In the lead-up to Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona from June 10-12, and following what PhocusWire editors consider a pivotal week for generative artificial intelligence in travel, industry executives have shared their perspectives on AI’s current impact on travel experiences and its future direction.
The forthcoming Phocuswright Europe conference, expected to attract around 1,000 attendees from various travel industry entities, is set to feature artificial intelligence as its central theme. This event is viewed as critical for European travel industry leaders, providing valuable insights and networking opportunities against the backdrop of the recent surge in the travel sector.
Opinions among travel executives vary on whether AI is fundamentally changing our travel habits.
Eric La Bonnardière, President of Evaneos, believes AI’s influence on travel is poised for exponential growth: “AI is already changing the way we travel by providing personalized recommendations, improving service to travelers via chatbots or instant assistants available 24/7, or enabling new forms of intelligent tourism through the use of augmented or virtual reality. As AI continues to advance, its impact on the travel industry is set to grow exponentially. By enabling local agents and tourism industry players to shed automated tasks, AI will allow them to be more human-centric, focusing on higher value-added projects, such as building new, more authentic and sustainable travel experiences.”
However, Henrik Kjellberg, CEO of Awaze, the largest managed vacation rentals and holiday resorts business in Europe, believes that AI’s impact is primarily limited to the booking experience – not how we actually travel. “It may not have changed how we travel, but it certainly is impacting how we book travel. In everything from smart dynamic pricing engines to improving how we search for travel, AI already is playing or will increasingly play an important role.”
Chris Hemmeter, Managing Director at Thayer Ventures, an investor in early-stage travel tech, suggests there are obstacles to overcome before we can expect to see any noticeable difference. When asked whether AI will change the travel experience, he replied: “Not yet, but it will. In addition to enabling mass personalization, AI will change the way we discover, plan and experience travel. None of that will happen, however, before suppliers get their data house in order and address the technical debt in their antiquated tech stacks.”
Gee Mann, CEO at Travlr ID, is optimistic about the future for AI but believes there are issues that need to be addressed before the travel industry can truly innovate. “Despite the numerous breakthroughs in AI in recent years, I have not yet seen real innovation in travel based solely on the use of AI. AI still has a tendency to have hallucinations and the models are prone to being poisoned. In spite of that, I’m very optimistic about what the next decade holds. I think travel experiences will transform.”
Avi Meir, co-founder and CEO at Travelperk, agrees that the significant changes are yet to come. “AI hasn’t yet changed the in-trip experience yet, but it will in the near-future. The biggest opportunity for AI in the travel sector today is to rebuild the entire tech stack. We’ve leveraged the technology by transforming the backend, making our teams twice more efficient so travelers can focus on the fun part – booking and managing their trips.”
