AI's impact on travel industry
A key risk discussed where AI agents could disintermediate online travel agencies like Expedia by booking flights and hotels directly with providers, threatening their core business.
entitydetail.created_at
8/20/2025, 3:38:27 AM
entitydetail.last_updated
8/20/2025, 3:39:57 AM
entitydetail.research_retrieved
8/20/2025, 3:39:57 AM
Summary
Artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly transforming the travel industry by enhancing customer service, streamlining operations, and enabling personalized travel experiences. Agentic platforms, such as Perplexity, pose a significant challenge to traditional online travel agencies (OTAs) by potentially disintermediating their services, though valuable assets like VRBO may retain strategic importance. This shift is driven by a growing demand for personalized travel, increased adoption of AI customer service tools, and advancements in machine learning and natural language processing. The burgeoning energy requirements of AI applications are also prompting major tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to invest substantially in nuclear energy. Globally, nations like China, which began its AI development in the late 1970s and aims for global AI leadership by 2030, are rapidly advancing AI research and deployment, influencing the technological landscape that impacts sectors like travel, despite concerns regarding censorship and export controls.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Key Impact
Potential disintermediation of traditional Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)
Driving Factor
Advancements in machine learning and natural language processing
Key Technology
Autonomous agents
Ethical Concern
Impact of government censorship on AI development
Associated Solution
Investment in nuclear energy by tech companies
Associated Challenge
Significant energy demand for AI applications
Timeline
- The roots of China's AI development began in the late 1970s following Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms, setting a global context for AI advancement. (Source: Wikipedia)
1970s
- The Chinese government began steadily developing a national agenda for artificial intelligence development. (Source: Wikipedia)
2006-01-01
- The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released its thirteenth five-year plan, aiming for China to become a global AI leader by 2030. (Source: Wikipedia)
2016-01-01
- China published the Data Security Law of the People's Republic of China, its first national law addressing AI-related ethical concerns. (Source: Wikipedia)
2021-01-01
- The United States federal government announced export controls and trade restrictions intended to restrict China's access to advanced computer chips for AI applications, impacting the global AI development landscape. (Source: Wikipedia)
2022-10-01
- Wipro, in collaboration with SIAM.AI and using NVIDIA Corporation's AI platform, developed Sukjai, an AI-powered assistant for the Tourism Authority of Thailand, offering real-time, personalized travel information and support. (Source: Web Search Results)
2024-12-01
- A significant share of travel companies' revenue worldwide is influenced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). (Source: Web Search Results)
2024-01-01
- Generative AI and autonomous agents are expected to dramatically change how travel is searched, booked, and experienced, and how travel companies operate. (Source: Web Search Results)
2025-01-01
- China aims to achieve global leadership in Artificial Intelligence. (Source: Wikipedia)
2030-01-01
Wikipedia
View on WikipediaArtificial intelligence industry in China
The artificial intelligence industry in the People's Republic of China is a rapidly developing multi-billion dollar industry. The roots of China's AI development started in the late 1970s following Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms emphasizing science and technology as the country's primary productive force. The initial stages of China's AI development were slow and encountered significant challenges due to lack of resources and talent. At the beginning China was behind most Western countries in terms of AI development. A majority of the research was led by scientists who had received higher education abroad. Since 2006, the government of the People's Republic of China has steadily developed a national agenda for artificial intelligence development and emerged as one of the leading nations in artificial intelligence research and development. In 2016, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released its thirteenth five-year plan in which it aimed to become a global AI leader by 2030. The State Council has a list of "national AI teams" including fifteen China-based companies, including Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, SenseTime, and iFlytek. Each company should lead the development of a designated specialized AI sector in China, such as facial recognition, software/hardware, and speech recognition. China's rapid AI development has significantly impacted Chinese society in many areas, including the socio-economic, military, intelligence, and political spheres. Agriculture, transportation, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing are the top industries that would be the most impacted by further AI deployment. The private sector, university laboratories, and the military are working collaboratively in many aspects as there are few current existing boundaries. In 2021, China published the Data Security Law of the People's Republic of China, its first national law addressing AI-related ethical concerns. In October 2022, the United States federal government announced a series of export controls and trade restrictions intended to restrict China's access to advanced computer chips for AI applications. Concerns have been raised about the effects of the Chinese government's censorship regime on the development of generative artificial intelligence and talent acquisition with state of the country's demographics. Others have noted that official notions of AI safety require following the priorities of the CCP and are antithetical to standards in democratic societies.
