Improving customer experience, the key to AI in the tourism sector
The travel and tourism ecosystem is moving towards a future where technology will play a major role, especially artificial intelligence.
40% of companies in the sector highlight that one of the main reasons for integrating AI into their operations is to improve customer insight, relationships and experience. This is one of the main conclusions of the sectoral analysis contained in the Ascendant report by Minsait (Indra) which, under the title "AI: X-ray of a revolution in progress", analyses its degree of adoption in private companies and public institutions. Such is the impact of technology in tourism that 80% of companies are already using AI in some specific area of their daily operations.
In the words of Emilio Mora, Global Head of Hospitality, Airlines and International Industry at Minsait, "Artificial intelligence is positioned as a key catalyst for operational excellence, innovation and continuous improvement in the Travel and Tourism sector over the coming years. Companies that are able to effectively embrace and integrate this transformation with a strategic vision will be better positioned to lead in a dynamic and competitive landscape".
According to the Ascendant report, the area where the Travel & Tourism sector is experimenting the most with artificial intelligence is within travel booking and sales management, with 33% of companies developing specific use cases such as hyper-personalised recommendation systems.
Among other specific use cases, 33% of organisations have been identified as using it for the management of logistics and accommodation operations or tourism promotion. Next, 22% use it to improve customer experience and service at the destination, for fleet and route management, or for inventory management. In addition, other use cases that the travel industry is focusing on include incident management and aircraft loading and unloading control.
AI-driven optimisation will not only increase operational efficiency and productivity, one of the main motivations for its integration in 67% of businesses, but will also enable the travel industry to significantly improve the quality and personalisation of the customer experience. This, in turn, will translate into higher conversion and loyalty, a strategic aspect that can make the difference in the coming years.
In addition, it is worth noting that in all travel and tourism related businesses, AI is able to analyse, draw conclusions and identify patterns or develop actions. However, there are currently some barriers that hinder the incorporation of this technology, such as the recruitment of talent with advanced skills or the lack of governance and security mechanisms.
AI as a catalyst for operational excellence
The impact of this tool on the tourism value chain is significant. Core activities such as identifying emerging trends, booking and activity management and marketing have been transformed by implementing predictive analytics, recommendation systems and automated processing, and segmentation algorithms and chatbots capable of personalising interactions.
The Ascendant report also highlights the role of artificial intelligence for the adoption of responsible practices in the hospitality industry, able to address sustainability challenges with specific ESG use cases, such as the implementation of smart environmental management systems in hotels.
The fifth edition of Minsait's Ascendant Digital Maturity 2024 Report addresses the context and degree of adoption of artificial intelligence by companies and public administrations. To this end, the information provided by more than 900 organisations in Spain and other countries from 15 different sectors of activity has been analysed.