Mapping the Evolution of AI in Tourism: Bibliometric Insights and Future Research Frontiers in the Age of Agentic AI

The deployment of AI applications is reshaping the tourism industry toward automation and the personalisation of tourist experiences. This study aimed to map the current state of AI application in tourism and to identify development trends by integrating bibliometric analysis and content analysis of 511 documents from the Scopus database. The Bibliometric results showed that AI technologies were implemented in many tourism activities. The content analysis clearly identified three evolutionary phases in AI application practices, from a passive forecasting phase, to an automation phase that adapted to social conditions, and to a new era of agentic AI. The study developed an analytical technology map that outlined four emerging trends. These findings expanded the theoretical framework on the evolutionary stages of AI deployment in the tourism industry and supported managers in AI strategy planning, with a focus on transparency, ethics, and value co-creation to promote sustainable tourism.