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Amadeus InsightsAmadeus.Its how travel works better.How will technology transformConnected Journeys:travel in the next decade?2ContentsAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Contents04 Foreword06 Whats in it for Travel and Hospitality?Setting the scenePart 1:Industry and Technology OverviewPart 2:The end-to-end journeyClosing11 Defining Transformation42 The booking experience 47 The corporate travel booking experience53 The check-in experience 59 The security experience 63 The pre-boarding experience 67 The in-flight experience 71 The baggage experience 75 The disruption experience 81 The hotel experience86 The loyalty experience 91 The payment experience96 The transfer experience23 Knowing when to act30 Managing Disruption100 Conclusion101 Methodology and Contributors3Setting the sceneAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Setting the scene04Foreword06Whats in it for Travel and Hospitality?4Setting the sceneAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.If you think back to your last trip,whether for business or pleasure,its easy to think of it as a single journey.Getting from A to B.But throughout one journey there is a series of micro-journeys with technology at the core.This is the job Amadeus has orchestrated for over three decades.Together with our partners and customers,weve come together as a global industry aiming to deliver the best experience for travelers with the least friction possible.Theres no denying that moving billions of people around the world is a complex business.Events(such as weather)and logistical or operational issues need to be planned for,mitigated and dealt with as if it is just another normal day.And when you consider how many millions of travelers have realized their travel aspirations without a hitch,you understand what an impressive job everyone in the travel and hospitality industries is doing day in,day out.Just think about how far travel has come since the first commercial flight took off from St Petersburg,Florida,to make the 17-mile journey to Tampa,on New Years Day in 1914.Today you can fly 9,000 miles non-stop from Perth to London.A similar transformation has occurred in airports.Terminal buildings that were once nothing more than drafty converted aircraft hangars,now have world-renowned architects competing to build them.But thats not to say weve reached the pinnacle of success.The opportunities that emerging technologies offer the global travel and hospitality industries mean we are entering a new era of rapid transformation.ForewordTravel is more than just a journeyDecius ValmorbidaPresident of Travel,AmadeusPaco Prez-Lozao RterPresident,Hospitality,Amadeus5Setting the sceneAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The challenges travelers and guests face today are not isolated,they span across the entire travel ecosystem.Addressing these pain points is not only a shared responsibility but a powerful opportunity to reshape how people experience travel.It begins with open,honest dialogue and a collective commitment Transforming the traveler experienceOur research across seven markets has reminded us what travelers hope to achieve with their travel.Spending quality time with loved ones(27%)came top of the list.As useful as video calls are,nothing can replace the feeling of being together in person.As further evidence of whats been called the experience economy,many travelers are looking to create lasting memories(24%)and take a much-anticipated break from their daily routine(17%).Others hope to discover and immerse themselves in new and authentic cultures and experiences(20%)again,something that only travel can deliver.People are also highly motivated to travel to improve their wellbeing(19%).When it comes to the actual journey,22%of those surveyed said they hope for a smooth and frictionless travel experience.Travel can deliver on all these hopes and aspirations,and it is the goal of every professional working in travel and hospitality to make each journey as stress-free as possible.For this report we also asked what makes travelers anxious about their journeys.Why?Because when we understand both the hopes and frustrations of travelers,we can work together to make better journeys.Delivering on hopes and removing frictionto action.To truly unlock progress,the travel and hospitality industries must embrace an ecosystem mindset,one that breaks down silos and builds on openness,both in technology and in collaboration.Only then can we deliver the seamless,personalized experiences that travelers expect and deserve.When it comes to the Hospitality industry,a profound transformation is also underway.Technology is being embraced as a strategic driver of growth,enhancing revenue,streamlining operations,and enabling the tailored experiences todays guests expect.Unsurprisingly,the essence of hospitality lies in human connection.So,to truly elevate service levels and enrich the guest journey,innovation must go hand in hand with the personal touches that define this industry.Along with our customers and partners,Amadeus is fully committed to exploring how transformative thinking and technology can help deliver what travelers hope to achieve with the least friction possible.The tech space is rapidly evolving and so are travelers and guests expectations.Thats why none of us can afford to stand still.If youre already on a journey to transform your business-youre not alone.At Amadeus were continually investing in cloud-native technology that transforms how travel works from biometrics to AI,through modern airline retailing to overhauling the hotel tech stack and everything in-between.And if youre yet to start that transformation,we invite you to take a journey with us by exploring the insights from 9,500 travelers in seven strategic markets and industry experts representing leading global companies.You know the travel and hospitality industries as they operate today,but what could they transform into tomorrow?This report is designed to help you understand the art of the possible.27%Spending quality time with loved ones24%Create lasting memories17%Take a much-anticipated break from their daily routine20%Hope to discover and immerse themselves in new and authentic cultures and experiences19%Travel to improve their wellbeing22%Hope for a smooth travel experienceWhat travelers hope to achieve because of their travel6Setting the sceneAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.A collective approach to innovationInteroperability is essential here not just in how the global travel and tourism industry connects,but in how it innovates and enhances the travel and hospitality sectors in terms of cutting-edge tools,services,and infrastructure.All boats need to rise with the tide when it comes to delivering on travelers hopes and expectations.Whats in it for Travel and Hospitality?7Setting the sceneAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Well look at how individual sectors and responsibilities throughout the overall journey need to consider the above in the second half of this report,but its important to spend some time on the macro perspective first.1 Great experience-leading to increased loyalty2 Loyalty as a driver to reputation and retention3 Revenue growth through customer retention and increased spendingTravel and Hospitality can think about the customer through three key lenses.They influence each other and,importantly,lead to growth in revenues and customer satisfaction.Put simply,here are the three key elements:Great in this context means a good,positive and hope-fulfilling experience.In recently commissioned Amadeus data,we can see this first-hand.The majority(90%)of air travelers experience some sort of anxiety during their trip;18ll out the moment they drop their bags at check-in,and over a quarter(27%)pinpoint going through security checks as anxiety peaks.Technology has a clear role to play in alleviating these anxieties and making way for positive adventures.The research suggests how small innovations can make a big difference.Live travel updates,digital wallets holding travel documents securely,and smart baggage tracking.These were a few cited by travelers from all over the world to reduce anxiety and deliver a better,smoother travel experience.Three pillars for successWhat makes a great experience?of air travelers experience some sort of anxiety during their tripthe moment they drop their bags at check-ingoing through security checks90%8Setting the sceneAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Like any industry,focusing internally and relying on an echo chamber for insight into what drives customer experience can be stifling.Theres value in looking farther afield at what other sectors are putting in place to drive customer retention and growth.Ecommerce is a prime example here and theres plenty we can learn from the advances it has made in boosting customer loyalty through innovation.Central to the sectors success has been its omnichannel approach something we can consider by proxy in terms of every stage of the journey being seamlessly integrated.Omnichannel can be interpreted as unified when we look at travel and hospitality.The ecommerce sector was also arguably a pioneer in moving to a mobile-first approach and to this day remains at the cutting edge of enhancing customer experience and driving loyalty(and revenue)as a result.Were seeing this device-first thinking driving change throughout travel and hospitality.Some examples of this include digitizing the check-in,security,and boarding processes.A key area of growth however is based on learnings from ecommerce in terms of thinking of the mobile as the travelers wallet.This will help unify the whole purchase and payments experience,not least in bringing the journey together for incentives and benefits.The device used is also going to be critical when we consider the future of biometrics,identification and the growing popularity of wearable tech.There are already some pioneering proofs of concept being deployed which are looking at how such opportunities can be rolled out around remote security and the ability to move around an airport without encountering any points of human contact.Many of the pioneering solutions in a device-first ecosystem rely on operations being handled in the cloud.This is increasingly becoming the transitional technology allowing the majority of the innovations we see to become reality.More on this later.Looking for inspirationThe device-first approach9Setting the sceneAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.No-one wants friction or fragmentation during their holiday or when traveling for business.From a simple,swift check-in through to expedited car hire outside the airport,through to being able to get into your hotel room the minute you arrive loyalty is fueled by a consistently smooth journey.Loyalty in turn enables personalization.An increased number of repeat interactions allows companies to build ever-more refined portraits of their customers through gathering more data.This allows for personalized offers and benefits that further differentiate from the competition and drive return customers.And the result of growing loyalty?Increasing retention is a more efficient and economically smart strategy than simply reducing churn and trying to attract replacement customers.Individually,companies throughout the travel and hospitality sectors are working on the three key tenets of business success:acquisition,Simplicity-driven loyaltyretention,and loyalty.It can no longer be said that“acquiring”a customer equates to the simple act of doing business with them.Youve only really won the customer when they come back for more.But by working together we can better cross-sell as well as deliver seamless transitions throughout the journey.In doing so we increase the value of the travel and hospitality industries value which can be invested in further innovation.This in turn will fuel better services,greater experiences and higher loyalty.Its a virtuous circle of growth that is hard to establish and hard to maintain,but the rewards are huge.10Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Industry and Technology Overview11Defining Transformation23Knowing when to act30Managing DisruptionPart 111Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The dictionary definition oftransformationUnderstanding what transforming means as a noun is one which refers to completeness a total change in appearance,predominantly aligned to improvement.But when we look at digital transformation we are rarely if ever talking about a finished process.Indeed,with change the only constant is technology,there are always new processes and solutions which can improve any operational need.Defining Transformation12Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.