HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING TOURIST EXPERIENCE: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Increasing globalization in the tourism industry has strengthened the case for strategic responses to attract tourists among hospitality organizations. This paper provides a review of the extant literature and integrates past work on strategies in hospitality management that can lead to better experiential outcomes. The analysis covers six major strategic areas: service quality and operational excellence; customer-driven technology innovation; customer relationship management (CRM) and personalization; environmentally sensitive hospitality practices in sustainable and responsible hoteling; and crisis management planning and risk mitigation policy. Building on diverse theoretical frameworks, such as service quality theory and experience economic considerations, the article underscores the multidimensional nature of the tourist experience, integrating cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and sensorial dimensions throughout the customer journey. The results indicate that service reliability, employee competence, and performance are still the key drivers of satisfaction. Meanwhile, the digital transformation – fueled by artificial intelligence, data analytics, intelligent systems, and online reputation management – enables personalization and better decision-making. Authenticity, moral image, and destination resilience benefit from sustainable operations, while organized crisis preparedness improves perceived safety and trust in the institution. Some emerging trends, such as hyper-personalization, innovative hospitality experiences, and integrated sustainability frameworks, are considered important directions for the future, according to the review literature. However, knowledge gaps still exist in terms of longitudinal impact evaluation, cross-cultural comparison, and the automation/human balance in experience design. Overall, the results highlight that improving the tourist experience necessitates adopting an integrated, evidence-based, and adaptive management model that links operational efficiency with emotional value creation to sustain long-term competitive advantage in the hospitality domain.