From mismatched groups to meaningful connections: the role of AI matching in group tourism experiences

The resurgence of group tourism highlights a growing demand for meaningful social connections, yet traditional administrative grouping often results in interpersonal misalignment. Drawing on Task-Technology Fit Theory and Social Identity Theory, this research investigates how AI-enabled travel companion matching facilitates “digital co-presence” to enhance relational outcomes. Across three experimental studies, we demonstrate that AI matching significantly outperforms conventional methods in bolstering anticipated social interaction satisfaction. This effect is driven by two parallel socio-psychological pathways: the cognitive mechanism of group identification and the affective mechanism of tourist rapport. Crucially, moderated mediation analysis reveals that the efficacy of these pathways is context-sensitive: cultural destinations—characterized by cognitive goals—amplify the mediating role of group identification, whereas the influence of tourist rapport remains a context-invariant foundational requirement. These findings transition the tourism literature toward a human-human compatibility lens, offering actionable insights for designing preference-aligned algorithms that enhance experiential equity in the algorithmic age.