BackIn Europe, the eDreams ODIGEO online travel company is collaborating with Google’s Bard. In North America, the Kayak travel search engine has been turbocharged with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Even global destination marketing organizations (DMOs) believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will have profound impacts on travel and tourism. The data doesn’t lie: AI use cases in travel are on the rise.
Across the board — and around the globe — AI travel applications are transforming user booking journeys, customer support interactions, and, most importantly, traveler experiences. Consider how implementing these AI use cases can benefit your business.
4 Trending AI Use Cases in Travel
Artificial intelligence technology has permeated nearly every industry, and the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors are no exception. In the German market, two in ten travel businesses already utilize AI to enhance operational efficiencies and customer experiences. So, what are the primary use cases for AI in the travel industry? Here are four AI travel applications you won’t want to miss.
1. AI Travel Assistants and Itinerary Planners
One of the earliest and most prominent AI use cases in travel was virtual assistants and chatbots. Powered by a combination of large language models (LLMs) and natural language processing (NLP), smart assistants have enabled 24/7 customer support for travel brands. These solutions answer common queries and assist with customer bookings to alleviate the workload on human agents.
In recent years, AI travel assistants have evolved from simple chatbots to encompass entire AI-powered itinerary planners. Designed with a similar framework as assistants, AI itinerary planners use a combination of user data and inputted search terms to craft personalized travel experiences. Popular brands like Priceline and TripAdvisor have deployed AI travel planners.
2. AI Dynamic Travel Pricing and Booking
As AI in travel grows, more travel and hospitality providers have invested in innovative solutions to streamline and scale customer bookings. In the past two years alone, the number of providers integrating travel booking capabilities directly within their platforms has grown from 61% to 84%, according to recent arrivia research. As such, dynamic travel pricing and booking are on the rise.
With dynamic travel pricing, AI functionality automatically adjusts prices for accommodations, activities, and transportation and presents the optimal pricing to customers in real-time. Scouring an array of demand, seasonality, and competitor pricing data, a leading AI use case in travel is arrivia’s RateRover, which sends customers alerts for price drops on their desired itinerary.
3. Facial Recognition Software
Though there are several AI use cases in travel booking, artificial intelligence can also enhance operational efficiencies and user experiences once customers have departed for travel. A growing AI function for travelers is facial recognition software, which analyzes an individual’s unique facial features and compares them against a database of known faces to confirm a user’s identity.
As a leading facet of AI in tourism, AI-based facial recognition enables seamless check-ins at airports and hotels. Not only does this speed up the process and make a once-tedious component of travel more convenient, but it also enhances security. Facial recognition software is also powering mobile travel technology, putting the ease of secure identification directly into a consumer’s hand.
4. Mobile Wallets and Contactless Interactions
Speaking of AI-driven facial recognition, this same technology is also powering mobile wallet solutions, allowing travelers to access room keys, membership identification cards, and more with a quick glance at their mobile device. Consumers can now access a travel loyalty program while on the go or sign in to complementary WiFi while on a plane faster and more safely than before.
Not to mention mobile wallets are the driving force behind contactless payments and similar interactions, which have continued to gain adoption since they were popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic. With AI-enabled mobile wallets and contactless payments, travelers can make purchases at hotels and restaurants or even book travel without ever opening a physical wallet.
Challenges of Implementing AI in the Travel Industry
Despite the myriad of AI travel benefits from the above use cases, many organizations still face difficulties when deploying this trending technology. So, what challenges do travel companies face when implementing AI? The leading challenge of AI in hospitality and travel is data privacy concerns. Managing and protecting user data from cybercriminals is critical to maintaining trust.
Beyond the potential threat of data breaches or mishandled AI travel applications, there’s the challenge of high implementation costs. The initial investment in AI technology can be expensive, particularly when ensuring compatibility with legacy systems. There is also the potential for skill gaps, as these AI use cases in travel have a shortage of professionals to manage and maintain them.
AI Travel Trends: Future Travel Technology
With the growing adoption of AI use cases in travel, it begs the question: what is the future potential of AI in the travel sector? Travel, tourism, and hospitality brands can anticipate the following travel technology trends to emerge in the coming months:
- AI-Powered Predictive Analytics. With the combined power of behavioral and real-time data, expect advanced data analytics that can predict travel trends and customer behavior.
- Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). AI travel solutions will soon be pre-loaded with VR and AR experiences for virtual tours and enhanced travel planning.
- Hyper-Personalization Techniques. The expansive data sets supplied by AI will allow for more personalized travel experiences and marketing efforts based on deeper data insights.
- Sustainable Travel Solutions. As the preference for sustainable travel gains hold, AI will help optimize travel routes and accommodations for reduced environmental impact.
Contact arrivia for Guidance Integrating AI Travel Solutions
When it comes to AI use cases in travel, there’s only one thing we know for sure — the role of artificial intelligence will only become more significant. As the features of AI travel technology continue to expand, businesses that don’t capitalize on them will soon be shadowed by the competitors who do. Mark your stake in the AI travel revolution with the experts at arrivia.
As leaders at the helm of travel industry innovation, arrivia is constantly crafting new iterations of AI to be incorporated into travel bookings and rewards. With arrivia as your partner, you can avoid many of the challenges involved with adopting AI, especially the high costs of implementation.
Contact arrivia today to learn how you can integrate AI travel solutions into your business.
