AI in Tourism According to AI (Not Really)

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AI in Tourism According to AI (Not Really)

April 1, 2026

This article covers:

• The Rise of "Ambient Intelligence":AI is moving beyond simple chatbots to become an "invisible concierge." In 2026, it is shifting from reacting to guest requests to predicting needs, managing logistics silently, and providing hyper-personalized room configurations.
• New Digital Gatekeepers:Search habits are changing. With platforms like HotelPlanner and a&o Hostels seeing massive growth in AI-driven bookings and LLM referrals, travel brands are rewriting their playbooks to ensure visibility in AI-generated results rather than just traditional search rankings.
• The Balance of Tech and Human Touch:While AI excels at "combating overtourism" by suggesting niche destinations and streamlining operations, industry experts emphasize that authentic human interaction remains the key to elevating a stay from "efficient" to "exceptional."

There's so much to say about the impact - already felt and still to come - that AI is having on travel, it's hard to blame a TrendHawk writer for asking for input from the technology itself.

"AI is revolutionizing travel by enabling hyper-personalized planning, automating bookings, offering real-time assistance via chatbots, optimizing logistics for providers, and enhancing on-the-ground experiences with instant translation and navigation, making trips more seamless, efficient, and tailored to individual preferences from booking to return," spat back the AI overview generated by a Google search.

AI in travel and tourismis abundant. In a lookat travel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2026, for instance, Marriott Bonvoy, the loyalty program of the world's largest hotel company, noted "AI is going mainstream in travel planning" with 50 percent of travelers having used it to plan or research a holiday, up from 41 percent the previous year, and 50 percent expressing comfort at the prospect of using AI to book accommodations in the future. While those aged 18 to 24 are most likely to have used AI, Marriott Bonvoy reported that 29 percent of travelers aged 55 to 64 have used it, too, up from 18 percent last year - or the same amount who profess booking travel through AI platforms makes them "uncomfortable."

The year ahead will see hotels using AI in tourismto gain a better understanding of those they keep, "moving from reacting to guest requests to predicting their wants" via intelligence tools, according to CNBC'sreading of an Oracle Hospitalityreport. Meanwhile, the travel technology outfit Amadeussuggests guests be able to personalize every detail of their room, from squeezing in a Pilates Reformer to blocking out morning sunshine with blackout blinds, stating: "As AI accelerates, personalization will no longer be a nice-to-have but the default operating system of choice."

Forecasting in Forbesat the start of 2026, renowned futurist Bernard Marr noted that "AI, automation and immersive digital experiences are fundamentally reshaping how we plan trips, move through airports, stay in hotels and engage with destinations." Among Marr's examples are how AI in tourismcan provide "end-to-end, always-on assistance"; automation of hospitality experiences, such as the robots - aka, Digital Curators - that deliver room service - aka, in-room dining - at LUMA Hotel in San Francisco; and the marketing of travel via generative AI tools.

Since hotel booking platform HotelPlannerlaunched the world's first AI-powered call agents at the end of 2024, the number of calls being fielded by AI agents has increased fivefold from 10,000 a day to 55,000, demonstrating a growing appeal for this technology among consumers. Their combined AI and human agent call center is taking tens of thousands of calls a day and is currently responsible for 61 percent of their total bookings worldwide, indicating that conversational bookings are a vital part of the booking process globally.

Meanwhile, on the ground across Europe, a&o Hostelshas been quick to seize the moment, employing AIfor everything from robots to vacuum, clean, and disinfect public areas of its more than 40 hostels in nearly 30 cities; to offering quick responses on live chats on a&o's website; and improving on-property hospitality by managing arrivals and departures, arranging transportation, addressing guest concerns, and more.

"AI is fundamentally changing how travelers interact with hospitality brands long before they ever reach a booking engine," says Elise Carlin, Associate Vice President at FINN Partners. "a&o Hostels understands that visibility within AI tools, whether through chat platforms or LLMs (large language models), is now part of the modern marketing funnel. They've already seen a competitive edge because they're getting ahead of searches for things like budget travel, affordable experiences in European cities, and inserting their brand into these platforms. Between prioritizing PR to help them rank better in these systems and refining their social channels with the help of AI, hospitality brands should take note of the success and think about how they can thoughtfully implement AI into their marketing and communications strategy."

In a recent piecefor Hospitality Technology,Thomas Hertkorn, Head of Online Marketing at a&o, encouraged hoteliers to sharpen their focus and attitudes on the future of AI in tourismfor the industry. Hertkorn has much success to trumpet, not least that Europe's largest hostel chain has been using AI to "drive real bookings" by proactively ensuring its hostels are visible throughout the discovery, comparison, and booking stages of various AI tools, while also driving direct bookings through LLMs such as Chat GPT, Mistral, and Gemini.

