How Artificial Intelligence Leads the Future of Travel Tourism Marketing

The Travel industry is ripe for disruption, and OTA’s (Online Travel Agencies) still have many opportunities to create and advance within their niche. New channels and Technology, such as messaging, Chatbots, and Voice Search, can potentially revolutionize how we travel and purchase within this industry.

As inflation and the cost of travel increases, competition in this industry may be particularly affected, we can see this in the increased costs for airlines and hotels, as prices rise across the industry, budget-conscious travelers may become more selective in their travel choices; as travel becomes more expensive, travelers will  adjust their travel patterns to save money.

The Travel industry will need to be mindful of these factors as they navigate the current economic environment. The stall in global Tourism has had a significant impact on the Travel industry, and businesses in this industry will need to be creative and adaptable in order to survive and thrive in the post-pandemic world. Through features that enhance personalization and customer service, AI and Machine Learning could result in a $1 trillion boost in global economic activity for the travel and tourism sector by 2025, according to The World Travel and Tourism Council. This is just one small example of how the use of AIs will  boost the travel industry. 

KAYAK the all-in-one travel App is pioneering how this disruption might occur within the travel industry. On March 23, 2023, they announced that users could now access the ChatGPT software and ask questions regarding their hotel and flight inquiries, and the bot will, in turn, ask KAYAK.

@globeair AI travel has landed! This AI voice recognition allows you to book a flight in seconds! #GlobeAir#privatejet#ai#artificialintelligence#aicoding#aitool#aitools♬ original sound – GlobeAir #MyPrivateJet

“ChatGPT will act as a virtual travel assistant, allowing for more conversational interactions with KAYAK’s search engine.” Kayak

This is incredibly appealing to the user:  according to a study by Google, 57% of U.S. travelers feel that brands should tailor their information based on personal preferences or past behaviors. Machine Learning becomes a vital part of the travel experience. The use of ChatGPT, and other tools, is expanding from a search engine towards a horizon in which it might become a platform that enables Retail as well.

On the other hand, Expedia Group also announced the creation of a ChatGpt plugin that transforms the bot from a search tool to look at flights, hotels, and experiences into a back door that allows users to click through to Expedia to book their trip.

“We view this as a really interesting capability to make the shopping experience, the discovery experience, easier for certain people who want to use natural language,” says Expedia CEO Peter Kern.

The implementation of AI to services like KAYAK and EXPEDIA is transformative to the UX (User Experience) as it will allow the platforms to offer their clients a personalized travel experience well beyond typical booking services. It could resolve issues such as concierge services or provide guided tours at museums and attractions tailored to the user experience, to mention a few examples.

However, tUX will still be the most important part of Travel Tourism: integrating a plugin may automate some processes but a creative team that understands the needs of your client is crucial to transform a query on chatGPT into a CTA. Our creative team is here to help you create a transformative experience with guaranteed results. 

How can DMO’s (Destination Marketing Organizations)  and Travel and Travel Retail brands utilize AI to their advantage across chat, text, image, video, and personalization?
The use of A.I. to optimize our existing campaigns outperforms daily ad operations by experienced in-house managers by 35% in terms of conversion effectiveness. This is on top of the 30% improvement in conversions that we already observe over managed service providers and outsourced ad operations providers. Our integrated (creative, media and tech) team is here to help you create a transformative, AI-infused conversion-first experience for your travel tourism and travel retail campaigns.