“As travelers expectations of more intuitive,more personal,and more inspiring choices than were ever thought possible become the norm,travel and hospitality stakeholders must respond.A transforming travel industry needs transformative technology.Technology which benefits from an open mindset,one that embraces new ways of doing things.Technology that thrives on a partnership approach,working with others to make the impossible happen.”Daniel BatchelorSVP Global Corporate Marketing and Communications,Amadeus 13Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.To put this into context,we need to ask how the travel and hospitality industries are looking to transform.To understand this,we should look at three different stages of the process:When we look at how the industry plans for transformation,we need to flip the infrastructure-up model and look experience-down.We must first ask ourselves,“what do we want to improve about the customer experience?”Its also important to understand what todays customer is demanding and expecting more of that we need to deliver.This then lends itself to understanding the operational change that needs to happen to fulfil that demand,before considering the technological solutions required to put such changes into effect.Its a bottom-up build to achieve a top-down understanding of the travelers needs.Once traveler needs are delivered through new technologies,these exact same solutions can swiftly become innate and embedded.Yet they must be useful and deliver on whats necessary,rather than what technology vendors want to implement without an understanding of the immediate problems it solves.Weve seen this beforeUnderstanding the demand for transformation1 Firstly,how the technology is transforming2 Secondly,how this is in turn,transforming operations3 Thirdly and most importantly how this is subsequently transforming the traveler experience“My message to everyone?Avoid getting swept up in the Hype Cycle of the latest technology trends.This doesnt mean you shouldnt understand,learn,and adopt new tools.It simply means you should remember that they are just tools.We need to be more deliberate about the interactions we want our people(customers,prospects,and employees alike)to experience,rather than just focusing on the capabilities we can provide.Ultimately,what problem are you trying to solve:giving them more tools,or addressing their issues with the right tools at the right time?”John MorhousChief Experience Officer,Flight Centre Travel Group14Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Well over a decade ago the Tumblr“Pictures of People Scanning QR Codes”was created with the simple,solitary message:“No posts yet.”Its sardonic intent was to mock the hype around QR(Quick Response)codes which at the time were used sporadically(and in all truth,badly)by the advertising industry to drive traffic via a new click-through medium.The tactic just hadnt become second nature among the public.And,while it was the pandemic which drove QR usage through monitoring the spread of the Covid-19 virus,the codes are now second nature.Today we use them for a plethora of use cases:to order food to our table,to get vouchers,to jump queues,to login to webpages.Their ubiquitous nature and the high degree of success they have in doing what theyre intended to,means theyre now standardized and trusted.The public know what theyre for and how to(easily)use them and have confidence theyll do whats needed.The Pictures of People Scanning QR Codes Tumblr would need zettabytes of data to host relevant photos today.The point here is that technologies have inflection points and cycles that take many forms.It may simply come out of the blue the launch of the iPhone with Steve Jobs iconic black polo-neck being a prime example.Transformative technologies can also come about through a series of planned transitional steps.Look at how mobile payments have grown over several years to the point where having your bank cards stored in your phones wallet is the norm contactless and PIN-free payments likewise.Yet when tap-to-pay first emerged it was with a GBP10 limit to avoid fraud in the UK,which slowly crept up with the improvement of payment security.Chatbots likewise.Granted,few want to proactively talk to a chatbot for the want of nothing else to do,but if its the choice of having a question answered quickly or holding on a customer support line for twenty minutes,the chatbot is usually the winner.Transformative technologyInnovation catalysts15Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The travel industry finds itself on a course made up of a series of transitions,which can be put down to a basic supply and demand model.Travelers need to be comfortable using biometrics at security,for example,for solutions to succeed,which in turn means the industry can start installing it wider.But travel and hospitality demand continuity in the services provided to the traveler,so transformative steps are the only means to deploying innovation without compromise.Its not going to happen overnight.Equally,transformation journeys are arguably never completed.They reach milestones and hit targets,but theres always improvements and enhancements which can be made based upon the cycles mentioned above.The travel and hospitality industries exist to connect people its why travel happens.We have to ensure that technology doesnt compromise the need to give everyone the best experience.Transforming travel“We are in a world where business continuity outweighs big bang disruption.“So how do you transform?Progressively-and above all,by collaborating with partners and the broader ecosystem that shapes the passenger experience and the systems behind it.”Alexandre SbragiaSenior Vice President of Engineering,Amadeus16Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.So,what are the key technologies driving change?Naturally,Artificial Intelligence(AI)and Generative AI(Gen AI)feature prominently,as does biometrics.But its essential to note that these all fundamentally rely on the cloud.This is an interesting situation.Cloud has long since enjoyed its moment at the peak of the hype cycle and is firmly in the plateau of productivity.But its become the fundamental infrastructure for the technologies currently transforming how industries worldwide are booming.Travel and hospitality are no different.If we look at the transformative technologies changing the landscape today,none of them would be possible purely with mainframes or without the ability to handle huge volumes of information(and at speed,with the utmost security).Drivers behind innovation“Generative AI and autonomous agents are no longer abstract concepts;they are already being applied across travel and hospitality to personalize experiences,optimize operations,and reshape how value is created.The real reinvention comes when AI is applied to create simpler end-to-end journeys and stronger connections with travelers.”Emily WeissSenior Managing Director Global Industry Sector Lead,Travel,Accenture17Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.“At Amadeus,we recognize the extraordinary pace of change in our industry.Thats why were making deliberate,forward-looking investments in technology that deliver long-term value.Were not just focused on todays needs or off-the-shelf solutionswere preparing for the innovations of tomorrow,including those we cant yet foresee.Being able to develop and use cloud-native solutions is a perfect example of this,and the impact is huge.“You could put a 1980s Commodore 64 operating system onto the cloud,but that wouldnt get you any further.In an age of AI,were developing software thats designed to benefit from and leverage native cloud services.This means it can not only utilize all of the AI capabilities available by default,but also extend beyond that into biometry,IOT devices and any other dimension.For our customers and partners,this means a massive increase in the value generatedby many orders of magnitude.”Gianni PisanelloEVP,RevOps,Marketing and Strategy,AmadeusWhen looking at how to innovate and transform,the travel and hospitality industries need to work together to understand how to deliver on the travelers expectations and how to do so collectively.Were stronger as an industry when were working together.This collaborative approach also benefits testing it can be trialed in one part of the ecosystem and if it works,rolled out farther.As such,it doesnt first need mass industry-wide agreement to deploy vast AI solutions.It needs one or two first movers to show the route for others to follow.Ultimately,the global travel and hospitality industries cant stand still.Because at the end of the day the status quo isnt as effective as it could be,and traveler demands are getting increasingly tougher to satisfy.In such a scenario,those who have the solutions to deliver these expectations will reinforce their market leadership.Clear-thinking disruption18Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The need to constantly innovate and improve the customer experience has never been more true.The rapid advances in technology are changing not just whats possible but what travelers expect to be possible.Its also delivering on those sacrosanct aspects that travelers deem fundamental to any journey.“Consider safety its a deeply personal part of the travel experience.Its also a complicated topic for many travelers,particularly women and/or individuals traveling alone.Safety comes loaded with different meanings,from physical and emotional safety to feeling safe in your own identity.Its also constantly changing,depending on past experiences,travel companions and destination.“With such a variety of needs and perceptions,travelers can feel overwhelmed by safety considerations while travel providers may be unsure on how to offer meaningful reassurance that customers safety is paramount and technology can solve this conundrum.“Although its a complicated issue,advances in technology are enabling travel providers to give people not just the information they need to feel secure,but the ability to shape their own experience.