impacts of terrorism on risk perception and travel behaviour of the Dutch market: Sri Lanka as a case study. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 7(1), 63-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-06-2020-0118

Isaac, R.K., & Velden, V. (2018). The German source market perceptions: How risky is Turkey to travel to? International Journal of Tourism Cities, 4(4), 429–451. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-11-2017-0057

Khalid, A., Usman, M., Bani-Melhem, S., Zahoor, N., Palmucci, D.N., & Christofi, M. (2025). Reducing feelings of xenophobia through cognitive effort: The role of market knowledge, co laborative consumption behavior, and a finity for technology interaction. Journal of Business Research, 199, 115521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115521

Kusumawati, A., Utomo, H.S., Suharyono, S., & Sunarti, S. (2020). Effects of sustainability on WoM intention and revisit intention, with environmental awareness as a moderator. Management of Environmental Quality, 31(1), 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-03-2019-0064

Lakhoua, C., Temessek, A., & Baccouche, M.K. (2021). Image formation in a destination threatened by terrorism: Understanding the role of motivations. Qualitative Market Research, 24(4), 555–577. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-02-2020-0018

Lee, E., Chung, N., & Koo, C. (2023). Exploring touristic experiences on destination image modification. Tourism Management Perspectives, 47, 101114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101114

Li, Z., Zhang, H., Xu, Y., Fang, T., Wang, H., & Tang, G. (2024). How does cultural distance affect tourism destination choice? Evidence from the correlation between regional culture and tourism flow. Applied Geography, 166, 103261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2024.103261

Liu, C.-H., & Nguyen Hoang Thanh, N. (2025). The impact of a friendly tourism environment on tourists’ wi lingness to pay more: A comparative study. Tourism Review, ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-09-2024-0865

Liu, X., Ali, Q., Yaseen, M.R., Sarkodie, S.A., Makhdum, M.S.A., & Khan, M.T.I. (2025). Attaining global peace and tourism competitiveness: Linkages between tourism, security measures and economic stability. Kybernetes, 54(6), 3358–3382. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-04-2023-0642

Mehra, P. (2023). Unexpected surprise: Emotion analysis and aspect-based sentiment analysis (ABSA) of user generated comments to study behavioral intentions of tourists. Tourism Management Perspectives, 45, 101063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2022.101063

Nanjappa, Y., Nassa, V.K., Varshney, G., Lal, B., Pandey, S., & Turukmane, A.V. (2024). Improving migration forecasting for transitory foreign tourists using an Ensemble DNN-LSTM model. Entertainment Computing, 50, 100665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2024.100665

Nazir, F. (2023). Destination branding through social media: Juxtaposition of foreign influencer’s narratives and state’s presentation on the event of Pakistan Tourism Summit 2019. Qualitative Market Research, 26(4), 428–448. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-03-2022-0048

Pérez Gálvez, J.C., Torres-Naranjo, M., Lopez-Guzman, T., & Carvache Franco, M. (2017). Tourism demand of a WHS destination: An analysis from the viewpoint of gastronomy. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 3(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-10-2016-0039

Phau, I., Quintal, V., & Shanka, T. (2014). Examining a consumption values theory approach of young tourists toward destination choice intentions. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(2), 125–139. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-12-2012-0090

Poulaki, I., & Nikas, I.A. (2021). Measuring tourist behavioral intentions after the first outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic crisis. Prima facie evidence from the Greek market. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 7(3), 845–860. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-09-2020-0218

Samala, N., Katkam, B.S., Be lamkonda, R.S., & Rodriguez, R.V. (2022). Impact of AI and robotics in the tourism sector: A critical insight. Journal of Tourism Futures, 8(1), 73–87. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-07-2019-0065

Shahrabani, S., Teitler-Regev, S., Desivilya Syna, H., Tsoukatos, E., Ambrosio, V., Correia Loureiro, S.M., & Voulgaris, F. (2020). The effects of socio-political context on Tourism. EuroMed Journal of Business, 15(1), 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1108/EMJB-08-2018-0050

Stalidis, G., Karapistolis, D., & Vafeiadis, A. (2015). Marketing decision support using artificial inteligence and knowledge modeling: Application to tourist destination management. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 175, 106–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.1180

Uzar, U., & Yılmaz, M.S. (2025). The political dimension of tourism: New insights into freedom of expression and tourism development. Tourism Management Perspectives, 56, 101349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2025.101349

Wang, X., Mou, N., Zhu, S., Yang, T., Zhang, X., & Zhang, Y. (2024). How to perceive tourism destination image? A visual content analysis based on inbound tourists’ photos. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 33, 100923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2024.100923

Zhang, G., Pine, R., & Qiu Zhang, H. (2000). China’s international tourism development: Present and future. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12(5), 282–290. htps: /doi.org/10.1108/09596110010339634

Zhao, Y., Zhan, Q., Du, G., & Wei, Y. (2024). The effects of involvement, authenticity, and destination image on tourist satisfaction in the context of Chinese ancient vi lage tourism. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 60, 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2024.06.008

Zientara, P., Jazdzewska-Gutta, M., Bąk, M., & Zamojska, A. (2024). What drives tourists’ sustainable mobility at city destinations? Insights from ten European capital cities. Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, 33, 100931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2024.100931