Identifying the Factors Influencing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Optimizing the Attraction of Sports Tourists with a Health-Oriented Approach

This study aimed to identify the factors influencing AI's role in attracting health-oriented sports tourists in Iran. Employing a qualitative exploratory design grounded in the interpretive-constructivist paradigm, data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ۱۵ purposively selected participants from three key stakeholder groups: health-oriented sports tourists, industry practitioners and experts and academic researchers and specialists in the field of artificial intelligence in tourism. The interview data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis approach, adhering to the six-phase framework. The trustworthiness of the findings was ensured through Lincoln and Guba's four criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The analysis yielded a comprehensive hierarchical thematic structure comprising ۴۲ basic themes, ۱۲ subordinate themes, and ۴ overarching main themes: (۱) Technological Core: AI-Enabled Hyper-Personalization of the Health-Oriented Sports Tourism Experience; (۲) Ethical-Cultural Governance: Culturally Intelligent, Trustworthy, and Responsible AI; (۳) Systemic Impediments: A Multi-Layered Ecosystem of Barriers to AI Adoption; and (۴) Strategic Roadmap for Implementation: Integrated Governance, Investment, and Collaborative Action. The findings reveal that while AI holds substantial transformative potential for delivering deeply personalized, data-driven health and fitness experiences, its successful implementation in the Iranian context is critically contingent upon embedding cultural intelligence, transparency, and user trust into the very design of AI systems, and systematically addressing a deeply interconnected ecosystem of legal, financial, technical, and socio-cultural barriers. The study concludes with a pragmatic, pilot-driven strategic roadmap and offers actionable recommendations for policymakers, industry practitioners, and academic institutions

کلیدواژه ها:

artificial intelligence ، Health-Oriented Approach ، Sports Tourism ، thematic analysis