Tourists take bamboo rafts on the Jiuqu River at Wuyi Mountain scenic area, southeast China's Fujian province, Oct 3, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to transform the global tourism industry, revolutionizing every aspect from the initial conception of a trip to its completion, making travel become more efficient and enjoyable, global business leaders in the industry said.
Travel is considered a luxury and as people’s discretionary income rises, they are likely to allocate more resources to satisfy their psychological need for travel, leading to tourism growing faster than the rest of the economy, said James Liang, co-founder and chairman of the board at Chinese leading online travel agency Trip.com Group.
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Traditionally, trip planning could be time-consuming, inefficient, and sometimes frustrating. With AI-powered platforms and tools, sophisticated algorithms and data analysis could help people personalize their travel recommendations, suggest itineraries, and provide real-time information on flights, accommodations and attractions.
It’s really important that when you think about travel today, digital isn't a part at the back of minds, but it is your strategy and everything else streams out of it. That is how you will be able to access this incredible growth opportunity and have success in the region.
Hermione Joye, Asia-Pacific lead of travel and vertical search sector at Google
“AI is going to revolutionize journeys from conception to completion, making the overall planning process more efficient and enjoyable,” Liang said.
Liang added that advanced technology will also play a crucial role in making the travel industry grow by reducing costs, as more people will be willing to travel at an affordable price.
Hermione Joye, Asia-Pacific lead of travel and vertical search sector at Google, said Google is making strenuous efforts to build its AI capabilities as it sees AI as a game-changer for various industries including tourism. The company offers products such as performance maps, enabling advertisers to access customers in real time and anywhere.
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“It's important that you innovate, that you stay close to the trends, because they are always changing and evolving,” she said.
“It’s really important that when you think about travel today, digital isn't a part at the back of minds, but it is your strategy and everything else streams out of it. That is how you will be able to access this incredible growth opportunity and have success in the region.”
Joye added that the Asia-Pacific region will drive the world’s tourism industry in the future, given its large Generation MZ (referring to a pairing of two groups – millennials born 1981 and 1995 and Generation Z born 1996-2005) population, fastest GDP growth, highest mobile app penetration, and highest inter-region travel in the world.
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Emily Weiss, senior managing director of global industry lead travel at Accenture, stressed the importance of using social media to access potential travelers, saying that 45 percent of consumers in the United States use TikTok and other social media apps to plan their trips.
“Generative AI is still at an early stage, we do not know much about its application in the future, but it is certain that it will be used in customer services,” she said.
