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Pilar Martínez
Malaga
Friday, 7 July 2023, 13:21
Artificial intelligence is heralding a new revolution in tourism and raises new questions about how it will affect the sector and what new challenges it poses. A recent report by OBS Business School provided some keys to new technological trends that can be applied to the travel industry.
The study, led by Joan Barceló, academic director of the school's Global MBA, warned that the main challenge for companies in the tourism sector will be to create quality virtual travel experiences. It was highlighted by a statistic in the report that showed 46% of travellers say they are willing to experience a destination virtually before planning a trip to that location.
The travel industry before the pandemic represented 10.3% of global GDP and generated one in ten jobs. Spain has been, in the last ten years, one of the three most visited countries in the world, welcoming in 2022 more than 71 million international tourists with an expenditure of 87,061 million euros, figures that are close to those of 2019, the study referenced.
The report pointed out that tourists enjoy their getaway from the moment they start planning it until after their return, when reflecting on the memories. That is why "it is important for companies in the sector to be able to identify those aspects that will make the tourist's trip more comfortable, complete and satisfactory", the report said.
Travel companions
New technologies will be the new companions of travellers. Some 98% of travellers already get information online before booking, and platforms such as Instagram (44%), Facebook (33%) and TikTok (22%) have become important sources of inspiration when it comes to travelling, especially the Generation Z. Virtual travel communities are other online sources where travellers share information and visual content, according to the report.
But changes are already happening. Virtual reality, augmented reality or the metaverse can be similar sources of inspiration because they allow you to experience sensations before deciding where to travel. "Forty-six percent of travellers say they are willing to experiment virtually before making their trip, and this percentage is expected to increase to 50% in the coming years," it said in the report, which pointed out pioneering initiatives such as that of the airline KLM, which already uses augmented reality to check the size of luggage and virtual reality to train its employees.
World2Fly, also offers the possibility of taking a virtual tour of the plane to choose the seats that best suit the traveller's preferences. Hotels offering tools by which travellers can virtually tour the entire complex and enter the rooms until they can book the one they feel most comfortable in are also part of the technological revolution that is just around the corner.
The study warned companies in the sector in the near future to be able to create quality virtual experiences. pointing out that technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence will be key to this.
Today, travellers visit an average of 35 different websites before booking their trip and up to 93% say they prefer retailers that make it easy for them to search, offering them help to filter through the available options even if it means paying more, according to the report. "77% of travellers have interacted with a chatbot at some point, but when faced with any kind of problem, three out of four prefer to be dealt with by a person via phone or chat," it noted.
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