Facial-expression recognition: An emergent approach to the measurement of tourist satisfaction through emotions

Purpose: The employment of facial-expression recognition to analyse emotions constitutes a potential instrument for the measurement of customer satisfaction in the tourism sector. The study aims to assess the functionality of Artificial Intelligence to measure tourists' emotions and hence their satisfaction with the quality of the service provided on a guided tour when visiting a UNESCO heritage site. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology comprises the following stages. Firstly, the emotions are analysed through data recorded by using a software application on facial-expression recognition on a sample of tourists visiting a heritage site. Secondly, the tourists were asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the guided tour visit. Finally, a structural equation modelling approach is used to validate the strong relation between emotions and satisfaction. Findings: The results achieved confirm that the information obtained from facial-expression recognition demonstrated that it is as valid an instrument as that offered by the self-administered questionnaires for the measurement of customer satisfaction. The findings from the application reveal that a change in the scientific and professional field is emerging in the measurement of customer satisfaction focused on the emotions from a digital approach. Research limitations/implications: This research is mainly based on the use of specific software for facial-expression recognition with its intrinsic measurement of emotions with and in a specific heritage scenario. Other scenarios and software of a more sophisticated nature implemented in the tourism and hospitality industry are necessary for the in-depth comprehension of the significant role played by emotions in the improvement of service quality. Practical implications: The recent application of recording emotions in the Tourism Industry provides practitioners with useful insights for the detection of deficiencies in their services and therefore the means to boost their reputation and destination image. Originality/value: Artificial Intelligence presents a new paradigm in the measurement of satisfaction by substituting self-administered surveys with a method based on the use of innovative software that recognizes faces and detects emotions through facial expressions. The paper contributes to the literature by using an Artificial Intelligence approach to measure satisfaction through emotions in the tourism sector.