Research-Thesis: How does AI transparency influence purchase intention in online tourism platforms?

Abstract

Tourism industry increasingly relies on artificial intelligence to optimize pricing. Algorithmic dynamic pricing, which adjusts prices in real time based on demand and user behavior, is now standard practice on platforms such as Booking.com and Expedia. However, the opacity of these AI-driven mechanisms generates consumer concerns about fairness and trustworthiness. Despite the growing adoption of such systems, limited research has examined how these constructs interact within a unified framework in tourism. This study aims to understand how AI transparency influences consumer purchase intention and to identify the underlying psychological mechanisms. Drawing on procedural justice theory, price fairness literature, trust formation theory and AI transparency research, the study proposes a sequential mediation model: AI Transparency → Fairness Perception → Consumer Trust → Purchase Intention. AI literacy is also examined as a moderator of the transparency–fairness relationship. An experiment was conducted where participants (N = 131) were randomly assigned to either a low- or high-transparency condition on a fictitious airline booking platform, FlyNow, with the price, flight details and booking interface held constant. Variables were measured using validated Likert-scale instruments. The results support the proposed sequential mechanism. Higher transparency significantly improved fairness perception, which in turn strengthened consumer trust and increased purchase intention. Importantly, AI transparency doesn’t directly persuade consumers to purchase. Rather, it initiates a cognitive chain in which fairness perception and trust fully mediate its influence on purchase intention. The moderating effect of AI literacy was not supported, suggesting that clear explanations are equally effective regardless of AI knowledge. This study contributes to the literature by integrating these constructs into a single tested sequential framework within online tourism. For platform managers, findings demonstrate that AI transparency is not simply a regulatory obligation but a trust-building strategy: easily understandable pricing explanations can strengthen consumer trust and ultimately increase booking likelihood.