“With new technologies enabling this level of personalization at scale,the industry can respond to individual needs directly,ensuring travelers feel looked after in ways that go far beyond the standard safety checklist.”Beth SantosFounder and CEOWanderful19Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Adapting to traveler expectations through AIConsumer expectations around how they search,shop,and buy have fundamentally shifted over recent years,irrespective of the industry concerned.This extends not only to search and discovery but through the intrinsic influence that precedes them.Without wanting to generalize too much(there are always exceptions to the rule)digital natives,Gen Z and now Gen Alpha are naturally more predicated to using wider spheres(and platforms)of influence than their grandparents for whom adaptation is the key to adoption.When we consider this through the lens of the travel and hospitality industries,we can see clearly how change is taking place.Our research discovered that YouTube or social media videos are the second most influential source of research just behind word-of-mouth(36%).Interestingly,the YouTube effect stood at 26%in 2024,showing a near-40%uplift.Generative AI tools are rapidly growing in popularity thanks to their ease of use and comprehensive responses,which explains the near-doubling of usage 18%now compared to 11%last year according to respondents in our survey for this report.36%Word-of-mouth26%Youtube effect18%Generative AI toolsThe most influential source of research in travel20Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Amadeus continues its long-standing strategic partnership to innovate with Microsoft on AI-enhanced solutions driving operational efficiencies.Cytric Easy for the corporate travel industry is an online booking and expense management tool embedded in Microsoft Teams.Engaging conversational experiences for travelers is delivered through enhanced Generative AI functionality.Amadeus Virtual Airport Operations Centre enables airlines,airports,border control,and service providers to work together through fully digitalized airport operations centers.The hospitality industry is embracing the opportunities brought to the table by Amadeus Advisor chat where Generative AI is simplifying a hoteliers ability to search and understand business intelligence data,with associate chatbot functionality allowing immediate access to data-driven insights.Amadeus collaboration with Microsoft also enables the development of powerful solutions that directly impact the traveler experience.A series of key solutions have been developed as part of the collaboration:Microsoft-driven innovation“The travel industry is facing significant challenges,particularly in managing demand fluctuations and operational pressures.However,these challenges also present a clear opportunity to drive growth.“Cloud,Agentic AI and other emerging technologies offer powerful tools to optimize asset utilization and enable more agile,data-driven decision-making.This allows organizations to streamline operations and deliver more tailored,seamless customer experiences.“To succeed,it is essential to anticipate demand shifts,enhance resource management and foster collaboration across the ecosystem to create a more resilient,customer-centric environment.The industrys ability to adapt and innovate will be crucial for maintaining a competitive edge and delivering long-term value to customers and stakeholders.”Julie ShainockGlobal Travel and Transport Industry leader Microsoft21Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Google,a partner of Amadeus,is at the forefront of transforming to accommodate consumers expectations,particularly at the trip planning stage where research and exploration are most profound.This is despite(and perhaps because of)the breadth of resources and sources of information available,with Google data showing that 60%of travelers are undecided about their destination when they begin their research.Amadeus own research further reinforces the opportunity at hand for AI at the discovery stage of a journey with those using it to plan a trip citing the following as key benefits:The culmination of the role of AI links directly to assurance,with 35%saying they felt more confident about the decisions they made about their trip.Google powering adaption and adoptionSaving time planningReceiving highly personalized recommendationsFinding new destinations4276%“From getting inspiration,to creating plans with their travel companions and fitting a trip within their budget,the average persons planning phase takes over five hours.Looking ahead,this will only increase as Gen Zers and the more digitally native users increasingly use AI tools and AI Search to plan their trips.”Mark BennettVice President,Knowledge&Information Partnerships EMEA,Google22Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The cloud is the underpinning catalyst behind the role and roll-out of the game-changing AI and Gen AI solutions through the travel and hospitality sectors,and the leisure and corporate journeys these deliver.Ultimately,the use of AI is changing the face of the traveler experience as is evident throughout this report.Crucially this is dependent on the shift to a cloud-native approach to innovation something Amadeus is pioneering through its partnerships with Microsoft and Google Cloud.Cloud-based innovation“Travel is uniquely positioned to benefit from generative AI,which is changing what and how people search.Were excited to work with Amadeus to integrate AI across various stages of the travel journey and deliver greater value to partners.”Mark BennettVice President,Knowledge&Information Partnerships EMEA,GoogleAmadeuss multi-cloud provider strategy is a big part of this success.For example,Google Clouds 42-region scale of operations is being leveraged to enhance the operational efficiency,resiliency,and scalability.A technical goal is to use Google Clouds data analytics and management tools to harmonize data across several of Amadeuss customer systems,promoting agility and efficient data processing.In order to keep pioneering new solutions,Amadeus will gain access to Google Clouds AI stack,including the Vertex AI platform,and a vast selection of large language models(LLMs)available in the solution.23Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Grabbing the opportunity at handAdvances in tech are happening at a pace and impact we truly have never seen before.Nowhere is this more evident than Artificial Intelligence(AI),as neatly summed up by John Chambers,ex-CEO at Cisco in a conversation with McKinsey in May 2025:“Theres not been a technology since the internet with this broad of a scope and implementation.In many ways,the implementation of AI is like that of the internet but its going to move at five times the speed,with three times the outcome.”Knowing when to act24Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.“ChatGPT has established benchmarks at multiples of magnitude faster than any other technology it hit 100m active users within two months of launch,while it took WhatsApp four years to do the same.The popularity of ChatGPT together with Gen AI apps like Claude,Perplexity,and others,means we can expect such tools to become a must-have on almost every phone in the very near future.Were seeing generational technology cycles happen at an unprecedented pace.”Suzanna ChiuHead of Amadeus Ventures,Amadeus25Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Understanding the human needImportantly for the travel and hospitality sectors,these needs are(and always have been)consistent and identifiable because ultimately,travel be it for leisure or for business reasons is intrinsically linked with hope and aspirations.Travelers aspirations are linked to the purpose for travel being achieved.Hope the meeting secures the deal;hope they get to explore new places and unwind;hope the family has fun because time spent together can be a rarity.This echoes throughout the journey:hope you make your flight on time;hope you didnt overpack your suitcase;hope you got a great holiday deal.With such high emotions inherently linked to travel,trust and reassurance is necessary throughout the trip.This is where technology transformation comes to the fore,and where innovation brings ever-increasingly more sophisticated solutions to market.Adoption of new technologies,be it through the application of data;synchronicity across platforms;or through biometrics are all seeing successful implementation.But these arent overnight processes.When it comes to the journey,travelers may(technology early adopters aside),need reassurance about simplicity delivering the same uncompromising standards they are accustomed to(for example,around data and security).Standing still is simply not an option.Innovate fast must be a driving principle.This needs to be done without compromising integrity with attention focused on solutions that solve genuine human needs.“The travel industry stands at a juncture,where innovation is not merely an option but an imperative for sustained growth and competitiveness.But there are challenges that must be overcome.Industry stakeholders-including airlines,hotels,tour operators,and travel agencies-grapple with the immense burden of legacy systems,a highly fragmented operational landscape,and a complex patchwork of regulations.“Consumer concerns revolve around privacy,the perceived complexity of new technologies,a fundamental lack of trust in novel offerings,and a desire for human interaction cannot be ignored.”Mark BennettVice President,Knowledge&Information Partnerships EMEA,Google26Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The tipping point ultimately lies in confidence that investments will bring a return.Until now,this has been a challenge with technology on two main fronts:However,these fundamental challenges with technological overhaul are now being directly addressed,with cloud technology the catalyst,where platforms provide ready-to-use infrastructure,development tools and services.These platforms allow developers to design and iteratively test solutions without having to rely on hardware(and the bottlenecks in practicality and scale involved).Cloud platforms also bring unrivalled flexibility in capacity and collaboration.This ultimately means a faster time to market and the ability to innovate faster(yet securely and confidently).Cloud-based reassurance1 Emerging technologies can bring unpredictability in modelling or a lack of external benchmarking upon which to base success2 Lengthy build cycles can mean systems are obsolete by the time they are fully deployed27Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Innovation must be more than an approach,it needs to be a mindset,with the ultimate ambition being to challenge the status quo.Transformational and disruptive,risk-averse thinking isnt an overnight(or easy)shift.It demands trust in the reasons why new technologies are being considered,trialed and tested.There has to be confidence that new solutions necessitate exploration,and this is where we must look back at the benchmarking aspect referenced above.Transformational thinking“The organizations that succeed in this AI-driven future will be those who understand that AI is only as good as your data and take the necessary steps to build a solid data foundation.