Web Search Results
- How Does AI-Powered Customer Support Benefit the Travel Industry?
Image 4: NICE - AI Customer Service Automation Solutions AI-powered customer support in the travel industry leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance and automate customer service, streamline operations, and provide personalized, real-time assistance to travelers. By automating routine tasks and offering instant responses, AI-powered customer support ensures a seamless travel experience, leading to higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and efficiency. 5. Supporting 24/7 Customer Service: AI-powered customer support systems provide round-the-clock assistance, ensuring that travelers can access help at any time, regardless of their time zone. Discover how NICE's mPower platform can help you integrate AI-powered customer support into your travel business to improve efficiency, scalability, and customer satisfaction.
- AI-influenced revenue share of travel companies worldwide
Coffee market worldwide Statista Dossier Water industry worldwide Statista Dossier Digitalization of the travel industry Statista Dossier # AI-influenced revenue share of travel companies worldwide 2018-2024 ## Share of travel companies' revenue that was influenced by Artificial Intelligence (AI) worldwide in 2018 and 2021, with a forecast for 2024 Main resources used by travelers for accommodation research worldwide as of August 2024 Main ways travel companies used generative artificial intelligence (AI) worldwide as of 3rd quarter 2024 Main ways travel companies used generative AI worldwide 2024 ## Statistics on " Artificial intelligence (AI) use in travel and tourism " ## Other statistics that may interest you Artificial intelligence (AI) use in travel and tourism Use of AI by travel and tourism companies
- Phocuswright's Travel Innovation and Technology Trends 2025
Searching for, booking and experiencing travel, as well as how travel companies operate, are all subject to dramatic change in the coming years as GenAI and digital identity converge. These agents will increasingly be able to personalize content and recommendations using information they already know about travelers as well as information provided in chat conversations and through digital identity credentials and preferences. **This year, we will examine how GenAI and autonomous agents will impact four key areas of travel through a series of public online events titled “The New Age(nts),” which align with four of the trends outlined in this report:** ### **A series of online conversations exploring the impact of generative AI and autonomous agents on the travel industry**
- AI in Tourism Market Size & Share | Industry Report, 2030
AI in Tourism Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Offering (Solution, Services), By End Use (Transportation & Mobility Services, Travel Technology Platforms & Solution Providers), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2025 - 2030 For instance, in December 2024, Wipro, in collaboration with SIAM.AI, an AI infrastructure and services provider in Thailand, and using NVIDIA Corporation’s AI platform, developed Sukjai, an AI-powered assistant for the Tourism Authority of Thailand, to offer real-time, personalized travel information and support. b. Key factors that are driving the market growth include increasing demand for personalized travel experiences, rising adoption of AI-powered customer service tools, growing investment in digital transformation by tourism companies, and advancements in machine learning and natural language processing.
- AI elevates customer service in travel and transportation
AI elevates customer service in travel and transportation | Roland Berger Image 13: AI elevates customer service in travel and transportation **Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming customer service in the travel and transportation industry. Their responses offer insights into the specific customer service challenges in travel and transportation, the most promising AI applications, current adoption levels and real-world use cases. AI adoption in customer service faces several challenges in the travel and transportation industry. STUDY Image 16: Customer service in the age of AI Customer service in the age of AI --------------------------------- AI has the power to transform customer service in companies across industries. Expertise Image 18: Transportation, Tourism & Logistics Transportation, Tourism & Logistics ----------------------------------- Roland Berger supports the mobility and logistics industry in digitization along the entire value chain.