Planning a holiday can be overwhelming—where should you go, and what matches your interests best? A new study published in the Geojournal of Tourism and Geosites introduces an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solution that could make trip planning easier and smarter for tourists in Indonesia.
The article, titled “Attentive Item2Vec Machine Learning Method for Recommending Tourist Destinations in Indonesia”, was written by Putri et al. from the Department of Statistics, Universitas Padjadjaran.
Their research adapts the Attentive Item2Vec (AI2V) method—an advanced machine learning model originally popular in media recommendations like YouTube—to the field of tourism. Unlike traditional systems that rely only on simple matching, AI2V uses deep neural networks and attention mechanisms to understand complex user preferences across multiple choices, making recommendations more personalized and accurate.
In this study, the researchers analyzed 10,000 tourist assessments from five major Indonesian cities: Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang, and Surabaya. The AI2V model successfully generated a “Top 5” list of recommended destinations, including:
- Keraton Surabaya
- Desa Wisata Gamplong
- Sanghyang Heuleut
- Jogja Bay Pirates Adventure Waterpark
- Jogja Exotarium
With a performance score of 0.48976 (Mean Percentage Ranking), the system demonstrated strong potential to guide tourists toward experiences that better match their interests.
Beyond improving travel experiences, this innovation also aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): supporting sustainable tourism that benefits local communities.
- SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure): applying cutting-edge AI for smarter services.
- SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): promoting destinations that highlight cultural and natural heritage.
As tourism rebounds post-pandemic, AI-powered recommender systems like this could play a vital role in enhancing visitor satisfaction while fostering sustainable growth in Indonesia’s travel industry.
Source: https://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?eid=2-s2.0-105010421428&origin=resultslist
12/Stat/2025
