AI’s Role inMaking Space Tourism More Sustainable: ApplyingMixedMethods to Compare on- Earth, Sub-orbital, andOrbital Space Tourism

Myung Ja Kim, C. Michael Hall, Ohbyung Kwon, Kyunghwa Hwang*, and Jinok Susanna Kim

Abstract

Space tourism is a growing industry sector that faces challenges of cost, risk, environmental impact, and sustainability. However, few studies address space tourism in an Asian culture, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence (AI), which is an increasingly significant topic both in the tourism sector and in society overall. To address the research gap, this work establishes an analytical framework which contrasts three varieties of space tourism using partial least squares, multi-group analysis, and fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. It surveyed 1,000 prospective space travelers from South Korean who are eager to take part in space tourism to examine AI's role in enhancing sustainable space tourism. Findings indicate that recognizing AI benefits are crucial for sustainable on-Earth, suborbital, and orbital space tourism, particularly the latter. The study offers both conceptual and applied knowledge to enhance the sustainability of space tourism.

Keywords: space tourism; artificial intelligence; sustainability; PLS-fsQCA; mixed methods

Kim, M. J., Hall, C. M., Kwon, O., Hwang, K., & Kim, J. S. (2024). AI's Role in Making Space Tourism More Sustainable: Applying Mixed Methods to Compare on-Earth, Sub-orbital, and Orbital Space Tourism. Journal of Smart Tourism, 4(3), 9-21.