Skip to content
The Role of AI in the Travel Industry
Artificial intelligence has fundamentally transformed the travel industry in recent years. What once began with automated booking systems has evolved into intelligent, data-driven experience planning. Today, AI is present across nearly every stage of the customer journey: from travel inspiration and booking to check-in on site.
One of the central promises: greater efficiency combined with increased personalization. Travelers receive dynamic pricing models, tailored recommendations, and digitally supported experiences – all in seconds and at scale. Expedia, for example, uses generative AI to enable conversational trip planning directly in its app – including accommodation and activity suggestions based on individual interests.
Industry analyses confirm this trend. According to an international study by Marriott and The Future Laboratory, 20% of travelers already actively use AI when planning their vacations – and as many as 86% are significantly influenced by AI-generated results in their booking decisions. Booking platforms like Booking.com are also increasingly automating processes and using AI to boost conversion.
The development has been rapid – and the transformation is already a reality. A brief overview:
- Until 2020: Digitalization and automation were the focus: the development of OTA platforms, the first chatbots, and automated booking processes laid the groundwork for digital customer experiences. → Status: Foundational infrastructure
- 2021–2022 : The use of machine learning enabled dynamic pricing, personalized recommendations, and real-time segmentation. → Status: Intelligent planning logic
- From 2023: The breakthrough of generative AI: Expedia integrates ChatGPT into its app for conversational travel planning, Booking.com launches its AI Trip Planner. For the first time, travelers can use AI to plan complete trips individually. → Status: Initial conversational travel planning
- 2024–2025: Widespread scaling and integration of generative AI: from virtual concierge services to automated review summaries and personalized itineraries with smart filtering. Large providers are implementing these functions across the board, with mid-sized companies following. → Status: Broad application among large and mid-sized providers
The Downsides: Challenges of AI Integration
Despite all progress, the use of AI in tourism does not come without challenges. Data protection is particularly critical: many applications rely on personal preferences, location data, or booking histories. This requires clear rules for handling sensitive information – and trust from users. At the same time, many small and medium-sized enterprises lack the technical infrastructure or expertise to use AI meaningfully and in compliance with data protection laws. Even more significant: the emotional gap. A recent study by the Bavarian Center for Tourism shows:
- 70% of travelers prefer direct human contact for services.
- 69% find AI interactions impersonal.
- 68% say that emotional exchange remains a central part of travel for them.
These findings make one thing clear: digitalization can do a lot – but not everything.
Human and Machine: A Question of Balance
Especially in tourism PR, it’s not just about reach, but about resonance. Travelers seek emotional stories, cultural exchange, and unexpected experiences. They trust recommendations that arise from real encounters – not from purely algorithmic relevance.
The solution isn’t either-or, but both-and: AI tools can support campaigns, analyze target groups and data sets, and personalize content. But the real difference is often made in personal conversations, during joint press trips, and in direct exchanges with partners or media.
How We Approach This Challenge: KLEBER GROUP Insights
We closely observe technological developments such as AI – and use relevant tools selectively to support our work efficiently.
But one thing remains central for us: the human component is irreplaceable. Trust is built through genuine interaction – with clients, journalists, partners, and industry stakeholders. Communication at eye level, spontaneous ideas, and truly listening cannot be replaced by algorithms.
A recent example: In June 2025, our colleague Carolin Benda, Senior PR Consultant, represented a potential client at the Visit Maldives Roadshow in Zurich. On behalf of AAA Island Resorts in the Maldives, she presented the product in person on site. Her conclusion:
“In a time shaped by digitalization, AI, and ChatGPT, it is especially important in our industry that we still sit across from each other. Even with AI, we remain human – with a need for trust, closeness, and connection. That’s exactly why in-person meetings matter. At the roadshow, I often heard: ‘How nice that events like this still exist!’ – because you’re not just exchanging information, but spending an evening in conversation, meeting spontaneously, laughing, discussing, thinking together. Even the best e-meetings can’t replace that.”
Encounters like these confirm it for us every day: The future lies in connection – not substitution.
Sources:
¹ Expedia Group (2023): „ChatGPT in the Expedia App“
² Touristik aktuell (2024): „KI und Nachhaltigkeit als wichtige Reisetrends“
³ FAZ (2025): „Booking.com: Wenn die KI den Urlaub plant“
⁴ Tourism Review (2024): „KI-Trends verändern den Tourismussektor“
⁵ Deutscher Bundestag (2024): „Gesetzesrahmen für künstliche Intelligenz in der EU“
⁶ Wependio (2023): „Künstliche Intelligenz im Tourismus – Chancen und Hindernisse“
⁷ Bayerisches Zentrum für Tourismus (2024): „KI und emotionale Akzeptanz im Reiseverhalten“
Picture rights: © iStock LanaStock