AccScience Publishing / EER / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/EER025320058
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REVIEW ARTICLE

Artificial intelligence and Tourism 4.0 for sustainable transformation: A systematic review of environmental and governance impacts

Maryam Kalhoro1,2* ,  Hui-Nee AuYong1 ,  Abdelhak Senadjki1
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1 Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Finance, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Perak, Malaysia
2 Department of Business Administration, Institute of Business Administration, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan
EER, 025320058 https://doi.org/10.36922/EER025320058
Received: 9 August 2025 | Revised: 24 September 2025 | Accepted: 10 October 2025 | Published online: 26 November 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and the concept of Tourism 4.0 have transformative potential in advancing sustainable tourism, particularly in addressing environmental and governance challenges. This systematic literature review, conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses 2020 guidelines, compiles peer-reviewed studies from 2015 to 2023 to evaluate AI’s role within Tourism 4.0 in promoting sustainability. The analysis focuses on two domains: Environmental impacts, such as energy efficiency, resource conservation, and low-carbon tourism strategies, and governance impacts, including transparent certification, accountable digital platforms, and data-driven policy innovation. While AI and related smart systems demonstrate positive outcomes, critical issues, such as cost barriers, data privacy concerns, and limited long-term evaluation, remain underexplored. The review also highlights research gaps, including the scarcity of integrated frameworks and longitudinal studies. Building on these findings, recommendations for Malaysia emphasize strengthening smart infrastructure, piloting blockchain-based transparency systems, enhancing institutional coordination, and embedding energy-efficient AI solutions into governance frameworks. By situating Malaysia at a mid-evolution stage of digital tourism, the study offers practical insights into how AI and Tourism 4.0 can support environmentally sustainable and ethically governed tourism futures.

Keywords
Tourism 4.0
Sustainable tourism
Artificial intelligence
Digital transformation
Environmental governance
Industry 4.0 technologies
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Explora: Environment and Resource, Electronic ISSN: 3060-9046 Published by AccScience Publishing
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