The world is a small place when you’re digitally connected. This means, wherever you are in the world, the impact of technology on business is difficult to ignore.
The travel industry, largely a customer service sector, has been eager to capitalise on artificial intelligence (AI) . The infrastructure for this change has been in place for some time now. Most people will recognise how cookies on websites record which pages we visit, how long we stay on each page of the site and what actions we take.
Until recently this information would be used mainly to convert sales or generate leads. Pictures and text would appear to a site visitor to prompt them to make a purchase or engage with the site in some other way. By combining data collected by cookies, customer service bots and across multiple platforms such as social media, this information can now be used to create customer tailored experiences.
The super fast analytical capacity of AI, and its ability to ‘learn’, has made it possible to enhance the way travellers plan, book, and experience their trips. AI is still in its infancy today, but getting on board with the technology at this stage is crucial for the tourism industry if it wants to survive the technological revolution that is unfolding.
The imact of AI
Chatbots, powered by AI in the travel industry, are now commonplace, providing 24/7 customer support to travellers. This is not just about answering basic enquiries. AI can learn from the questions it receives and answers it provides. It can build a customer persona in a fraction of the time it would take a customer service rep. It does this by crunching huge amounts of data in the blink of an eye. This means it can tailor the answers to the person putting the question.
AI driven travel assistants are able to make tailored suggestions. This makes the planning stage of a travel itinerary more straight forward and perhaps less stressful. Predictive analytics enables tour operators and travel companies to anticipate and respond to changing demand patterns.
Some businesses within the tourism sector are currently using AI to create immersive travel experiences, such as virtual reality tours. This will only become more rewarding as AR and AI develop. Allowing complete immersion to change the way we interact with the world around us.
Labour shortages and AI
The travel industry has traditionally relied on low skilled labour for some roles. For instance, waiting tables, cleaning hotel rooms and handling baggage. For many years the industry has depended on foreign workers to fill such roles. While immigration policy has been designed to match the demand. Brexit in the UK and immigration policy changes around the world has created labour shortages which are getting harder and harder to fill.
While AI powered robotics can assist with the cleaning of rooms, robotic chefs will soon be available to automate the creation of the menu. Robotics, like AI, is still in its infancy but the future for such technology is exciting and evolving fast.
Integrating AI bots into all areas of customer service will soon enable a seemless service for the customer. And with improvements in voicebots, AI may eventually sound indistinguishable from the human voice.
The changing nature of work within the tourism industry
While AI will replace some of the work traditionally carried out by human workers, integrating AI into the sector will open up new opportunities. There will be a need to quality check the work of the non human workforce. There will always be a demand for real human interaction and existing staff across the entire industry might upskill or retrain for different roles.
Roles in the fields of gaming, graphics and programming will experience an increase in demand across the industry. More small businesses in the sector may emerge. Such as virtual tour guides in specialist areas such as history or architecture.
The demand for a more environmentally aware business model in tourism may mean virtual, immersive experiences become more popular. As more and more compute is required to operate AI and AR, there will be a drive to make the data centres that accommodate the servers more environmentally friendly.
And finally…
The world is at the start of its AI journey. As the technology becomes widely integrated in to the world of business so people’s acceptance of it will become widespread. Like any industry, the impact of AI on travel and tourism is not yet fully understood. The truth is we don’t know all the opportunities that AI will present in the future.
In many cases AI will be assistive. It will simply help the human workforce do their job more quickly and efficiently. But the potential, for those businesses brave enough to dip their toe in the water, is incredible. By embracing AI and not feeling threatened by it, the workforce of today can more easily ride the changes that are coming.