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Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs)
Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that learns patterns from datasets, utilizing this information to create new content. It utilizes other types of AI models, including large-language models (LLMs), to synthesize information from extensive datasets to answer a prompt.
More people are starting to utilize AI as part of their daily routine, with more than 10% of the world’s adults using ChatGPT on a monthly basis. Every aspect of the industry is starting to utilize AI, from biometric scanners at airports to travelers using generative AI to suggest potential travel destinations. It’s impossible to exist on the internet without coming into contact with AI, including AI overviews from Google and AI-powered chatbots.
Balancing AI productivity with data privacy
Before we explore specific examples of how AI is transforming the travel world, it’s important to consider the ethics and privacy concerns. Whether you’re a frequent traveler or the owner of a travel agency, you want to be aware of the need to balance productivity with data privacy.
The majority of travelers are now opting to use AI when planning a trip. A recent survey found that 60% of travelers in Asia and the Pacific were using AI to streamline the booking process, navigate communication barriers, and access the most competitive deals. It’s crucial for these travelers to feel like they can trust the AI technology that they’re engaging with, especially as consumers become more aware of how their personal data is being used and sold.
As a result, it’s crucial that AI-powered technology utilize personal data ethically with a privacy-first system that offers transparent terms and conditions with clear opt-ins. This type of open communication and transparency is how agencies can gain trust and long-term customers.
Generative AI requires a lot of data to operate effectively, and there’s no denying that the tourism industry faces a challenge in this area, particularly for small and medium businesses. Collaboration between tourism services and travel businesses is more important than ever before, enabling organizations to look beyond their in-house data.
10 Ways generative AI is transforming tourism
1. AI-powered chatbots
Chatbots are at the forefront of the generative AI revolution, allowing for truly 24/7 customer service with live chat functions and automated responses. This technology streamlines the planning process, from sending queries to airlines to enabling companies to incorporate more upselling opportunities when selling tickets and experiences.
This AI technology is a cheaper alternative to human-led customer service and can handle most enquiries. At RateHawk, our chatbots utilize AI to guide users through the booking process with instant assistance, including helping to manage reservations.
This technology streamlines the planning process.
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2. Behavior-based personalized recommendations
AI-focused platforms are evolving to offer hyper-personalized recommendations based on the person’s own activity. For example, when an individual searches for popular museums in a major city like New York, the system will start to suggest other popular attractions or accommodation options in the surrounding area. These user personalized recommendation features can be incorporated into CRM systems and booking engines within websites.
3. Real-time voice translations at self-guided experiences
Self-guided tours can often be underwhelming, especially for tourists visiting countries where their native language is not widely spoken. As travel becomes more accessible. AI is helping to navigate these challenges with real-time voice translations for live and pre-recorded speeches, converting them into the customer’s native language.
This technology can be utilized through an app on the customer’s smartphone or integrated into handheld devices typically used at major museums and attractions. Smaller tour operators and independent museums can now cater to a wider variety of international visitors by utilizing AI tools to create, review, and translate tour audios in real-time.
This technology can be utilized through an app on the customer’s smartphone or integrated into handheld devices typically used at major museums and attractions.
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4. Helping airlines improve operational efficiency and sustainability
Generative AI is also helping some of the biggest players in the travel industry to improve their operational efficiency and reach their sustainability goals. DeepMind, the frontier of Google’s AI programs, is being used by airlines to optimize their flight paths to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
Similarly, other transport providers are also using generative AI to optimize their energy and fuel consumption to lower costs. For travelers, these AI tools make it easier to track luggage (even when it gets delayed or lost!) and improving the user experience at check-in kiosks, expediting luggage drop off and ticket printing.
5. Demand forecasting and predictive analytics for pricing
Pricing is one of the biggest pain points for travel operators, from airlines setting prices for new routes to small tour operators determining when to reduce pricing to attract visitors during the off-season. AI is helping to automate pricing decisions, as they streamline demand forecasting and dynamic pricing strategies, helping to make them accessible for even the smallest companies.
Generative AI can analyze everything from economic indicators to weather patterns and upcoming events to determine the best pricing, overseeing changes in real-time to ensure companies are maximizing their earning potential. Dynamic pricing is no longer something that exists solely within large-scale organizations like Ticketmaster and Uber.
6. Popularity of customized AI-powered itineraries
Flicking through travel brochures and spending hours creating handwritten, color-coded itineraries are a thing of the past. Generative AI can create customized itineraries in just minutes, considering everything from average daily temperatures to daily budgets and logistics. This AI powered technology can even provide last-minute recommendations for restaurants, entertainment, or routes with cheap train tickets or flights.