“One of the biggest challenges facing organizations today is how to build and deploy high-quality AI agents that can reason on a companys own business data for more specific business outcomes.The second challenge is to ensure a modern operational database(OLTP)or a Lakebase(essentially a super-fast database that works like an apps memory),is in place to ensure that these AI agents can be built with the speed,scale and governance required to be truly effective.We believe that solving these challenges is essential to achieving true digital transformation in the travel sector in 2025 and beyond.”Bryan SmithSenior Industry Director,Databricks28Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.“The biggest barriers are cultural and organizational,but also in risk management.Travelers today expect seamless experiences across every touchpoint where disruption is the exception,not the norm.We believe the future of travel is connected,intelligent,and resilient.ServiceNow brings the digital backbone that enables that future to scale securely and efficiently.”Fabio SpoletiniGVP,Southern Europe,Middle East&Africa,ServiceNow29Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Suzanna ChiuHead of Amadeus Ventures,AmadeusThe previous cost and length of deployment for technology overhaul projects carried risks when it came to the confidence that predicted ROI.Costs could spiral out of hand and timescales often ran across multiple years to then only solve yesterdays problems,not todays(let alone tomorrows).An upshot of this was a benchmarking lag.The ROI evidence took too long to come through,creating anxieties about the value of investment.But the cloud approach addresses this,especially when it comes to the use of AI and Gen AI two of the most lucrative and impact-driving technologies disrupting industries worldwide.The use of Gen AI is already widespread,with tangible evidence of its benefits.And nowhere is this more evident than customer services.So,where does this get us in understanding the time to act and undertake a transformation program?Well,we know the human needs we need to address and have the customer demand for it to be solved.We also have the technology and platforms upon which to iteratively innovate and were already witnessing demonstrable returns on investment and evidence that solutions are making the difference theyre intended for.As such,the time to act is very much“now”.Swifter visibility into ROI“Were seeing AI being deployed faster and at scale within back-office travel agency operations where tools are handling workloads that can be automated without the need for a human to do so.Far from taking jobs,this is freeing up agents to handle the right calls,faster and better.“It halves the speed at which enquiries can be handled by automating the simplest and allocating the most difficult to in-person customer support teams,for example.In doing so,it doubles the number of enquiries being handled.This is a very clear demonstration of where ROI can be immediately witnessed.”30Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Managing DisruptionThe word disruption has multiple interpretations and each of them brings a nuanced difference to how its perceived,understood,and responded to.Disruption is a word travelers dont want to hear.It brings mental images of lengthy queues at check-in or people sleeping at the airport as they wait for their flight to depart.Travelers see and experience delays or operational issues in ways heavily reliant on the media narrative(planes routinely leaving on time isnt a news story,after all).Different meanings to different audiences31Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Its a fact of life that things go wrong and with such a vast ecosystem as travel and hospitality there are naturally going to be more pressure points where problems occur.Moreover,youd be hard pushed to find a global industry more at the mercy of the weather than travel and hospitality.At the point of delivery or rather moment of truth,the traveler needs reassurance and confidence that the problem is being dealt with.They need to know that theyre still getting to where they need to be(albeit later than planned).Its in this instance that customer service becomes business(and reputationally)critical.Anxieties,emotions,and tensions are heightened predominantly due to a combination of uncertainty of whats going on and pressure on the purpose of the trip happening in the right place at the right time.Reactive transformationIssues of this kind come in many forms and often outside the control of those in the travel industry.They might be environmental(such as a weather event);industrial(such as general strike action);incidental(such as a passenger falling ill);or it may be technical disruption in terms of faulty equipment.However,we also need to factor in known,predictable disruption that can be planned for and acted upon to minimize impact.Here we might consider how transformation itself can bring a positive disruptive element as siloed systems,technologies and services are put to pasture and new tools are brought in to replace them.Its not simply plug-and-play.Finally,we also need to consider the regulatory side of disruption.New compliance mandates will demand changes and upgrades in operations with a greater or lesser degree of disruption at every step.When we consider the scale to which data underpins the entire travel ecosystem,the impact of new storage,privacy,security or collaboration regulations brings fresh challenges.Lets look at these.32Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.In times of distress,travelers need answers.Historically,these demands fell predominantly on either staff at the airport or those in a call center.But crowds swell around the former and lines are held on the latter.The introduction of chatbots changed the game in this regard-initially solving straightforward decision-tree based questions,and now increasingly sophisticated solutions able to parse natural language.These are,to all intents and purposes to those using them,as good as the real thing.Again,provided the traveler has the right information and knows the situation,theyre going to be calmer.Having someone to talk toRegardless,if most of the customer service enquiries are easily anticipated,frequently asked questions,then handling these with Agentic AI frees up customer service teams to handle more complex and in-person enquiries.Amadeus is working with partners across the industry to pioneer new approaches to customer interaction and support.Importantly,where these solutions are automating enquiries and answering known responses,these are freeing up time for airport staff or customer support centers to speak with those who want a real person to talk to.This need could be demographic(different generations will have different levels of trust and confidence in AI chatbots),or it could simply be a matter of preference and level of complexity.33Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Ensuring that the right information and systems are in place(and at the touch of a button),is critical to guarantee that disruption is negated as much as is possible,irrespective of the cause.This is another area where AI is coming to the fore.Its able to meticulously plan potential situations and prepare teams and individuals regarding their role should these arise.Virtual Reality is already proving a success in this regard.Its allowing remote teams to diagnose in-the-field with the support of centralized experts.This means deploying solutions doesnt need to wait until the specialist is on-site.Equally,fixing identified problems can be done remotely.Digital twins and virtual replicas of equipment and systems enable experts to visualize data,identify problems,and then subsequently guide on-site personnel through repairs.Technological change doesnt happen overnight especially when we look at the current tech-driven seismic shifts taking place.Transforming isnt a one step process,but instead an ongoing process of constant evolution as an organization strives to meet customer needs and leverage emerging technological solutions.However,crucially when we look at how these changes are being made and prioritized,theres been a redistribution of power when it comes to technology in business.In the last few years,the way businesses are treating IT has flipped on its head.Technology is now a strategic business consideration its no longer seen as a cost center,which was one of the first heads on the chopping block when it came to budget adjustments.Technology is crucial to ensure any business (or industry)is able to transform and tackle todays problems.With this perception shift has come an acceptance that to transform you need to disrupt.The challenge is doing so with the least impact possible.Preparing for disruptionProactive disruption34Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The benefits of generative AI(Gen AI)are being seen internally within those companies pioneering the face of travel for the customer.Air France-KLM Group is one such company.It is using large language models(LLMs),to rapidly accelerate the time it takes to bring products to market.Transforming innovation with AI“You can very quickly develop a prototype and even technically scale it,and its relatively simple for developers.The cost of development is not huge,so the time to market from a technology perspective is really fast.”Pierre-Olivier BandetCIO,Air France-KLMFew industries operate across as many borders,jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks as travel and hospitality.This makes compliance a uniquely tangled challenge.The sector must constantly navigate a complex landscape of legal,financial and data obligations that make compliance far more than just a checkbox exercise.Every booking,boarding pass,and baggage claim adds yet another data point about the customer one which also needs sharing with either the right authorities or simply the right operational partners to ensure travel is smooth and stress-free.Keeping pace with the ever-changing legislative and regulatory landscape brings its own disruption as companies have to understand,for example,how to change processes or store data.But its change nonetheless.And in an industry built on trust,mobility and data,getting compliance wrong simply isnt an option.Disruption for complianceThrough being able to road test solutions at pace,Gen AI can scenario plan and test feasibility sooner,better.It is also allowing its developer teams to scale prototypes at unprecedented speed and in doing so bringing the time-to-market down to a fraction of what it was previously.The benefits of this are huge.Its reducing the cost of IT development teams in being able to use the same expertise,skills and knowledge faster than before freeing up headspace to think about the prompts which will get the answers to the problems theyre trying to solve.35Part 1:The technologyAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.In addition,beyond the governance side,we have to consider how the increasing use of Gen AI and Agentic AI is putting demands on energy and water supplies.In this regard the reporting side of compliance needs focus to ensure reported data is accurate,targets are reached,and operations arent hit with significant penalties or fines.This use of AI does,however,bring a conundrum to the table when it comes to reporting and sustainability.Yes,the increased use of Gen AI will consume orders of magnitude more energy than the systems it is replacing.But the processes its taking over are,as a result,being rapidly sped up by significant orders of magnitude.If you remove slow,laggard processes with fast,automated ones,then theres likely a net gain in productivity.Having the right technologies in place and being able to efficiently upgrade them accordingly can therefore reasonably be expected to create savings and drive down carbon impact.A sustainable balanceUltimately,disruption can be sourced back to a lack of interconnectivity or silos something which a cohesive infrastructure tackles head on.This need for the common currency has to sit at the core of how technology is transforming the travel and hospitality industries.Consistency in platforms and infrastructure can address potential interoperability issues and in doing so create consistent,reliable,and ultimately expectation-meeting solutions for the traveler.The industry ignores this mandate at its peril.Tackling silos“Disruption can often occur because something in the operational chain is not performing as expected.The reason why it propagates or snowballs is because then other functions are not well aware of whats happening and carry on as normal without responding to the imminent challenge.