Exploring Virtual and Augmented Reality in Hospitality Education through the Lens of AI and Human-Computer Interaction: A Bibliometric Review

Abstract

Globally popular and Powered by AI, novel technologies Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality have made great progress recently, providing creative solutions in areas such as tourism and hospitality. This bibliometric research examines the academic environment connected to the use of Virtual and Augmented Reality, VR & AR respectively in the education and training in the tourism and hospitality industries. A search was conducted on the Scopus database for publications published from 2014 to 2024. The analysis seeks to detect trends, major research themes, renowned authors, influential journals, and regional distributions of research output. Citation analysis offers insights into the influence and dissemination of research in this field. This study examines how VR and AR technology have evolved to improve educational practices and training methods in the tourist and hospitality industries.The findings highlight the evolution of immersive technologies in education, pointing to increasing integration with Artificial Intelligence (AI), gamification, wearable technologies, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) frameworks. These advancements promise to enhance learner engagement through personalized and interactive training environments. Notably, future directions include the development of realistic simulations, haptic feedback for deeper immersion, and collaborative social VR environments. Although progress has been achieved, there are still gaps in the scientific field. One significant deficiency is the lack of emphasis on assessing the efficacy and enduring effects of VR and AR teaching initiatives in the tourist and hospitality sector. There is a need for interdisciplinary collaboration that includes insights from psychology, sociology, and HCI to better understand user behavior and learning outcomes in immersive settings.

The study analyzed 233 documents from 2014 to 2024, with a growth rate of 11.61% per year, an aggregate 9.908 per article citations, and 785 associated authors. Jung T and Scott C are among most influential authors are country in this domain was Spain, with 142 citations and an aggregate article citation of 47.3. The paper also highlighted the most significant information sources, such as the “Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Computer Vision, Imaging and Computer Graphics Theory and Applications”[1], CEUR Workshop Proceedings, and “Communications in Computer and Information Science”.

The outcome of this study provides valuable insights into the future growth and expansion of innovative technologies, particularly through the integration of computer vision and human-computer interaction (HCI), which in turn stimulate advancements in educational training.