Co-Director at Southern Cross Travel
Wadhurst
The family-owned business
To be honest, I feel a bit slow to the party with AI. I’m sure it is a fantastic tool for many things, but holidays? Call me a dinosaur, but surely we should use our own skills and years of expertise to tailor trips for our clients, rather than rely on a computer to do the thinking for us.
A prospective client contacted us recently armed with a Costa Rica trip she’d “created” using AI, asking us to improve it and put prices on it. I wonder why she didn’t just come to us in the first place to get our advice, rather than letting a computer suggest the best place to go.
As it was, she booked with one of the other agents she’d sent the AI itinerary to, so we didn’t even get a chance to quote.
Travel is such a special thing – not to mention hard-earned and high in value – and great holidays rely on an agent understanding a client’s needs and wishes and then tailoring a trip to suit them as an individual. Give me a human any day!
Director of GoRiverCruise
Worcestershire
The cruise specialist
I am getting too old for all this stuff. When asked to write a few words about how I use AI, I thought I was being asked about when I travel on the Great North Road – that is a name for those of us who remember life before motorways.
However, I do realise that when I am researching a destination or operators to put together a client proposal, much of what I read has been produced by AI!
Knowledge is power and clearly clients can get this knowledge quicker, and make a purchase decision based on research, rather than seek the advice of an agent.
So AI is both a help and a threat – and just a continuation of the ease of booking on the internet. But a good agent knows that it is the personal knowledge or in-depth awareness of the difference between various operators that can ensure the client books the right holiday and comes back again. AI paints the picture, but the agent gives the picture depth and form.
Director at The Travel Team
Brampton, Cumbria
The high street agency
AI is a very topical subject at present and I’m sure it will help us as long as we have our own knowledge and experience to back up the results.
I recently put AI to the test with a suggested sightseeing itinerary for a couple I booked to Budapest, and they loved the recommendations “I” gave. Having visited the city myself, I was confident the information was valid.
However – a bit like a Google search or a Tripadvisor review – I won’t always 100% trust the results given!
AI could help us in so many ways, for example replicating itineraries, suggesting hotels and resorts based on past holidays, and helping with data analysis. Plus travel agents could use AI to report on booking trends and analyse the best times to book.
I do believe that in terms of what you get out of it, AI is only as good as the information that’s put in and the role of a human travel agent is still very important.
Managing Director, Kew Bridge Travel,
London
The Pata agent
Technology has changed the way we plan and book holidays. I perceive the emergence of AI as the latest step in that ongoing evolution.
AI offers consumers the ability to “design” a tour itinerary. That’s not revolutionary because itineraries are readily available in guidebooks and brochures. The evolution is the convenience of using one’s own device and the speed of response.
AI trawls through a wealth of data to produce an itinerary – however, it captures the most common information. Plus, AI can’t juggle the complexity of a multi-centre holiday in Asia Pacific, for example, with all the flights, transfers and hotels.
Agents need to emphasise the human interaction which results in a unique itinerary, one designed specifically for the client. They should stress that their service does not end there and will be supporting the client throughout their journey.
