Vol. 2 (2025)
Original Articles

Personalizing the tourist offer with the AI applications of “Unexpected Italy”

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  • Viviana D’Aponte
Viviana D’Aponte
Dipartimento di Studi Economici e Giuridici, Uniparthenope, Italy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/jep-20878

Published 2026-07-18

Keywords

  • tourism,
  • Artificial Intelligence,
  • management of destinations,
  • new model of tourism

Copyright (c) 2026 Viviana D’Aponte

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

In recent years, the intersection of tourism and artificial intelligence (AI)has opened new frontiers for innovation in travel experiences, customer engagement and destination management, particularly regarding the overtourism problem. In Italy, where cultural and environmental heritage faces increasing pressure from overtourism, innovative approaches are crucial to ensure sustainable development. This paper explores the role of AI in fostering more balanced tourism, with a focus on the case of “Unexpected Italy”, a pioneering start-up that leverages AI to promote lesser-known destinations and off-the-beaten path experiences. Trough personalized recommendations, predictive analytics, and data driven storytelling. Unexpected Italy aims to redistribute tourist flows, support local economies, and preserve the authenticity of Italy’s diverse territories. The study highlights how AI powered solution can serve as a strategic tool not only to improve visitor experiences but also to mitigate the negative impacts off mass tourism, offering a replicable model for sustainable tourism development in culturally rich yet vulnerable regions.

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