Result? Though a&o only began leveraging AI solutions in 2019 and LLMs in 2023, the company is generating up to 3 percent of its total revenue through LLM referrals. "While that may seem modest," wrote Hertkorn, "it's a meaningful share at such an early stage, particularly given that most of the hospitality industry hasn't yet started tracking AI-driven traffic."

a&o's take is on the money, with Skift's Megatrends 2026highlighting AI models, including Chat GPT and Mistral as "the new travel gatekeepers" that are driving travel brands to rewrite their playbooks "for an era where visibility hinges on being mentioned, not ranked."

While there's no stopping AI in travel and tourism, hospitality - or anything else - there is taking it into consideration. Interviewed by consumer advocate Christopher Elliott of the non-profit Elliott Advocacyfor a recent travel trend roundupin The Seattle Times, Jessica Parker, founder of the Philadelphia-based travel agency Trip Whisperer, noted limits. "AI tools are designed to fill rooms and chase the cheapest or fastest option, not curate your best experience. AI can get you a room, while relationships get you the experience."

Indeed, writing about luxury hospitality design trends for The Hotel Yearbook 2026, Scott LaMont, CEO and Principal of the tech-savvy planning, landscape architecture, and urban design firm EDSA, cautioned hotel developers to remember the many positives of the personal touch. "AI and smart systems now streamline operations and allow staff to anticipate needs with unprecedented accuracy. Yet even with these advancements, authentic human interaction remains the element that elevates a guest experience from good to exceptional."

The challenge for hoteliers and designers, he continued, "is striking this delicate balance: integrating technology in ways that enhance convenience and efficiency without diluting the warmth, empathy, and intuitive care that make a stay truly memorable." LaMont's pro tip? "Design spaces with flexible infrastructure so smart technology can improve the guest experience without diminishing the personal service and subtle gestures that define exceptional hospitality."

As AI in tourismrapidly evolves, travel public relations needs to keep pace. Last summer, FINN Partners introduced Canary For Crisis, an AI-powered crisis training programdesigned to prepare communications teams to navigate the increasingly chaotic media landscape in which brand or corporate narratives can be amplified and even weaponized in the blink of an eye. Developed by David Krejci, who joined FINN as a Partner in 2024 following three decades in public relations that included launching his own consultancy firm, Media Forensics, (now part of FINN), Canary evolves crisis training for an era in which facts can get sidelined by virality and context can be lost to chaos.

"Canary For Crisis is a scrimmage for crisis teams," explains David. "You get hit. You sweat. You make good plays and learn better ones. But more than anything, you come out better prepared for the real game. We're training teams to act with speed, clarity, and emotional intelligence before the narrative gets away from them."

That's when having a partner like FINN matters. In moments where instinct and judgment are as critical as data, FINN helps clients cut through noise to determine threats before they begin by pairing human insight, pattern recognition, and hard-earned intuition with FINN's own proprietary technology to identify risks early, model scenarios in real time, and support faster, smarter decision-making in crisis when it counts.

FINN looks at more than the dark side of AI, of course. Haldun Dinccetin, Senior Partner on FINN's North American Travel Team, describes AI as "my passion" and is enthralled by learning to use it both personally and professionally to keep pace with future generations. "There's a common misconception that AI in travel begins and ends with curated itineraries. In reality, we're moving toward a state of 'ambient intelligence,' where the technology quietly manages the logistical friction of a journey before the traveler even perceives it. It is becoming the invisible curator of our movements - less like a search engine and more like a silent concierge that handles the cognitive load, allowing the traveler to focus entirely on the experience itself."

So, how does AI pan out for travel in the moment? Last summer, on a whim and a need, Rachel Frank, Vice President at Maverick Creative, tapped AI for assistance in finding a destination for herself and a companion in France. "I told AI that I didn't want something too hot or too crowded, and a few other parameters," she recalls. "It spit out 10 options in no time, including Brittany, which wouldn't have worked because we didn't have a car."

The best AI option for Rachel turned out to be the fishing port of Saint-Jean-de-Luz along the Atlantic in southwestern France near the border with Spain. The train ride from Paris was a bit of a haul, but the weather was milder than the Côte d'Azur, where Rachel might have traveled had she - like so many vacationers - chosen something more familiar. "AI was combating overtourism, helping us avoid crowds in destinations that I had on my radar because they were the only places I knew."

The takeaway? "AI ties back to the adventure travel mindset, revealing new places for people to experience and discover. I was a happy customer."

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