Given the digital transformation in service industries and the increasing role of smart technologies in marketing decision-making, the present study aimed to explain the role of artificial intelligence in diversifying marketing strategies and creating a sustainable competitive advantage in the Iraqi tourism industry. The study was applied in terms of purpose and exploratory (qualitative-quantitative) in terms of method. In the qualitative part, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with tourism industry experts and examined with content analysis. The qualitative findings led to the identification of five final components including “smart and customer-centric marketing based on artificial intelligence”, “data analysis and strategic marketing agility”, “innovation and development of smart marketing strategies”, “competitive differentiation and sustainable value creation based on artificial intelligence” and “organizational capabilities and smart governance for competitive sustainability”. In the quantitative part, data from 200 Iraqi tourism managers and employees were collected with a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed with SEM based on least squares. The results showed that the composite reliability of the constructs of artificial intelligence, marketing strategies, and sustainable competitive advantage was 0.787, 0.844, and 0.918, and the AVE values ​​were 0.552, 0.644, and 0.651, respectively. The MSV values ​​were 0.193, 0.478, and 0.423, and the AVE root of the constructs showed higher inter-structural correlations, confirming the differentiation of the constructs. The results showed that artificial intelligence provides the basis for strengthening sustainable competitive advantage through the development of diverse marketing strategies, including service personalization, tourist data analysis, smart marketing, and innovative service development. Iraqi tourism organizations should improve their tourist experience and sustainable competitive advantage by investing in data and artificial intelligence, marketing personalization, predictive analysis, and strengthening data governance.