World Tourism Day: Will AI plan your vacations now?

For most people, planning has been the most complex aspect of travel. The increasing number of choices, across accommodations, logistics, and experiences has snowballed into an overwhelming volume of decision-making. With easy access to information and online booking platforms, reliance on travel agents has steadily declined, and the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) planners is on the rise. From personalised recommendations, access to real-time information, streamlining the booking process, and offering round-the-clock customer support, AI has the potential to revolutionise travel planning by helping travellers make informed decisions. Indian travellers, especially the tech-savvy Generation Z, are increasingly embracing the convenience and efficiency of AI travel planning.

Indian travellers are becoming AI-friendly
Technology is increasingly playing a critical role in the evolving travel landscape, becoming an integral part of the travel experience for every traveller. The modern Indian traveller is experiencing a shift towards a more personalised and tech-driven travel experience. According to Travel Trends Data 2024 released by Booking.com, a majority (80 per cent) of Indian travellers revealed that they are likely to use AI tools in their travel planning in 2024. Moreover, 64 per cent of Indian travellers would consider using AI for travel tips, followed by restaurant suggestions (59 per cent), destination selection (57 per cent), accommodation and activity suggestions (55 per cent) along with cultural or historical advice (52 per cent).

Santosh Kumar, country manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com, shares, "Indians are seeking out ways to experience the world by leveraging technology for a seamless and frictionless experience, tailored to every kind of traveller. Across various elements of the journey, whether it's booking flights and accommodations, getting recommendations for destinations to visit, or planning, Indians are keen to incorporate technology. They are also looking to reduce financial burden and curate budget-friendly itineraries with the help of AI."

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Gen Z is leading the charge
Digital natives Gen Z enjoy having instant access to real-time information that is tailored to their preferences. It is not surprising that the sheer convenience combined with the simplified booking process makes them gravitate towards AItravel planners. "I visited Greece for the first time this summer. Being a history buff, I wanted to make sure I did not miss out on any major historical sites. When I started researching, I quickly found myself confused with all of the options I was coming across. Without expecting much, I tried my hand at Google's Gemini. Although I did not end up following the exact itinerary, I found multiple great suggestions that helped me plan. I will be consulting AI for travel tips in the future," shares 24-year-old Maya Gupta.

"We have observed that Gen Z is embracing AI and technology at every step of their trip planning process, from pre-travel planning to accommodation decisions or keeping vacation memories alive after the trip," states Kumar. Data released by Booking.com reveals that 68 per cent of Indian Gen Z are very comfortable deepening their relationship with technology to create unforgettable travel experiences and would trust AI to recommend places that are less ‘touristy' and more ‘off the beaten track' destinations. 73 per cent would use an AI trip planner to plan an itinerary for a trip. We have observed that Gen Z is embracing AI and technology at every step of their trip planning process, from pre-travel planning to accommodation decisions or keeping vacation memories alive after the trip.

The current state of AI travel planners
The focus of online travel agents and platforms has been on providing an end-to-end service to cater to all travel-related needs of the customer. From selling insurance for your next flight to recommending thrilling adventures across the globe, they are constantly aiming to provide innovative solutions. With AI planning gaining traction, providers are set to transform the travel planning experience into a personalised, immersive, and integrative experience with round-the-clock support.

Industry giant Thomas Cook and its group company SOTC Travel recently launched an AI-powered platform to provide a customised yet seamless planning and booking experience. While the platform has been deployed with sellers initially, it is expected to roll out for end customers via their websites and mobile apps over the next few months.

Swift personalisation has been the most attractive element of AI travel planning, through which the pioneering company wants to elevate the customer experience. Neeraj Singh Dev,executive vice president and head of E-commerce, India and short haul holidays at Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel, explains, "The AI-platform will help customers plan their personalised vacations, check availability, and make reservations in a matter of minutes. By taking into account factors such as preferred destinations, budget, and specific interests, our AI-driven system creates customised itineraries that cater to the individual's tastes. This personalised approach not only enhances the overall travel experience but also helps travellers discover options they might not have considered, ensuring a more meaningful and enjoyable journey."

Booking.com's AI Trip Planner, currently available in the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand goes beyond the usual, offering a visually-driven experience for travellers, while also streamlining the research progress. "Our AI Trip Planner takes the trip planning experience a step further by providing a visual list of destinations and properties, including Booking.com's pricing, with links to view more details," shares Kumar.

He suggests that the AI Trip Planner is designed to be a comprehensive trip-planning assistant. "The AI planner uses our existing machine learning and large language model (LLM) from OpenAI's ChatGPT API to provide personalised travel suggestions and support every stage of the trip planning process. Travellers can ask the AI Trip Planner for general travel information or more detailed help with trip planning, including finding potential destinations and creating itineraries," he concludes.

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How does AI personalise travel planning?
TravClan, a tech-enabled global tour operator, launched the mobile application OnTrip. The app aims to serve as a personal on-trip concierge, giving travellers real-time access to useful information like traffic advisory, weather alerts, itinerary details, and personalised recommendations. A standout feature for hassle-free pickups is that travellers have access to its real-time updates on driver information and location, similar to food delivery applications.

