From Multi-Agent Systems to AI Ecosystems in Tourism and Hospitality: A Scoping Review Protocol

Abstract

This scoping review will map how interactions between computational agents are designed, coordinated, evaluated, and governed in tourism and hospitality. It will cover traditional multi-agent systems and architectures based on large language models, identifying applications, agent roles, coordination mechanisms, evaluation approaches, and reported governance issues. The review will follow JBI methodological guidance and will be reported according to PRISMA-ScR. Searches will be conducted in Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection, supplemented by Google Scholar searches and reference checking. Eligible publications will be English-language, peer-reviewed journal research articles describing at least two identifiable computational agents with a functional interaction in a tourism or hospitality context. No publication-year restriction will be applied. Preprints and conference papers will be excluded. João Pedro Portugal and Miguel Nuno Portugal will independently screen titles, abstracts, and full texts. One reviewer will extract the data and the other will verify all fields. Findings will be presented through descriptive summaries, comparative tables, and thematic analysis. Preparatory searches and preliminary checks of selected titles and abstracts were conducted on 6 October 2026 to refine the search strategy. These activities did not constitute formal independent screening or data extraction. The definitive searches will be conducted after protocol registration.