What’s the best way to find out how AI is shaping travel? Ask an AI expert. With a tech career spanning Optus, Seven, and Nine, Lucio Ribeiro has certainly earned his stripes as one of Australia’s most sought-after AI speakers.
It is why Travel Weekly has asked him to speak at our upcoming Travel DAZE conference in Cairns. To see Ribeiro speak in person, you can buy your tickets here.
How is AI changing travel?
The travel industry is one of the most impacted by AI and Generative AI, and this impact is set to intensify dramatically by 2025. AI is fundamentally reshaping the entire travel ecosystem, streamlining operations, improving customer service, managing predictive analytics more efficiently, and delivering a more customized experience for customers.
There’s a lot of invisible AI already addressing some of the toughest challenges in travel: dynamic pricing algorithms predicting and adjusting flight and hotel prices, security screening enhancements at airports using vision AI, regulatory compliance monitoring, and even complex supply-chain optimisations. But now, we’re seeing AI tackle even more sophisticated challenges. By 2025, we expect Agentic AI, such as Expedia’s ChatGPT-powered travel assistant, to create fully autonomous travel experiences. These intelligent AI agents autonomously manage complete travel journeys, from bookings and reservations to real-time itinerary adjustments based on factors like weather, flight delays, local events, or even the traveller’s current mood.
Additionally, the rise of the “hyper-informed” customer is already reshaping interactions within the industry. Travellers increasingly enter travel retail stores equipped with comprehensive research from AI tools like ChatGPT, often knowing more about destinations and options than travel agents. This shift is forcing businesses to elevate their service standards, moving beyond mere information-sharing to sophisticated personalisation and real-time responsiveness.
Some of the incumbents like Expedia and Booking.com are pushing AI-powered agents that personalise experiences seamlessly. Expedia’s ChatGPT-powered assistant, for instance, can autonomously manage and adjust an entire trip based on personal preferences and real-time conditions, creating frictionless travel experiences.
Looking forward, AI agents will further evolve to act as personal travel companions, intuitively managing entire travel experiences from planning and booking to on-the-go adjustments. They’ll anticipate disruptions, suggest spontaneous activities tailored to traveller preferences, and even optimise trips for sustainability.
From a customer perspective, I agree that the introduction of AI-powered agents will be the most impactful make-or-break development for the travel industry. Moreover, as environmental concerns grow, these AI agents will likely play a crucial role in promoting and facilitating sustainable travel options, aligning with the increasing demand for eco-friendly tourism.
By 2025/2026, AI won’t be a feature of travel services; it will be the foundation for operations. The challenges for travel are many—from legacy systems to cultural hesitance—but there’s not much time left to remain neutral on AI integration.
Where is the biggest opportunity to use AI in travel?
The immediate biggest opportunity to use AI in travel is through smart integration of AI-powered agents to improve prospects and customer experience.
It has to be coordinated and strategic. I use a framework called the 7P Framework (Persona, Purpose, Public, Parameters, Presentation, Prompt, Prompt Iteration) that helps businesses strategically implement AI agents to create AI programs that cause impact, significantly enhancing traveller satisfaction and loyalty.
Some key applications and examples:
Dynamic Itinerary Management: AI agents can dynamically manage travel plans, adjusting itineraries in real-time to address disruptions like flight delays, geopolitical tensions, or economic uncertainty. These systems anticipate and proactively respond to travel-related challenges, ensuring smoother experiences.
Addressing Industry Frustrations. AI agents directly target key traveller pain points:
Dynamic Pricing: Algorithms predict optimal flight and hotel prices, offering customers greater transparency and better value.
Crowding and Overtourism: AI-driven platforms actively monitor and predict overcrowding, redirecting travellers to less congested sites or experiences, as demonstrated by sustainable tourism efforts in destinations like Amsterdam.
Streamlined Travel Documentation. Enhanced AI tools, similar to Smartraveller’s recent updates, simplify travel documentation processes by automating passport expiry reminders, visa rule alerts, and managing seamless ETIAS applications.
The implementation approach for AI is not different from the implementation approach for other strategic initiatives: Assess → Plan → Implement → Performance Analysis → Change → Embedding.
If you are a small business owner in travel, what is one way that you can be using AI?
