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Academic ResearchNovember 6, 2026Sustainability (MDPI), Vol. 18, Issue 21, Article 11339

AI-Powered Digital Nudging in Sustainable Gastronomic Tourism: Exploring Tourists’ Intentions to Choose Local Food

A survey of 390 tourists in rural and mountain destinations in Serbia associates perceived AI nudges with stronger appreciation of local food and intentions to choose it. Personalization alone does not show the same relationship with perceived value, suggesting that recommendation design matters beyond matching individual preferences.

Authors

Dragan Vukolić, Tamara Gajić, Mladen Radišić, Maja Radišić, Dušan Pevac

Article content

What the paper studied

The study examines perceived AI-powered nudging, personalization and trust in relation to local-food value and choice intentions.

Key findings

  • Perceived nudges are positively associated with local-food value and choice intention.
  • Personalization has no statistically significant relationship with perceived food value.
  • Trust is associated with choice intention, but not with perceived value.

Why it matters for hospitality

Hotels and restaurants using AI recommendations should consider how options are presented and why they are credible, rather than relying on personalization alone.

Evidence limits

These are survey associations, not experimental evidence of changed purchasing. The research measures intentions and perceptions rather than actual consumption or environmental benefits.

Tags

Artificial IntelligencePersonalizationTourismSustainabilityRecommendation systems
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