From assistant chatbots, to recognising biometric features to curating personalised holiday itineraries, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the travel and tourism industry has been steadily growing over the past few years.
Although all these advancements might already seem outstanding, there is yet a “massive potential” to unlock AI’s full “transformational role” for travel and tourism, according to UN Tourism.
The World Travel Market Ministers Summit, in collaboration with UN Tourism and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), focused on the growing importance of Artificial Intelligence for the sector. The Summit featured contributions from Ministers of Tourism from over 20 countries, taking to the floor in London. Providing the voice of the private sector, leaders from Expedia, HBX Group, JTB Corp and SITA, highlighted the importance of enterprise and public-private partnerships.
“UN Tourism is proud to lead the transformation and future-proofing of our dynamic sector. The rapid emergence of Artificial Intelligence brings many opportunities, for businesses, destinations and workers. By combining the abilities of the public and private sectors, we can ensure AI lives up to its massive potential”, said UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.
UN Tourism Executive Director Natalia Bayona set out the organisation’s vision for the future of the sector, presenting “The Strategic Roadmap: AI For Good in Tourism” and the work UN Tourism is already doing to transform the sector through the rapid emergence and smart adoption of new technologies:
Research: UN Tourism leads research on the role of AI in tourism. Its most recent analysis, to be published in collaboration with UN Tourism Affiliate Member Saxion University of Applied Sciences, “Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Tourism” sets out key considerations for sector stakeholders. In 2025, UN Tourism will also publish an in-depth analysis across member states to reveal AI adoption, challenges, and strategic recommendations.
Education, Upskilling, and Reskilling: With AI changing the landscape of tourism jobs, both by creating new roles and by necessitating upskilling and reskilling. Ministers debated how such technology can support the creation of jobs while helping the workforce acquire the skills needed to thrive in the future. UN Tourism is currently are enhancing its Tourism Online Academy by integrating advanced AI tools across 10 new courses. These additions will equip tourism professionals with essential resources and capabilities to thrive in an AI-driven industry, including AI-specific courses.
Investment: Discussions at the Ministers Summit emphasized the vital need for investment in AI and wider innovation. UN Tourism is expanding its focus to include non-traditional investments in our national guidelines, emphasizing the role of alternative funding models in bolstering the startup ecosystem. This includes exploring how AI-driven insights can guide and enhance investment strategies, particularly for emerging tourism startups.
Innovation: At World Travel Market, UN Tourism set out its work to support entrepreneurs across the entire tourism value chain in adopting AI and other advanced technologies. Through workshops, partnerships, and dedicated programs, it empowers startups, scaleups and businesses with the tools they need to innovate and succeed in a tech-enabled future.
Leadership and vision: A key part of the Strategy is the creation of a new Global Task Force on Universal Nomenclature for AI in Tourism. This groundbreaking initiative will be a first collaborative effort to standardize AI terminology with key experts from all UN Tourism regions from across the tourism value chain and AI, ensuring clarity and consistency for stakeholders.
“The tourism sector needs to be prepared to make better decisions with the help of generative Artificial Intelligence”, said Bayona. “Tourism has the ability to create unique stories, and the use of technology for good in marketing and promotion of destinations, digital public infrastructure and education is crucial, and hyper personalization of travel can be our biggest asset. Above all, Artificial intelligence needs human intelligence to be bright.”
UN Tourism also stressed the vital importance of ensuring the adoption of AI is inclusive, with all stakeholders, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and emerging destinations, able to benefit.
The launch of the UN Tourism Artificial Intelligence Challenge was also announced, calling is for AI-driven solutions that will shape the future of tourism, with a focus on branding, promotion and marketing, smart destinations, education, and efficient operations.
Looking ahead, the organisation will also launch regional awards and capacity-building efforts, to be organized with key partners such as CAF, the Development Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean.