For small travel businesses with limited budgets, AI can help improve operations without breaking the bank—and can even help generate new business. By focusing on areas such as business discovery, customer engagement, and marketing optimisation, small operators can leverage AI with minimal investment.
First, I’d suggest getting familiar with tools like ChatGPT or Claude. Invest in a paid version to protect your information, and learn how to get the most out of it. Just doing that can help with everyday tasks like writing copy, creating ads, doing research, analysing reports, or making sense of financial metrics.
Next, I’d focus on the basics: can people easily find your business online? One of the simplest but most impactful ways AI can help is by improving business discovery. For example, small businesses can use AI tools on platforms like Hootsuite or Buffer to analyse social media trends, understand audience preferences, and spot emerging travel trends. This information can help you tailor your offerings to exactly what customers want, right now.
AI is also fantastic for customer engagement, making interactions quicker and more personalised. Google My Business is a perfect example. By enabling automated responses through AI-powered tools, small businesses can professionally and efficiently handle customer inquiries. Whether someone asks about opening hours, availability, or local recommendations, Google’s automated responses handle it instantly, keeping customers satisfied and freeing up your time.
For marketing optimisation, affordable tools like Canva’s Magic Write or ChatGPT can help you quickly generate engaging blog posts, social media captions, or even detailed travel itineraries. Imagine you’re a boutique tour operator—you can easily create content like “Top Hidden Gems in Byron Bay” or an Instagram caption showcasing your latest package deals without the need for expensive content creators. Additionally, platforms like Mailchimp have free plans offering AI-driven features that personalise email campaigns based on customer behaviours. A small bed-and-breakfast, for example, can send targeted offers like weekend getaway specials or loyalty discounts effortlessly.
Finally, AI helps simplify feedback analysis. Tools like ChatGPT or Claude can quickly summarise and identify insights from customer reviews on platforms like TripAdvisor, Airbnb, or Google. This allows you to rapidly spot areas of improvement or discover popular features to enhance your offerings.
In short, even without extensive resources, small travel businesses can easily incorporate AI into daily operations.
By focusing on practical applications like discovery, customer engagement, marketing optimisation, and feedback analysis, these accessible AI tools will help you save time, improve service quality, and keep your customers happy.
Start small, measure success, and gradually integrate AI into your daily workflow
What do you think the industry will look like in 10 years?
I really wish I knew!
As any industry, the travel industry will change dramatically over the next 10 years—but let’s start by looking at what isn’t going to change. Innovation, after all, is just a new way to deliver to old human needs. In travel, what won’t change is the desire for new experiences, the need for human connection, the pursuit of relaxation, and the value of creating memories.
With that in mind, here are my predictions on what the travel industry might look like in 2035, especially through the lens of Generative AI:
Hyper-personalised experiences: AI-powered agents will create deeply tailored travel plans, intuitively adapting to your real-time needs—from itinerary changes due to weather, to spontaneous recommendations based on your mood.
Travel “superapps” as standard: We’ll see GenAI-powered platforms that seamlessly integrate everything from travel inspiration and bookings, to real-time assistance during trips—all in a single, user-friendly interface.
Effortless customer service: AI-driven virtual assistants will become the primary way customers interact with businesses, efficiently managing routine inquiries, bookings, and personalised suggestions, freeing human teams to handle more complex and emotionally nuanced interactions.
Sustainable travel at scale: AI will play a key role in promoting and enabling eco-friendly tourism, helping travellers make more sustainable choices with minimal friction.
Autonomous travel systems: Expect significant leaps forward in AI-powered autonomous vehicles, reshaping transportation within destinations. Self-driving cars and autonomous city shuttles will become common, offering convenience and efficiency.
Immersive travel planning: AI combined with immersive technologies will transform trip planning through hyper-realistic previews and virtual experiences, letting travellers virtually explore destinations before deciding.
Ultimately, by 2035, AI won’t just be an exciting new feature; it’ll be at the core of how the entire travel industry operates. Legacy systems and cultural hesitance might slow progress, but there won’t be much room for neutrality. Businesses will need to embrace AI as their foundational technology or risk becoming obsolete.
Featured image: Lucio Ribeiro
