Could AI ultimately replace the Travel Professional?

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I wrote about the massive inroads that technology was making into the travel industry, and we spoke about the possibility that technology could replace the working Travel Agent. My conclusion at that time was that it could not, and we discussed the many reasons why. Now, AI is the new buzzword. Every second article I read about Travel and Tourism includes it, and so, whether we like it or not, it is a very real presence now in ours, and most other industries, and we ignore it at our peril.

 The difference between the discussion about technology and AI, however, is that the issue of whether it could replace human beings is a far more highlighted with AI, as any form of ‘intelligence’ seems to directly encroach on a human being’s exclusive domain. The fact that AI is apparently already taking quite a few people’s jobs and threatening many small businesses’ livelihoods also doesn’t help, and makes this discussion a far more urgent one. So, could AI ultimately replace the Travel Professional? I still say a resounding NO! As amazing and useful as AI will be (if correctly implemented and monitored by humans) there are certain human qualities that will forever remain irreplaceable.

The upside

You may wonder why I am so confident that people will always have their place in our industry, whilst so many others are in such a panic. Well, one reason is that, within my company at least, with an understanding of the value of our people, we are looking at the best ways we can implement what AI has to offer, but only if driven by them. An example of this is a presentation that was delivered to our EXCO and leadership teams, which addressed common questions about AI and demonstrated how it can be integrated into the travel business without replacing human roles.

Undoubtedly, AI will be a massive boon to the Travel and Tourism industries, a tool that helps agents process large volumes of data efficiently, such as filtering travel options based on specific criteria, and much more, but despite all of this, it was stressed that human agents are still needed for tasks requiring empathy and nuanced judgment. AI cannot provide empathy or handle emergencies, such as re-booking during travel disruptions, and cannot fully understand context, audience, or tone, which are essential for quality service.

The analogy of the mineshaft

When we discussed the possibility of technology replacing people, I stressed the value of the Travel Agent’s reassuring voice when one is across the globe and suddenly facing some sort of crisis. Maybe the best way to describe this is to remove yourself from our industry and imagine you are a Miner, working many thousands of meters below the ground, and suddenly there is a landslide causing your shaft to be inaccessible.. Now answer this question. If you were fortunate enough to have communication with  ground level, would you want that to be with a bot, assuming the bot had even figured you were trapped, or would you rather have the reassuring voice of your human ground controller saying ‘’Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. We’ll get you out of there?’’ I don’t know about you, but I know my answer, and that’s why I stand by my opinion that AI will never replace our people. From the time of the Industrial Revolution, certain workers’ jobs have been lost, but we’ve gone on to replace them with new ways of doing things. I remain convinced that no machine, technology, or Artificial Intelligence will ever replace people – because they simply don’t have what we have – a heart!

Lidia de Olim
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER