Should we rejoice or not at this news? That’s the question. Between designers, business leaders, employees and customers, the answers will vary. The fact remains that artificial intelligence is making its way into all professions, including those in tourism.
At the B2B Explore conference in Las Vegas, the Expedia group (which includes the tour operator of the same name) presented 40 new products and features. “The main one is Romie, a travel companion powered by artificial intelligencereport our colleagues from the specialized site Echo tourisme. Concretely, Romie helps plan and book a trip. But it can also ‘give a helping hand in the event of an unexpected change during a trip’, promises the American group. The assistant thus acts ‘like a travel agent, concierge and personal assistant’.”
Is this the beginning of the end for travel agents? There is a step that must not yet be taken but it is an invention that goes in the direction of history as online reservations have been increasing in number for years. On the other hand, the tourism sector can be reassured since the latest figures from ABTO (the Belgian Association of Tour Operators) show that Belgians remain attached to their travel agencies, especially since the health crisis and all the resulting cancellations.
To return to Expedia, the project of using AI is not new. Discreet tests were carried out for a few months, before presenting the famous Romie. “To date, Expedia has been able to cater to over 30 million travelers virtually; which saved eight million working hours for agentsexplained the TO. We strongly believe in the transformative power of AI to create personalized travel experiences. We have developed an AI assistant with a desire for hyperpersonalization.”
We are therefore moving towards increasingly efficient tools which will eventually make it possible to book tailor-made trips, and no longer just all-in holidays or standard circuits. “As part of Explore, Expedia is launching other AI-powered services, such as the ability to create personalized itineraries, quick help (on Expedia and Hotels.com in the United States), comparison of destinations (available this summer on Expedia, Hotels.com and Abritel worldwide), and the summary of customer reviews”, further specifies the Tourist Echo.
