Role of Chatbots in Cultural Heritage Tourism: An Empirical Study on Ancient Forts and Palaces

Abstract

Cultural heritage is an essential tool for understanding and promoting a territory. In this regard, it is crucial to experiment with improving cultural heritage by adopting techniques such as artificial intelligence, which is highly used to generate immersive experiences for cultural visitors. Tamil Nadu is one of India’s states known for its ancient monuments, such as temples, forts, palaces and other archaeological sites. These monuments receive a large number of tourists every year. Some heritage destinations are not extensively explored because tourists cannot spot the destination. In this scenario, technology can provide help to explore unexplored destinations. This article traces the expansion of chatbots with advanced technologies in the tourism industry and analyses the scope of developing a chatbot in Tamil Nadu forts and palaces. This article is divided into three stages; the first stage analyses the factors affecting the customer’s user experience of the existing chatbot. The second stage proposes a conceptual model for developing chatbots for tourist destinations. The third stage is developing a new chatbot, ‘TN Forts Buddy’, to explore the unexplored forts and palaces of Tamil Nadu. These adaptive systems and linked services help to promote cultural heritage and make travel easy.