Given
the widespread knowledge and interest in using technologies like generative
artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality among
today’s travelers, travel brands should continue down the path toward
integrating them into the ways in which travel can be planned, booked and experienced. In doing so, they
should make a concerted effort to ensure that all interactions are safe, private and as convenient as possible.
In
addition to travelers’ broad awareness of generative AI – and despite some of
the “doom and gloom” scenarios about the
potential dangers of the technology – a significant share of those who are
aware of it report they would be extremely or somewhat comfortable using a generative AI tool to help them plan a trip.
For
example, according to Phocuswright’s latest travel research report GenAI and Emerging Tech Use Among Travelers, nearly half of travelers would be comfortable in
a chatbot interaction where they provide their trip preferences and the AI platform offers a range of
recommendations (see figure below). French and German travelers were
the least likely to be comfortable with this application.
As with all nascent technology, early adopters for travel
skew younger.
When it comes to comfort level with using generative AI to
help plan a trip, those most comfortable are more likely to be under 55 in the
United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, or under 35 in France, Germany
and Spain (see figure below).
Overall, the youngest travelers seem the most comfortable,
with the exceptions being the U.S. and U.K., where the 35-54 cohort express the
greatest comfort. Notably, young Spaniards are by far the most likely to
indicate ease/comfort in incorporating AI into their travel planning process.
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This article is derived from the findings of Phocuswright’s 2023 consumer travel surveys in Europe, Canada and the United States and explores travelers’ awareness of and attitudes toward generative AI and other emerging technologies.