REIMAGINING TOURISM CITIES IN THE AI AGE: VIRTUAL INFLUENCERS AS SUSTAINABLE CITY AMBASSADORS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62985/j.huit_ojs.vol26.no3E.613Keywords:
Virtual influencers, smart tourism, tourist engagement, destination trust, ethical transparency, sustainable tourism.Abstract
This study reconceptualizes virtual influencers (VIs) as communicative governance agents within smart tourism ecosystems, extending their role beyond commercial branding into sustainable urban tourism management. While prior research has primarily examined VIs in marketing contexts, the paper proposes a moderated sequential mediation framework in which VIs influence tourist engagement, which in turn enhances destination trust and subsequently drives responsible visitation intention. The model further introduces ethical transparency as a critical moderating factor that strengthens the relationship between engagement and trust by enhancing perceived legitimacy and reducing concerns related to algorithmic opacity. The framework positions engagement as the primary activation mechanism, trust as the central psychological mediator, and responsible visitation intention as the key behavioral outcome. This study is primarily grounded in Parasocial Interaction Theory and Service-Dominant Logic, which highlights the potential of AI-mediated communication to replace carbon-intensive promotional activities. This research reframes VIs as institutional communicative agents embedded within governance systems rather than external marketing tools; second, it integrates engagement–trust mechanisms into smart tourism governance, providing a behavioral pathway linking AI-mediated communication to sustainable tourism outcomes; and third, it extends sustainability discourse by incorporating the communicative dimension of tourism promotion through digital substitution. The study offers a theoretical foundation for future empirical research examining the role of AI communication in shaping sustainable tourism behaviors within smart cities.
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