WHEN THE CLASSROOM MEETS THE CODE
In lecture halls and research labs across the globe, a quiet revolution is underway. Generative artificial intelligence—tools like ChatGPT, DALL·E, and Copilot—are no longer futuristic novelties. They are reshaping how students learn, how professors teach, and how researchers explore.
In tourism and hospitality education, this shift is especially profound. The industry thrives on innovation, and now, the academic side must keep pace. GAI can write essays, summarize articles, analyze data, and even simulate guest interactions. But with great power comes great complexity.
Dogru and colleagues argue that GAI is a disruptive innovation—one that redefines performance metrics and rewrites the rules of competition. In education, it challenges traditional notions of authorship, critical thinking, and academic integrity. In research, it accelerates data collection and analysis, but also raises questions about originality and ownership.
This study offers a comprehensive look at how GAI is impacting tourism and hospitality academia. It explores applications in teaching, learning, career preparation, and research. It also dives into the ethical and legal challenges—bias, privacy, plagiarism, and copyright—that must be addressed.
The authors do not just diagnose the disruption. They propose solutions: curriculum redesign, clear usage policies, and collaborative protocols. They even offer ten “Big Questions” to spark dialogue across institutions.
In short, this is not just a paper—it is a call to action. As GAI reshapes the academic landscape, tourism and hospitality educators must lead the way in crafting a future that is both innovative and ethical.
DISRUPTION IN MOTION: THE THEORY BEHIND THE TECH
To understand the impact of generative AI (GAI), Dogru and colleagues apply disruptive innovation theory—a concept originally designed to explain how new technologies overturn established industries, now extended to academia itself.
Disruptive technologies rewrite the rules. They alter how performance is evaluated and how value is created. In tourism and hospitality, GAI is reshaping the landscape of teaching, learning, and research.
The authors contend that GAI represents more than a mere tool; it signals a paradigm shift. It facilitates personalized learning, automates data analysis, and produces content that rivals human creation. However, it also brings new risks, including misinformation, bias, and ambiguous authorship.
While earlier studies concentrated on GAI’s business applications, this paper broadens the scope to include education and research. It investigates the effects of GAI on students, professors, administrators, and publishers, and considers how it can equip students for a tech-driven industry where managing hybrid teams of humans and AI will become standard practice.
To guide curriculum redesign, the authors introduce a framework built on three foundational ideas. First, students should be taught how to apply technology in hospitality services. Second, they should be encouraged to view AI as a supportive tool rather than a threat. Third, the curriculum must prioritize soft skills such as empathy, compassion, and communication—skills that remain vital in a digital world.
In the realm of research, GAI offers support in data collection, cleaning, clustering, and analysis. It can uncover trends, simulate scenarios, and compare findings across studies. Yet, it also complicates issues of originality, citation, and intellectual property.
This study does not avoid difficult questions. Instead, it directly addresses the ethical and legal challenges, presenting a balanced perspective on both the potential and the pitfalls of GAI.
We found that generative AI is not just a tool—it is a disruptive force that challenges traditional models of teaching, authorship, and research in tourism and hospitality education.”
A MULTI-VOICED REFLECTION
Rather than conducting a traditional empirical study, the authors—Dogru, Line, Hanks, and Acikgoz—led a collaborative effort involving 13 additional scholars from institutions in the U.S. and U.K. Together, they synthesized insights from existing literature, examined emerging trends, and interpreted the implications of GAI through the lens of disruptive innovation theory.
This collective approach enabled a comprehensive exploration of GAI’s influence on tourism and hospitality education and research, resulting in a multifaceted roadmap for navigating the academic AI revolution.
INSIGHTS FROM THE FRONTLINES OF ACADEMIA
Drawing from a rich array of literature, the commentary incorporates studies on AI in education, hospitality management, ethics, and digital transformation. It references scholars such as Ivanov, Dwivedi, Zhai, and Mhlanga, and includes real-world examples like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT.
Rather than generating new data, the authors compiled and interpreted existing research and expert opinions to present a holistic view of GAI’s implications. Their aim is to spark meaningful dialogue and promote responsible adoption within tourism and hospitality academia.
PROMISE AND PERIL IN THE AGE OF AI
GAI brings significant advantages. It enables personalized learning through chatbots and adaptive platforms, enhances career readiness by preparing students to manage tech-integrated teams, and accelerates research through automated data handling and analysis.
However, it also presents serious challenges. Biases in training data can result in unfair outcomes. Data collection and personalization raise privacy concerns. The boundaries of authorship and plagiarism detection become increasingly unclear. Legal questions surrounding copyright ownership remain unresolved.
To ensure ethical use of GAI, the authors advocate for transparency, well-defined policies, and collaborative oversight. They recommend curriculum updates and institutional protocols to support responsible integration.
THE BALANCING ACT OF INNOVATION
Dogru and colleagues emphasize that generative AI (GAI) is more than a technological upgrade—it signals a philosophical shift. It challenges educators to rethink the foundations of teaching, learning, and creativity.
They advocate for embedding GAI into curricula as a core competency. Students must learn to operate AI tools, interpret AI-generated data, and navigate ethical dilemmas. Professors, in turn, should adapt their teaching methods to include simulations, virtual reality, and AI-assisted feedback.
In research, GAI streamlines workflows and uncovers new insights. However, it also demands updated standards for citation, attribution, and originality. Traditional plagiarism detection tools may fall short, and copyright laws lag behind technological advances.
The authors call for a collaborative response. Institutions need clear policies. Publishers must establish citation guidelines. Educators should model ethical AI use. Students must be equipped to think critically—even when AI does the heavy lifting.
This is not a rejection of GAI—it is a call to harness its power responsibly. The future of tourism and hospitality education depends on it.
To prepare students for a tech-driven industry, hospitality programs must embed AI into curricula, balance it with soft skills, and create clear policies for ethical and effective use.”
TEACHING TOMORROW’S LEADERS IN A TECH-DRIVEN WORLD
For educators and administrators, the study offers a strategic roadmap for integrating GAI into tourism and hospitality programs. It recommends incorporating GAI into courses like management, marketing, finance, and operations, ensuring students learn to use AI tools ethically and effectively.
Equally important is the emphasis on human-centered skills—empathy, communication, and cultural awareness—that will set graduates apart in a digital workforce.
Institutions are urged to create clear guidelines for GAI use in assignments, research, and publications. Faculty should be trained to use GAI in teaching and research, and encouraged to experiment while reflecting on ethical implications.
Students must be prepared to manage hybrid teams, interpret AI outputs, and make data-driven decisions. Research protocols should require disclosure of GAI use and promote responsible practices in data collection, analysis, and referencing.
By embracing GAI with intention and integrity, tourism and hospitality programs can prepare students for a future where human and artificial intelligence work side by side.
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
QUESTIONS THAT SHAPE THE FUTURE
The authors conclude with ten critical questions to guide future research and policy. These address GAI’s impact on creativity, ethics, curriculum design, diversity, citation, content ownership, and plagiarism detection.
These questions are urgent. As GAI becomes ubiquitous, educators must lead its responsible adoption. Future studies should explore student perceptions, faculty readiness, and cross-cultural differences. The AI revolution is here—now it must serve education, not replace it.