Chirag Agarwal, co-founder of TravClan, credits data analysis and user profiling to be the mainstay of personalisation through artificial intelligence, "AI can analyse vast amounts of data about a traveller's preferences, past trips, social media activity, and online behaviour to create detailed user profiles. This allows AI platforms to recommend destinations, activities, and accommodations that align with the traveler's interests, budget, and preferred travel style (e.g., adventure, luxury, family-friendly)."

Once user profiling is done, he says dynamic itinerary suggestions and predictive recommendations come into play."Based on user preferences and historical behaviour, AI can automatically generate personalised travel itineraries. For example, AI can recommend the best time to visit attractions, dining options that suit dietary preferences, and routes that minimise travel time. These itineraries are often dynamic and can adjust based on real-time factors like weather or crowd levels. AI also uses predictive analytics to anticipate travel needs. By analysing previous bookings and preferences, AI can suggest future destinations or experiences even before the traveller begins planning. It might also recommend lesser-known spots based on what similar travellers have enjoyed," he explains.

Travel agents can also leverage these AI-powered tools to offer personalised quotes and high-quality alternatives through Large Language Models (LLMs), according to Agarwal. "Large Language Models (LLMs) can personalise travel quotes by analysing past data and current reviews of hotels and sightseeing spots. By using an agent's historical bookings and client preferences, LLMs can generate tailored recommendations, highlighting hotels or attractions that match these preferences. They can also incorporate real-time sentiment analysis from recent reviews, ensuring that only top-rated options are included. This allows travel agents to offer highly relevant, up-to-date quotes, improving customer satisfaction and streamlining the booking process. The result is a more personalised and efficient way to curate travel experiences for clients."

Real-time optimisation and support
Beyond personalisation, AI planners also offer numerous capabilities to optimise every aspect of trip planning. Every platform is actively working to enhance the overall trip planning experience by developing unique features and functionalities to meet the needs of their customers.

Among the most enticing ones offered by Thomas Cook's AI platform include flexible customisation (which will allow travellers to partly adjust every element of the itinerary to suit individual preferences), budget optimisation, and hotel price predictions. An interesting way Booking.com is using AI to ease decision-making for the end customer is by optimising the right order to display a hotel's photos and surfacing the most relevant reviews.

TravelClan uses machine learning algorithms to forecast demand and boost optimisation across processes. "Machine learning is used to analyse and predict flight and hotel price trends, optimise travel routes, and forecast demand, allowing TravClan to allocate resources in various destinations and products accordingly, e.g., if we see there is high demand for 4-star hotels in the price range of 5000 INR to 7000 INR in Kashmir, we are able to pre-purchase or block inventory accordingly," shares Agarwal.

Owing to quick response time, scalability, language capabilities, and round-the-clock support, AI chatbots are becoming increasingly popular. Designed to simulate human conversation, these virtual chatbots allow customers to interact with a virtual agent through text or voice.


Dev informs us that 30 per cent of the queries received from customers get resolved via their AI platform. He says, "AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants offer 24/7 customer support, handling a wide range of queries from booking confirmations to itinerary modifications. These tools provide accurate information, ensure immediate assistance and quick resolution with minimal human intervention, enabling travellers to receive timely support at any time and improving overall satisfaction."

Will travel planning by humans become obsolete?
"I recently started using AI to do basic research for my travels, but when it comes to the experiential aspect (for example, art museums, jazz bars, culturally immersive tours), I rely on the local expertise of friends and family or information from travel experts. Being a seasoned traveller, I have specific interests and parameters about what I want to spend my time and energy on. How am I supposed to explain my subjective preferences for things like food and art to a chatbot?" shares travel enthusiast Jayantika Khanna.

While AI travel planners offer convenience and efficiency, it seems the human touch is far from being obsolete. Amrit and Simi Singh take are sisters, travel planners, and itinerary creators who have helped 5,000 travellers over the past three years. Will AI travel planners completely replace human travel planners? Simi Singh poses, "I don't think there is any competition. In my experience, no AI platform has ever given me a really useful itinerary. All they do is collate a list from Google but nothing about how to get to a place, prices, recommendations, or even Google Maps links."

With over 129,000 followers on their Instagram (@lifewiththesinghsisters), it seems that travellers continue to be drawn towards expert advice, the quality of which AI might struggle to replicate. The New Delhi resident gives us insight into their process, "AI doesn't have emotions and fails to understand what people are looking for. AI is great for logical answers but fails to consider scenarios of different needs of the same kind of trip requirements. For example, a family with two kids where they can explore a lot versus a family with the same-aged kids where the kids are introverts and cannot do the trip at the same pace."

She recalls a recent case, "A client approached us in July to plan their November honeymoon to Australia or New Zealand within a nine lakh budget. We advised them to book flights and start the visa process immediately. Unfortunately, they couldn't apply for visas in time. After a few discussions, we proposed a shorter honeymoon to Mauritius (six days) and a larger trip for the following summer to stay within the budget."

Instead of choosing to cancel the trip, the sisters creatively proposed an alternative that not only allowed the couple to enjoy a highly anticipated vacation but also preserved their larger travel budget for a more extensive trip the following summer, echoing the importance of human intuition and empathy in the travel planning process.