As Phocuswright Europe Kicks Off, Travel Experts Weigh In On The AI Buzz
It’s been a busy spring in the travel world, with product rollouts from Expedia Group, Google and OpenAI, among others. So when more than 500 travel insiders gathered in Barcelona Monday for the start of the 2024 Phocuswright Europe conference, there was a lot to chew over even before the start of the networking happy hour.
But, like choosing among a tray of canapés or between a glass of Rioja and cava, where to begin? Perhaps it’s with Expedia’s travel assistant Romie, which can “roam” with travelers, even joining their chats on Messenger, Whatsapp or text to provide timely information about trip planning.
Or maybe it’s Google Gemini, which was already supplying information about booking options and things to do and can now use spatial data and reasoning to prioritize and make decisions while building a personal itinerary.
And then there’s OpenAI’s new voice agent that sounds more lifelike and has all the knowledge of a large language model to help travelers mull their next great adventure.
Part of the reason artificial intelligence is such an appetizing topic in travel is both the immense potential it represents and the unpredictability of where the next advancements could take the industry.
What seems clear is that the companies that adopt AI tech and use it well will have a significant advantage, said Rod Cuthbert, the founder of Viator.
“You'd be crazy to ignore it,” Cuthbert said. “Anybody who thinks or predicts they know where this is going to go is out of their mind. It could go in so many different directions.”
As appealing as it is to imagine a startup taking travel by storm with a thunderstrike of innovation, it’s more likely that an existing player like Google, or even Apple or Meta, sets the standard for how the tech is used, Cuthbert said, adding, “And I think that’s unfortunate because it will stifle innovation.”
Suzanna Chiu, head of Amadeus Ventures, sees in generative AI a great technology that enables the industry to create new tools — while also making existing tools even smarter.
“Looking at the startup, innovation scene, we were seeing superpowered, trip-planning tools in the very beginning,” she said. “Now we’re seeing the technologies moving from search and book to being able to understand the intent of the travelers a little bit better, getting into productivity use cases as well. We’re looking at supporting travel agents to be able to meet the requirements of their customers better. For example, being able to understand a huge amount of emails or supporting a call center environment with suggestions on what would be the most appropriate responses.”
