July 21, 2023: Travellers using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT to plan their travel itineraries is set to boom, according to market research company Euromonitor International.
Travellers can access AI tools from various devices, including smartphones and computers, at any time and from anywhere with an internet connection.
A resounding 97.8% of travel executives in the Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Industry: Travel Survey stated that AI would have an impact over the next five years.    
AI could disrupt travel bookings industry, which is already highly digitalised. Says Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel and Tourism Research at Euromonitor International: “ChatGPT is taking travel and the world by storm. With travel highly digitalised where 66% of all bookings are conducted online in 2023 and mobile accounts for 35% of all online sales, disruption from generative AI is already rife.”
The travel industry is already adapting. Expedia announced in April 2023 its collaboration with OpenAI, offering in-app trip planning powered by ChatGPT for iOS, as well as offering a plug-in to ChatGPT Plus users. The Expedia ChatGPT experience provides personalised recommendations, acting like a virtual travel assistant, delivering relevant results for hotels and what to do in destination.  
Booking Holding’s Kayak and OpenTable also announced ChatGPT plug-ins. Other travel brands like TripAdvisor, GetYourGuide and Klook followed suit. Trip.com integrated ChatGPT into TripGen, its newly released AI chatbot that provides real-time assistance, itinerary planning and booking tips in the pre-trip stage. Hotels and airlines meanwhile are turning to generative AI for customer service, while automating menial tasks.  
More integration will inevitably follow so that ultimately the trip planning to booking stages will blend seamlessly, dependent on access to real-time booking functionality. Generative AI is only at the beginning of its journey, giving consumers what Airbnb called ‘the ultimate concierge’.