Key Takeaways:
- The hospitality and tourism industry is being disrupted by robotics, AI, and service automation, leading to streamlined service and stress-free travel.
- Generative AI is being used to plan holidays, creating highly individualized itineraries and potentially changing how tourists travel.
- The impact of AI on travel will depend on how the tool is used and the quality of the data it has been trained on.
- AI-enhanced virtual reality could potentially reduce over-tourism by allowing people to "visit" destinations virtually.
- The integration of AI, robotics, and automation in hospitality and tourism may lead to job losses, but human interaction will still be important in the industry.
Introduction to the Future of Travel
Mengni Fu’s recent trip to Shanghai is a glimpse into the future of travel, where technology has erased traditional travel pain points such as queues, misunderstandings, and misinformation. With the help of her mobile phone, Fu checked into her hotel room, dropped off her luggage to a porter robot, and unlocked her room with a digital key. She even asked an AI assistant to turn on the light, close the curtains, and recommend a nearby restaurant, all without interacting with a single human. This is not a scene from a sci-fi film, but rather the reality of travel in China in 2025.
The Impact of AI on Travel Planning
The use of generative AI to plan holidays is becoming increasingly popular, with people turning to AI chatbots to choose destinations, compare prices, and plan daily itineraries. Dr. Marianna Sigala, a professor of marketing, says that the impact of AI on travel planning is huge, affecting both consumers and companies. The creation of highly individualized itineraries will change how tourists travel, but the impact will depend on how the tool is used and the quality of the data it has been trained on. Sigala likens the disruptive power of AI to the steam engine or the impact of Booking.com on online travel in the early 2000s.
The Road Less Travelled
The question remains whether AI will lead to streamlined service and stress-free travel or fundamentally change tourism and tourist destinations. Professor Adrien Palmer argues that technology has long fueled over-tourism, and it’s too early to tell what the impact of AI will be on travel. However, generative AI-planned itineraries could potentially nudge tourists away from over-tourism hotspots, or AI-enhanced virtual reality could vanquish the need to travel in the first place. The ability to find a road less travelled in the future may depend on one’s ability to prompt an AI assistant.
The Dark Side of AI-Planned Travel
Marketing researcher Joseph Mellors notes that AI chatbots like ChatGPT gravitate towards the most visited destinations by default. However, by asking sharper questions and seeking local voices, travelers can use AI as a tool for discovery rather than congestion. AI-inspired travelers will also need to be wary of hallucinations, where generative-AI chatbots produce misleading content. The BBC recently reported the case of two tourists who were about to hike into the Peruvian mountains in search of a non-existent canyon served to them by AI before they were stopped by a local guide.
Smart Tourism and the Management of Tourist Flows
At popular tourist destinations, AI technology is changing how tourist flows are managed. "Smart cities" use big data collected from various sources to understand people flow, and AI helps them analyze mass amounts of data faster and in real-time. "Smart tourism" is using destination apps to communicate back to tourists, suggesting different routes, attractions, and visit times to help manage hordes of visitors. However, the question remains whether these technological advances will change the tourist experience and remove the surprises that make tourism unique.
The Human Touch in a Technological World
Despite the rapid integration of AI, robotics, and automation in hospitality and tourism, service with a human smile will still be important. Mengni Fu’s PhD research explores how gen Z consumers and workers in China and Australia feel about the rapid technological innovation transforming the sector. Her survey of over 1,000 people found that respondents would prefer new technologies to replace certain tasks in the industry, not workers. However, respondents, especially in Australia, feared for their job security. While Chinese respondents were more likely to embrace new technologies, they still opted for places and services where humans collaborated with technology. As Fu notes, "Sometimes we still need that human warmness, we still need to talk with humans."