Tourism destination mobile applications: an AI-human loop analysis and future research programme

Despite the rise in destination mobile applications (apps) and their significance in the tourism sector, there remains a notable dearth of critical assessments of knowledge on the topic, which is necessary to guide future academic and industry endeavours. To bridge the gap, this research conducts a systematic review to synthesise scholarly knowledge on tourism destination mobile apps. The analysis reveals topical clusters including prototyping and scoping, consolidation, and forecasting and further technological advancements between 2009 and 2023. The existing scholarship is predominantly quantitative and atheoretical, with the Technology Acceptance Model being the most frequently applied framework. The findings reveal four key stakeholders – tourists, businesses, governments, and communities – and identify eight purposes of tourism destination mobile apps. Critical examination also reveals significant theoretical limitations and disciplinary boundaries that constrain understanding of destination apps as complex socio-technical phenomena. This study contributes to tourism scholarship by presenting seven research priority strands, each including several gaps and research questions that need addressing for future scholarship development. The synthesis offers a forward-looking agenda to advance socio-technical theorisation and stakeholder-inclusive design in destination technology.