“By aligning processes and sharing data what we call working on a common currency we can share collective decisions and head off disruption before it happens.”Pierre-Olivier BandetCIO,Air France-KLM36Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The end-to-end journey42The booking experience 47The corporate travel booking experience53The check-in experience 59The security experience 63The pre-boarding experience 67The in-flight experience 71The baggage experience 75The disruption experience 81The hotel experience 86The loyalty experience 91The payment experience 96The transfer experience Part 237Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Putting this into practiceCustomer-centricity might not be a revolutionary mentality for public-facing industries,but its one that is easier said than done.With so many individual systems and legacy technologies,the global travel and hospitality sectors demand seamless integration to make any trip,be it business or leisure,as enjoyable and stress free as possible.This is an important consideration before we dive into each individual part of the traveler journey,from the act of booking through to hotel check-in.Because while were looking at these as discrete parts of a trip,we cant think of them as siloed parts of the industry.An underlying infrastructure is key to creating a unified experience an operating system as it were,upon which travel happens.This is something Amadeus has decades of expertise and market leadership on and is paramount to transforming travel today.In establishing such unity,we push ahead toward the end goal of the AI-driven connected trip.What we mean by this is the opportunity to become a proactive guide a concierge as it were who can predict and pre-empt whats next throughout a journey.As an example,for a couple who may be heading away for a week in the sun,a system which can push suggestions for trending places to eat(and subsequently book a hard-to-get table for two)a fortnight before travel makes a very attractive proposition.Equally,reminding travelers about booking a ride to the airport(and a transfer to the accommodation at the other end)will avoid panic the night before and most likely save money something,from a business perspective,that procurement departments will certainly welcome!Every element within this eases stress about what might or might not be forgotten and makes trips memorable and hassle-free.Finnair is a pioneer in this regard.Its the first airline globally to create a full“Native Order”model with Amadeus,where all customer interactions and services will be unified under a single order record.This will allow for a seamless,personalized experience across all touchpoints.The connected tripAntii KleemolaChief Digital Officer,Finnair“We are on a journey to become a true retailer.Our Native Order approach will allow customers to have better control and understanding to manage all flight related services in a single digital record,simplifying the entire journey.However,retailing is also more than the Native Order.It is about understanding the customer needs and managing the entire sales funnel from marketing to conversion to sales,as well as the end-to-end customer journey with data.In the future,our customers will be able to enjoy their own preferred way of travel.”38Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.In making such an investment,operators can harness the personalization opportunity something we know to be critical to travelers.Our recent survey identified the opportunity in sharing the right offers with the quarter(23%)of travelers who have a ritual of always grabbing a drink at the airport bar pre-flight,or the third(36%)who always like to eat at the same airport restaurant or cafe as part of their journey.of travelers who have a ritual of always grabbing a drink at the airport bar pre-flightwho always like to eat at the same airport restaurant or cafe as part of their journey236%Amar KadamalakunteStrategic Account Director,DatabricksThis connected trip strategy relies upon the industry working together as an ecosystem to improve the entire journey,and in adopting a traveler-first approach to data analysis and prediction modelling.This can only be possible through tackling siloed systems,products,or solutions and sharing data(without compromising regulations,security,or integrity).The whole process must be seamless from booking to baggage collection,through to transfer to the hotel and the traveler dumping their bags on the floor.The data-first traveler“As we move into the era of data intelligence and AI agents,we are seeing an increased emphasis on automation to create more compelling,personalized experiences while boosting operational efficiency.This is driving a greater emphasis on data-driven collaboration between players in the industry,allowing these organizations to deliver more complete end-to-end experiences for their customers and coordinate activities for frictionless customer engagement between destinations.”39Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.In unifying elements of the trip indeed,potentially the whole of it in due course the travel and hospitality industries can tackle the key points of friction that are identified by travelers.Regardless of whether the concern is real or imagined,by understanding traveler pain points and worries,all players in the industry can work together to smooth the journey.Addressing frictionOur own data brings this to the fore starkly,with 90%of air travelers experiencing some sort of anxiety on their trip.We asked travelers:Thinking about when you travel by plane abroad for a leisure trip,at which points of the journey,if ever,do you feel anxious?See breakdown on the right26fore I leave,while Im packing my bags24%While I wait for my transport to the airport to arrive(i.e.cab,coach,train,etc.)26%While I travel to the airport18%When I drop my bags at the check-in27%During the security checks15%Past the security checks,while I wait for the gate information15%While at the gate,waiting to board24%During the flight,including take-off and landing15%During passport and border checks18%While I wait for my checked-in luggage to arrive after landing40Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The ultimate ambition for bringing a more connected traveler journey is customer loyalty,be it the leisure or business traveler.The travel management sector for the latter is going to be a big beneficiary in this new era of connectivity,where client efficiency and becoming an extension of the procurement team is paramount.A holistic approach to clients travel needs means that more time can be spent by business travel consultants on adhering to company policies and maintaining a watch on potential breaches,which can quickly undermine a travel program and the benefits of negotiated rates.Equally,it can free up time for identification of efficiencies.Such external support can elevate to the boardroom too.Using experience and deep sector expertise,travel management specialists can identify where sustainability targets can be improved to help align with corporate policies.This is in addition to the obvious opportunities for cost-saving at a micro level that collectively has a significant impact when laddered up to be considered at a macro level.At the core of the developments and progress toward the connected trip,we need to acknowledge how the Smartphone is the epicenter of how travel works today.According to Phocuswright,its projected to surpass the desktop as the main mode of travel bookings by 2026,with an estimated 46%of online travel bookings made on the mobile today.This growth is evident in the hospitality sector too where mobile has recently become the dominant channel(51%)for hotel bookings.Speed and functionality are a key factor behind this growth,but the sheer convenience and always-there element of the mobile makes it a primary focus for the connected trip.Equally,the ability to push vouchers and special offers straight to the travelers pocket makes the mobile essential.It also acts as the information hub for a more unified journey and a consistent platform upon which to develop and establish interoperable solutions.Such a hub helps ensure quality and consistency of data,as well as the ultimate means to personalize experiences.Its a single source of truth.This shift isnt straightforward of course in another recent Amadeus survey,57%of respondents said theyd rather print their boarding pass than rely on a mobile app.So,while the device is front and center,not everyone wants everything stored on it:low battery anxiety is a well-known phenomenon,and perhaps explains why having a paper trail,for example,provides reassurance.The changing face of business travelDevice-centricitySmartphone is the epicenter of how travel works todayTravel bookingHotel booking46%By 202651%Today41Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Customer-firstThis is another indicator that when looking at transforming how travels works,we need to consider traveler sentiment.But this simply reinforces the need for connections.A single record of the customer will allow for such nuances and preferences to remain consistent throughout a journey.Knowledge of whether theyre using mobile apps or not will ensure that notifications and updates are tailored accordingly.The opportunity for the sector through this connected trip solution is huge.We cant lose sight of the goal to make travel better for everyone.Each customer has their own expectations,and we must retain flexibility and agility throughout to satisfy these needs and remove friction at every stage.At the end of the day,travelers want to feel special and understood the connected trip is the industrys chance to do exactly that.IATAS One ID ambitionAnnounced as a concept in 2017,IATAs One ID global initiative aims to create a seamless,paperless,and contactless travel experience using biometrics at the center of identity verification.It will allow travelers to move through airports from off-airport check-in to boarding with a single biometric token(mostly using facial recognition)stored on a device or in-app,as a secure digital key to the passengers credentials.Once implemented it will do away with repeated showing of physical documentation which can cause delays and increase the risk of losing key entry authorization and identification papers.With consent controlled by the traveler,it provides the security required while giving passengers more control over their personal data,in a decentralized approach,starting from the comfort of their home.One ID guidelines and recommendations support interoperability across airlines,airports,and border control agencies,aligning with global standards like ICAOs Digital Travel Credential.Industry analysts estimate widespread adoption for One ID across airports and airlines by the end of 2027,delivering frictionless,secure experiences for travelers,with the extended end-to-end model expected to see similar adoption timescales.42Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.It could be argued that theres no more emotive stage of any trip than the booking experience.Regardless of whether its for work or leisure,there are set criteria the traveler is searching for with the anticipation that the results offered match their hopes and ambitions.For families,wallet constraints are more personal rather than policy based.Theyll want the best experience possible for the kids while giving mum and dad some downtime in the evenings(a hotel with babysitter services is a must).The honeymooning couple will need somewhere that makes the ultimate memory(and great Instagram content).Making the booking experience less stressfulThe booking experience43Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.BudgetLogistics29(%But with such ambitions and hopes come the apprehensions that they might not be realistic or that insurmountable barriers stand in the way.This is especially true when it comes to budget and logistics indeed,research from Amadeus identified these as the two highest anxieties at 29%and 28%respectively.While the travel and hospitality industries cant promise to fulfil every demand and ambition,they have to ensure that every relevant and exciting option is made visible.This is where transforming how travel works through technology comes into its own.Its a mindset that has driven the industry on for decades and continually delivers amazing experiences for millions of travelers.But its not easy.Transforming to deliver on traveler aspirations“The pace of change in the travel industry is daunting,to be sure.For example,between now and 2030,many aspects of travel retail and channel distribution will evolve substantially.Travel providers will adopt new technology platforms and new ways of working,and customers will react with new demands,and higher expectations.“But none of this is new.The travel industry has endured changes of this magnitude at least twice in the past 30 years.”Dr.Dee K.WaddellGlobal Head of Consumer,Travel&Transportation Industries,IBMApprehensions that ambitions and hopes might not be realistic or that insurmountable barriers stand in the way44Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.This theme of constant evolution and adaptation to traveler demand and expectation is central to the transformation journey the industry is currently on.You only need to look at the rapid advances in generative AI(Gen AI)to see how the landscape is changing both externally in terms of how its improving the whole booking experience,as well as internally within the industry to identify trends and emerging habits in customer demand.Taking this first point,the traveler booking experience has perhaps never been better balanced.Gen AI-powered chatbots can answer basic,structured(and,increasingly,unstructured)inquiries from customers in real-time.This is freeing up human customer service operatives to handle those calls and queries which demand more analysis,are more complex,or which involve regulatory or compliance needs.Equally,theyre able to act as the in-person support that many travelers want;not everyone wants to speak to an AI-generated chatbot,for example.Traveler-first Generative AIThe use of Generative AI tools for travel research has risen by a significant factor over the last twelve months:A 64%year on year increase.18%Today11%Last yearOf those who use AI to plan a trip,key benefits cited include:42%Saving time planning37%Receiving highly personalized recommendations36%Finding new destinations35%Say they felt more confident about the decisions they made about their tripOn the other hand,some encountered negative experiences.25%Say they received outdated or inaccurate information.25%say they had trouble getting AI to understand their specific preferences45Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.“Travelers are as diverse in their anxieties as they are in their expectations.While some customer segments are pushing travel companies to innovate by embracing new applications and ways of engaging,others are intent on maintaining their established patterns of interaction.”This is a key point to remember throughout any strategic transformation program the industry is here to serve one person:the traveler.“Travel companies must learn to innovate in ways that serve the needs of all customer communities because standing still is never a viable option in a domain as dynamic as the travel industry.”Steve PetersonTravel&Transportation Global Industry Lead,IBM46Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Macro trend insightData-driven strategic insightThese are of course global cultural examples,but sharing more specific data pays dividends across the board.Its in this regard that the booking information supplied by B2C platforms such as Agoda can share market intelligence throughout the travel and hospitality sectors and allow everyone to adapt and ultimately benefit from it.The insights taken from the millions of bookings made by the industry each year are also being used to great effect.Through understanding trends and behaviors in booking,travel operators and the hospitality industry can develop new propositions and enhance those already on offer.Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with the rise in entertainment-related tourism.As an example,when the announcement of a worldwide tour from Taylor Swift was made,Agoda saw search traffic for the destinations involved increase by a staggering 500%.“The global success of White Lotus a HBO TV show based on the exploits of guests and staff within a luxury hotel saw travel enquiries surge season-upon-season.To piggyback on the success,weve seen hotels host White Lotus themed experiences such as weekend afternoon tea and bar pop-ups bringing the show experience to life.“Our investment in technology is allowing our partners to take advantage of the opportunities from this growth in live tourism,but its also highlighting macro cultural travel trends.”Andrew SmithSenior Vice President,AgodaA virtuous circleThe advances in Gen AI for everything from booking and fine-tuning results to directing inquiries to the right operator(be it human or AI)is bringing unprecedented amounts of data back into the industry.This data delivers previously unimaginably granular insight into traveler demand and expectation.The smartest companies in the travel and hospitality industries will turn this to their(and the travelers)advantage and use the findings to improve their own offerings and solutions.Iterative improvements naturally follow,reflecting the needs and demands of every journey.This cycle,one fueled by transforming how travel works through technology,means the industry as a whole is able to fulfill its promise to deliver on the hopes and expectations of every traveler.Its an opportunity that cant be ignored.47Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Its not just the leisure traveler who needs to be considered when looking at the booking landscape,the business traveler also has their own aspirations and pain points when it comes to their travel and booking needs.Understandably,flight delays or cancellations based on circumstances outside of their control are the number one source of anxiety,followed by a fear that misplaced baggage might affect their professional appearance according to Amadeus research commissioned for this report.Priorities in business travelThe corporate travel booking experience48Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.This same research conducted in June 2025 demonstrates clearly that technology is crucial for easing the concerns of business travelers.Top solutions include 24/7 in app customer support(30%)followed by a digital wallet with access to travel documents(29%),and one app that combines all travel information(flight,hotels,insurance,etc.)(28%).Technology is crucial for easing the concerns of business travelers.Top solutions include:24/7 in app customer support30%Digital wallet with access to travel documents29%One app that combines all travel information(flight,hotels,insurance etc)28%Any discussion on corporate travel must include the buyer,which typically includes input from the procurement and finance teams.Successful managed travel programs ensure that travelers have the confidence they can reach business meetings comfortably and on time,all while remaining compliant with their companys travel policies.49Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The transformation in technology solutions is creating a fundamental shift in the role of corporate travel consultants.Previously,this group primarily looked at booking the travel,focusing on the itinerary.Now,the role has evolved into managing travel,often as a natural extension of internal procurement functions,while supporting the financial department through reducing costs and increasing efficiencies.This comes from did you know?insights as Steve Banks,CEO,Travel Division for The Human Network(parent company of Beyond Business Travel)calls it:“Analyzing corporate travel data can reveal previously hidden trends and behaviors of those booking their own travel.Its not uncommon to find individuals wanting to book their own flights to increase their loyalty points,for example,which could compromise policies,”he added.Amadeus research reveals that business travelers tend to subscribe to more loyalty programs than leisure-only travelers.41%of business travelers participate in a hotel loyalty program for instance,compared to 31%of leisure travelers.Relevant information is also helpful in reducing costs.Understanding who might be booking flights late(and therefore at a potential premium),can allow teams client-side to speak to individuals to plan their itineraries farther in advance and make savings.The changing role of the travel consultantof business travelers have a hotel loyalty programmeof leisure only travelers have a hotel loyalty programme411PPart 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.From policy to regulationHere,specialist corporate teams can share detailed insights into a variety of factors which will impact financial and sustainability reporting,including understanding the carbon impact of every trip and having the ability to scale this up across the entire business.With Amadeus Cytric,the online travel and expense management platform,natively integrated in Microsoft Teams,travel managers gain science-based CO2 reporting to follow up on company business travel targets and compliance.Cytric enables travel managers to encourage travelers to select more sustainable options with carbon calculations display,flights and rail side by side comparison,as well as the HRS Green Stay label for certified hotels.With Amadeus Cytric travelers can identify opportunities for ride sharing when arriving at the same destination with other colleagues,reducing costs for the company and minimizing the impact on the environment.It also helps with carbon emissions reporting,while supporting compliance with the corporations sustainability agenda,and helps devise a carbon emissions budget to control the travel programs sustainability impact.Similarly to the leisure traveler,these insights can also be shared within the hospitality industry where managing hundreds of bookings can identify new trends and demands from the corporate arena.There could be a surge in searches for hotels with in-house gyms or wellness facilities,for example.The role of travel management comes into its own when it comes to shifting regulatory demands,not least those related to Environmental,Social,and Governance(ESG)and Governance,Risk,and Compliance(GRC)mandates.A previous Amadeus survey on this topic with ESG senior decision makers showed that 46%of respondents anticipated investing more in ESG in 2024 than they did the year before.46%of respondents anticipated investing more in ESG in 2024 than they did the year before.51Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The rise of objective stackingEqually,there are evergreen demands of the business traveler that can be relayed or reasons why bookings are trending upwards or downwards.On-site working spaces will naturally make a destination more attractive for the traveler who needs to work abroad for a few days the hotel which offers this at the right price will naturally get the bookings.For the business traveler,being away for a period rather than single meeting trips is driving the Objective Stacking trend.This is about employees arranging trips to fulfil multiple goals.This trend is also driven by the need to derive maximum value from each trip,balancing fiscal and environmental responsibilities.The Amadeus Cytric AI Assistant is an innovative example of how generative AI can support corporate travelers and travel managers.Travelers can chat naturally through Microsoft Teams for assistance with trip planning and booking.This new tool helps reduce booking time by selecting optimal hotel and flight options based on company policies and user preferences-such as automatically selecting the departure city and(soon)factoring in trip context and history,including preferred flight times or frequent company destinations.As a next step the Amadeus Cytric AI Assistant will also aim to enhance employee collaboration by proactively suggesting complementary bookings to complete the trip booking and notifying employees when transfers can be coordinated.This last point must be understood as business critical in the corporate travel arena,but it cant compromise the ultimate customer the enterprise itself.Like their leisure equivalent,the business traveler has anxieties and needs them addressed.However,the procurement and financial teams needs and demands must be considered the priority.“Central to the role of third-party corporate travel agencies is trust and thus becoming an extension of their corporate responsibilities.“Clients need to rely on TMCs to book travel in line with their internal policies and restrictions,with objective stacking a key example here.Travel consultants have the opportunity to plan complex trips using AI tools to refine itineraries that deliver what the employee needs without compromising company values,culture and compliance.”Steve BanksCEO,Travel Division for The Human Network52Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.“Travel management companies are transforming into hybrid organizations-we are becoming technology developers,data analysts,business consultants,and service providers all rolled into one.The traditional booking model is obsolete.Todays successful TMCs are adept at pivoting and evolving,developing proprietary tech solutions,analyzing travel patterns for strategic insights,and delivering comprehensive business intelligence.We are no longer just managing travel-we are architecting data-driven travel ecosystems that power modern enterprise decision-making.”Clive WrattenCEO,Business Travel Association53Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The curb-to-gate journeyArriving at the airport is undoubtedly one of the most important moments of a trip away.Its when the traveler knows(hopefully),theyre on time for their flight and at the right terminal.The need for such confidence cannot be underestimated;our research revealed that more than a quarter(27%)of travelers feel anxious about traffic preventing them from getting to the airport,and 23%worry about arriving at the wrong terminal.Top concerns for travelersof travelers feel anxious about traffic preventing them from getting to the airportof travelers feel worry about arriving at the wrong terminal27#%The check-in experience54Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.26%This latter statistic demonstrates the need to prepare the traveler before they leave their house the trip to the airport starts before the front door closes.There cant be a mismatch between what companies think travelers already know and what they actually know.This can easily be rectified by a more proactive sharing of information or developing knowledgeable,travel friendly chatbots on the passengers device or on the booking website.Once at the airport,smooth,fast check-in is critical in ensuring a seamless next step in the curb-to-gate journey.As a result,its an area that has seen a significant amount of investment and innovation to drive the transformative change necessary.Again,research proves this need,with of travelers citing long queues for check-in as a point of anxiety during a journey.Dissipating these nerves brings a significant amount of relief.Thanks to new,transformational technologies,we are likely to see the traditional check-in disappear altogether in many places.55Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Arguably the most critical part of the infrastructure transforming the airport experience is the evolution of biometric solutions.These focus on identity verification through physical traits such as fingerprints,facial recognition or iris scans traits which are very difficult to hack,and mostly connected to government issued electronic travel documents.The use of biometrics accelerates check-in and acts as a foundation for movement and access throughout the airport,including security,border control and boarding.It enhances safety,reduces manual document checks,and streamlines passenger flows,creating a faster,more secure and convenient journey for the traveler.In mid-2024,Curaao Airport launched the worlds first pre-flight biometric digital ID verification-the Curaao Express Pass-for contactless border crossing.Its powered by Airside,an Entrust company,that specialize in privacy-based digital identity sharing in combination with Amadeus Identity and Border Management Platform and eGates at the border.The initiative allows travelers prior to their journey,to share government trusted and verified ID with immigration authorities at the destination.This means that on disembarking the plane on their way to immigration,the passengers passport and biometric data were already shared with the immigration system,using the travelers smartphone.They can then access a separate enhanced immigration lane where facial-matching technology allows travelers to simply walk through immigration with back-end clearance from the authorities.Biometrics reign supreme56Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Passenger-first experienceSelf-service solutions and the application of biometrics are expected to revolutionize the airport experience.In fact,at JFK International Airport Terminal 4,the check-in process has already been reduced to just over a minute,and bag drop even less.This significant cut to wait times has been achieved following the installation of kiosks and self-service bag drops as part of a major transformation project with Amadeus.This drastic reduction is bringing a new dimension to the airport experience.With more travelers using self-service options,this frees up agents to focus on supporting passengers who require special assistance or have specific requests,offering a differentiated experience.In this regard,the solutions act as a filter to help those who need it,rather than everyone struggling to align with the identical processes involved with manual check-in.By offering passengers the choice to use automation or traditional agent-led servicing,terminal infrastructure can be fully optimized.This results in more pleasant terminals designed around leisure activities,where agents can roam and serve passengers from a tablet device.“Weve created an open floor concept where passengers are free to come in,do their transaction and leave at their own pace.”Joshua DiamondManager,Capacity and Automation(Operations),JFKIAT“They check-in,drop their bags and off they go on the rest of their journey without really having to stop.”Susana DesaVP,Operations,JFKIAT“Were more efficient operationally,and this brings a lot of smiles to our customers.”Edmund QuintanaSenior Project Manager (Terminal Redevelopment),JFKIAT57Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Scaling biometrics for seamless travelDubai International Airport offers a compelling example of how biometric and self-service solutions can be scaled to support a seamless curb-to-gate experience.This is a result of over a decades worth of investment in the technology as part of the citys ambition to become one of the top three tourism destinations by 2030.This target simply cant be achieved without a cutting-edge airport through which to welcome visitors.As a mark of the progress toward this goal,the airport became the worlds busiest in 2024 with over 92 million international passengers a figure achieved while concurrently investing in innovation and building future-proof technology solutions.The solutions that enable this growth come through a collaboration with Amadeus,and forms the center point in a collaborative ecosystem spanning the airport,Emirates and the Dubai government.Across the stakeholders,the airport provides more than 300 biometric touchpoints,including Automated Border Control gates,and a wide range of self-service kiosks,bag drops and boarding gates.The result is a more efficient and streamlined experience for the thousands of passengers passing through the terminal every day.The shared focus on innovation and operational efficiency has allowed Dubai to integrate biometric systems in a way that supports both scalability and passenger satisfaction.As the airport continues to expand its capabilities,it provides a useful reference point for other hubs exploring similar digital transformation strategies.Across the stakeholders,Dubai airport provides more than 300 biometric touchpoints,including Automated Border Control gates,and a wide range of self-service kiosks,bag drops and boarding gates.58Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Heathrow Airport,the UKs busiest aviation hub,has undergone a significant transformation in recent years by embracing self-service technologies to streamline passenger processing.With nearly 85 million passengers passing through in 2024,the airport faced mounting pressure to improve operational efficiency and enhance the traveler experience.Managing this significant growth in passengers has been eased through self-service check-ins and bag drop without compromising existing quality of service and uptime.Since its initial pilot of Auto Bag Drop units in 2012,more than 260 self-service bag drop units have been deployed across Terminals 2,3,4,and 5,supported by over 250 check-in kiosks.This is facilitating faster