Decoding tourist emotions: insights from facial emotion recognition research in destination contexts

PurposeThe main objective of this study is to systematically review the existing literature focusing on facial expression recognition (FER) technologies used in tourism destinations.Design/methodology/approachThe document analysis technique, a qualitative research method, was used. A total of 60 studies were identified from the Scopus database. The studies were analyzed in terms of publication year and citation count, research method, data collection tools, research title, type of experiment, measurement instrument and technique, research objective, geographical scope, keywords, ethical considerations, research results and research proposal. MAXQDA program was used for the coding phase.FindingsThe findings reveal that destination-focused FER research has increased significantly, particularly over the past two years, and that qualitative and mixed research methods have been used less frequently. Furthermore, it has been determined that the studies largely used a combination of survey and experimental data collection tools. It has been also found that the research titles were oriented toward destination marketing, that the studies were generally conducted in laboratory settings, and that eye-tracking was the most frequently used measurement instrument. In addition, the objectives of the studies focused on the effects of visual stimuli, and China emerged as the leading destination in destination-focused FER research. Finally, it was revealed that ethical issues were not addressed and recommendations were not provided in a significant proportion of the studies, and that the results mainly focused on how visual attention could be enhanced.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this study provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the current position of facial emotion recognition (FER) technologies in the tourism literature within a destination context, it also has some limitations. Firstly, the study only examined publications in the Scopus database, limiting the coverage of the entire literature. Although Scopus is a strong resource due to its inclusion of high-impact, internationally recognized journals, the exclusion of studies from other databases such as Web of Science or Google Scholar may have resulted in the failure to analyze some current or interdisciplinary contributions.Practical implicationsBy examining studies related to FER technology in the context of destinations, it is thought that this study will contribute to the relevant literature by presenting the methodological preferences, application areas, measurement and techniques used, research objectives, ethical dimensions, contributions of the results to the literature, and recommendations presented in a comprehensive framework.Social implicationsThe findings offer valuable insights into the role of FER in emotion-focused destination management and highlight existing gaps and opportunities for future research at the intersection of tourism, technology, and emotional science.Originality/valueThe unique value of this study lies in its systematic, multidimensional, and critical by examining of the destination-focused FER literature, revealing ethical and methodological shortcomings and offering clear directions for future studies.