The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Tourism, with Particular Attention to Deepfake

Csongor Herke – University of Pécs, Faculty of Law, 48-as tér 1, 7622, Pécs, Hungary

Dávid Tóth – University of Pécs, Faculty of Law, 48-as tér 1, 7622, Pécs, Hungary

Abstract: Modern technology is having a significant impact on tourism. This is particularly true for tourism companies, as nowadays, almost everything from transport to hotels to program management is done digitally. Concurrently, the role of traditional travel agencies is diminishing. This trend has many positive effects, but its potential dangers should not be overlooked. While the development of technology has made services available from anywhere in the world, and it is easy to compare prices and the quality of services, it is also essential to avoid over-reliance on online content. While the importance of online consumer reviews is growing, consumers can be easily misled by false positive reviews. Moreover, the explosion in these fake reviews can, in many cases, be attributed to the use of artificial intelligence. The use of deepfake videos and images to generate interest is rising. Some deepfake methods are morphing (identifying patterns between two photos and dynamically transforming one image into another), and others are warping (digitally altering the shape of a part of the image for creative pur­poses). However, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques also play a significant role. As a result, there is a loss of trust in media content published online. Deepfake technology also raises significant privacy concerns. Deepfake can, therefore, play a dual role. Besides the dangers outlined here, it should not be forgotten that it allows for much more information than before. Deepfake can be used to make tourism programs more visually attractive, and there are many untapped areas for virtual reality in addition to its existing uses (e.g., 3D presentations of hotels, virtualization, and interactivity of museums). Following a general introduction to deepfake technology, this paper will describe its appli­cation in tourism, highlighting the benefits and potential threats.

8th International Scientific Conference on Recent Advances in Information Technology, Tourism, Economics, Management and Agriculture – ITEMA 2024 – Conference Proceedings, Hybrid (Zayed University, Dubai, UAE), October 24, 2024

ITEMA Conference Proceedings published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans – Belgrade, Serbia

ITEMA conference partners: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Slovenia; Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Varaždin; Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, Serbia; Institute of Marketing, Poznan University of Economics and Business, Poland; Faculty of Agriculture, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine ”King Michael I of Romania”, Romania

ITEMA Conference 2024 Conference Proceedings: ISBN 978-86-80194-89-9, ISSN 2683-5991, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ITEMA.2024

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission.