Original title: Adoption of AI for Travel: Corporate Strategies and Firm Value
Djavlonbek Kadirov · September 2026
Researchers know how tourists react to artificial intelligence, but they know less about what investors think when travel companies use it. This study looks at whether adopting AI helps a travel company become more valuable to investors. The authors tracked how companies roll out technology to see if financial markets reward them. They found that adopting AI does increase a firm's value. However, this gain depends on specific corporate strategies, such as using simplification or feelings-centered approaches. The positive effect also changes based on the firm's labor efficiency and how many high-skill employees it has. In short, investors reward travel companies for using AI, but only when businesses pair the technology with the right workforce and customer strategies.
Imagine you are a chef deciding whether to add a new ingredient to your menu. Normally you just consider if customers will like it. But now suppose the ingredient's success also depends on whether you simplify your recipes or make them more comforting, and on how skilled your kitchen staff are. In this paper, the decision to adopt AI is like adding that ingredient, and its effect on the company's value depends on the strategy (simplification or feelings-centered) and on the workforce's efficiency and skill level.
Managers in tourism, travel, and hospitality now know that adopting AI can increase their company's stock value, but only if they use strategies that simplify operations or focus on customer feelings. The effect also depends on how efficient their workforce is and how many employees have advanced skills. This helps leaders make smarter decisions about AI investments and how to communicate them to investors.
The study focuses only on investor reactions in travel, tourism, and hospitality, not on tourist responses or other industries. The findings are based on 903 announcements and may not generalize beyond that sample. The moderating effects are specific to the strategies and firm characteristics examined, and the abstract does not discuss potential biases in the event study or matching methods.
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Adoption of AI for Travel: Corporate Strategies and Firm Value — Djavlonbek Kadirov — Journal of Travel Research — doi:10.1177/00472875261487619
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.