Although these AI tools can be used by tourists, they can also help businesses personalize the advice that they give to clients, streamlining one of the most time-consuming tasks. Existing itineraries for popular destinations can be easily adapted by generative AI to consider seasonal events, traveler profiles (including those with mobility issues or specific concerns like dietary requirements), and even real-time weather forecasts.
7. Hyper-personalized customer service by travel agents
One of the common themes you’ve probably noticed is that AI is making everything more personal, giving the feeling of a one-on-one experience. Modern AI technology has changed the day-to-day tasks of TAs with websites and search engines, allowing travelers to do most of their research independently. AI is set to bring a similar upheaval, making face-to-face experiences with humans even more valuable, whether it’s a gate agent at the airport or a travel agent sending a suggested personalized itinerary before a trip.
AI powered technology can handle the most labor-intensive tasks, like handling last-minute travel requests, overseeing the company’s marketing needs, and finding the best accommodation options, allowing TAs to focus on delivering first-class customer service to their clients. Businesses who incorporate AI into their workflow can become more productive and provide a seamless experience.
8. Smart AI-powered navigation apps
Getting around in a new city or country can be one of the biggest challenges for travelers, whether they’re budget travelers using public transport or couples driving a rental car. AI is addressing this pain point by optimizing travel routes in real-time, helping to prevent traffic delays and avoid road works.
Navigation apps like CityMapper and Google Maps use AI to get instant updates for public transport, offering recommendations for the fastest route and even the best station exit to use, depending on the person’s final destination. These navigation apps are helping reduce congestion at peak times and enabling travelers to reduce their carbon footprint by optimizing their travel plans, while also making public transit easier to navigate.
Getting around in a new city or country can be one of the biggest challenges for travelers.
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9. Enhanced safety and security measures
Security and safety have to be considered at every customer-facing point of the travel industry, from protecting customer data on booking platforms to streamlining passport control at major transit points. AI is at the forefront of enhancing security and safety measures as the world becomes increasingly more digitized.
Airports and major tourist areas are utilizing AI to analyze video feeds in real-time to detect potential threats by identifying suspicious behavior, giving actionable insights to security personnel. Similarly, travelers are experiencing faster processing at border crossings and airports, with AI being used to support biometric identification systems with photo recognition. At RateHawk, we’re utilizing AI as part of our incident prevention strategy to identify high-risk bookings and flag potential issues during the pre-check process.
10. AI and VR interactive experiences
AI is also helping to power other technologies to become more widespread in the tourism industry, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). This technology is being implemented throughout the sector, from providing interactive experiences on booking platforms to helping tourists navigate museums and foreign destinations without a language barrier.
By incorporating AI into AR and VR previews, travel businesses and tourists can access virtual hotel tours and interactive guides to cities and popular attractions, making planning even easier. Other popular AI powered technology like Google Lens utilize AI translation features to instantly translate text on menus, documents, and signs in real-time, making it easier for international tourists to confidently explore new places. Large-scale attractions, such as amusements, are using AI to create personalized interactive experiences designed to suit the individual’s specific interests.
Where’s next? Agentic AI for travel
Generative AI is only the beginning, and the next frontier for the travel industry is already on the horizon – Agentic AI. This technology is different from generative AI as it’s able to act on its own initiative to autonomously make decisions. Agentic AI is able to complete complicated processes and tasks using systems, APIs, and external tools.
Travel agencies will be able to utilize this type of AI on a larger scale as agentic AI is able to store and recall long-term memories, from recounting specific user preferences to keeping track of the context of specific searches, even when handling multiple requests.
For now, generative AI can support the tourism industry in an advisory capacity, from handling research tasks to offering real-time language translations. In the future, agentic AI will be able to work autonomously to monitor situations and respond without needing human intervention.
For now, generative AI can support the tourism industry in an advisory capacity.
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Why travel agents are still needed in the AI generation
Although AI is changing how the travel industry operates, there’s still a strong need for human-led support. Research by McKinsey & Company shows that while consumers are feeling more confident about AI results, they prefer to use it for research purposes, rather than for handling more complicated enquiries, such as understanding visa application processes and resolving cancelled flights.
Leverage AI travel tools by joining RateHawk
Generative AI has changed the tourism industry forever, addressing pain points for service providers, assistants, booking platforms, and – of course – travelers themselves. This is only the beginning, and at RateHawk, we’re already utilizing AI automation to help TAs curate tailored packages that feel as if they’re hand-selected for their clients.
You can unlock the potential of your travel agency by registering for RateHawk today to get instant access to over 2.9 million accommodation options worldwide, throughout Asia and beyond, along with access to 330+ suppliers for air tickets, transfers, car rentals, and other travel services.
Cover: Photo by Taris Tonsa on Shutterstock