movement around the terminal(in July 2025 alone,Heathrow recorded approximately 1.4 million combined kiosk transactions and bag drops).Scaling self-service for efficiency and accessibilityAt peak times,Heathrows bag-drop units have processed up to 1.5 bags per second,demonstrating the scalability and reliability of the system.These touchpoints,powered by Amadeus,handled over 13 million passengers in 2024,contributing to smoother flows and reduced congestion across terminals.The shift to automation has not only improved throughput but also allowed airport staff to focus on assisting passengers who require more personalized support.This human touch element of technology is critical when looking at the impact of solutions;here,staff can spend more time with those who need it while others breeze through.Its effectively optimizing customer engagement.Heathrows journey reflects a broader industry trend toward self-service and automation as enablers of transformation.By investing in scalable,inclusive technologies,the airport has positioned itself as a leader in modern passenger processing-balancing efficiency with accessibility and setting a strong example for other global hubs navigating similar challenges.59Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Arguably,when considering how in-airport security has been improved over recent years,the advancement in biometrics sophistication and subsequent deployment has been the ultimate catalyst.Its fundamentally transforming journeys for travelers,making the airport experience frictionless and more enjoyable without compromising the integrity of security processes.Its removed the need for multiple verification checks throughout the terminal journey which has made passage smoother,faster,and fundamentally more secure eliminating the need to carry around physical identity properties(tickets,passports)so theyre less likely to be lost,misplaced,or stolen.Game-changing biometricsThe security experience60Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.The key to the success of biometrics(from operational and security perspectives alike)resides in its simplicity to establish traveler identity digitally linked to a government trusted document or an airline issued boarding pass.A single point of authentication at the outset means that the subsequent verification points are instantaneous and contactless.This happens predominantly between check-in(at home or at the airport)and bag-drop.The passengers register their biometric data-mostly through facial recognition solutions-in combination with their travel document authentication.This is done at automated,self-service kiosks and stored on the travelers mobile device and relevant app.As the passenger makes their journey through the terminal,this biometric data is then shared on a need-to-know basis with the relevant security and access control actors throughout.Importantly,verification can be done without physical checks-its all handled through facial recognition devices sustained by a scalable software called an Identity Management Platform(IMP).As biometric solutions become increasingly sophisticated,the ready to fly model for travel will become more normalized.These solutions involve regulatory governmental,and police checks well ahead of arriving at the airport,meaning that the traveler only needs to arrive at the terminal and walk straight through.Visa controls,e-passports,and security clearance are pre-approved ahead of time,removing any friction.The Amadeus Seamless Corridor and free flow technology is at the cutting-edge of what can be achieved.This innovation replaces stop-start and one-at-a-time gates with wide corridors hosting sophisticated AI-enabled processing.Its capable of identifying multiple passengers while in motion by verifying ID with mobile apps or biometric wallets.The corridors,currently being tested in production at several pilot airports,are demonstrating previously unimaginable levels of convenience and speed.Results demonstrate the ability to clear an individual in under ten seconds-even within groups of people walking together.One-time registrationReady to Fly61Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Fundamental to the success and security of biometric technology is its use of decentralized proof of identity.Here,all information is stored on digital wallets or in-app,with verification handled locally and temporarily,using encrypted,consent-based data sharing.This boosts privacy,control,and security,as travelers decide when and where to share their information.Beyond Amadeus digital ID and biometric wallet,the technology is also interwoven within IATAs One ID initiative,equally interoperable with the recently enhanced Apple and Google ID wallets.This means the model can deliver truly global,interoperable identity across multiple stakeholders(airlines,airports,governments).This is key when it comes to moving beyond the terminal and into other areas within the travel journey,and even into the holiday or business trip once underway.The nature of biometrics means that it can reach far beyond the airport terminal through the ability for hardware or software providers to integrate their own solutions into the ecosystem.When we consider the door-to-door journey,there are obvious points of adoption.For example,car rental firms could use facial technology to confirm hiring criteria or hotels can use it for contactless check-in or in-house services and facilities access.However,the technology can also apply once the holiday or business trip is underway.Biometric authentication can revolutionize the ability to integrate entertainment services with on-the-ground suppliers,with tickets purchased in advance and validated on arrival.This could even extend into insurance industries where potentially risky activities are covered once underway and ad hoc,without the need to go through lengthy online or paper-based checks and forms.The importance of decentralizationOpening up new possibilities62Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Contactless payments have long since been the norm for payments both locally and internationally.The days of queuing at the Bureau de Change for foreign currency have almost disappeared.But carrying a physical wallet still brings risk.This is where fingerprint authentication also delivers the potential to hugely reduce fraud and theft,especially in tourist hotspots.The potential to spend an entire day sightseeing or traveling between meetings without having a physical wallet or ID reduces the potential for crime.Ultimately,the use of biometric security can be applied throughout the journey and eventually undertaken well in advance.This brings the opportunity to make the truly contactless,seamless travel experience a reality.This is a move which can benefit the entire travel and hospitality industries,not least in extending ease of booking into many other areas,establishing the connected trip in the process.Interestingly,while this differs only slightly across generations,to a factor of no more than 10%,there are clear cultural divides with 88%of Chinese travelers agreeing that they would,but as few as 54%of French passengers taking this stance.GenerationalRegionalPayment solutionsWhen asked whether they would consider using biometric gateways so theres no need to stop and show a passport or even a mobile phone(i.e.using face or fingerprint scanners to let you pass through airport security),an average of 69%of global travelers said they would.88%China79%Singapore74%India70%UK63%Spain61%USA54%France63%Gen Z66%Boomers67%Silent Generation68%Gen X74%Millennials69cPart 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Now airside,the traveler sips their coffee,eats their croissant and waits for news of their departure hopefully on time,and hopefully at a gate that isnt too far away(our research found that 18%of travelers get anxious about having to walk a long distance).Of travelers get anxious about a too far away gateTaking calm for grantedTravelers are so used to the airport experience that theres no conscious consideration of the huge game of Tetris which goes on behind the scenes.There isnt an acknowledgement of how complex it is to ensure that the right plane is at the right gate,at the right time,with the right crew,and with the right amount of catering.And this is just one aspect of the operational puzzle.18%The pre-boarding experience64Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Airlines and airports work well when theyre operating as a unified entity using something which Pierre-Olivier Bandet,CIO,Air France-KLM,calls a common currency.The effect of this unified approach can be witnessed at JFK International Airport too,where its use of Amadeus cloud-based ACUS solution ensures that the single view of the customer remains true and consistent throughout over 140 touchpoints in Terminal 4.This approach is echoed through Amadeus Virtual Airport Operations Center(APOC),a pioneering approach built in partnership with Microsoft and its expertise in cloud technologies.It acts as a centralized hub bringing together data from across the airport ecosystem to give an unrivalled view into operations for all those responsible for planning and service delivery.Silo-avoidance65Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Julie ShainockGlobal Travel and Transportation Industry Leader,MicrosoftSuccessful unification requires continuity.Interruptions to the process of bringing all pieces of the puzzle together risk slowing it down or throwing it off course entirely.As such,scenario planning is crucial to run through all possible eventualities and prepare accordingly.This removes the risk of operational downtime should disruption happen.This preparation doesnt only inform response approaches from an operational perspective,it can also prepare the communications structure for passengers,airport staff,and crew alike.Planning for all eventualities“Operations within the travel sector often deal with unplanned events and their impact,which places a high value on information timeliness and accuracy.This is hindered,however,through an inability to view real-time or near real-time operational data due to information that is contained in many disparate systems.“The adoption of platforms that unify across siloed data estates enable holistic views of business operations,resulting in more optimized forecasting and planning systems.”A core critical approach to improving the passenger experience today relies on replacing Departure Control Systems(DCSs)with more modern Delivery Management systems(DMS).These sit at the epicenter of airline operations and extend control and visibility beyond passengers to the entire airline operations including real-time dynamic gate allocation and on-the-ground resource management,ensuring buses,aircraft tugs,and boarding stairs are where they need to be.This agility is made possible through cloud-enabled connectivity allowing for real-time analysis.This data-driven insight uses machine learning capabilities to subsequently allow operational teams to make informed,confident decisions that optimize operations and processes including anticipation of traveler needs and appropriate proactive responses.It helps create the great experience expected throughout any journey.Holistic agility66Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.A multi-touchpoint understanding of every traveler can enable personalization to deliver tailored offers throughout the journey and in doing so,create a foundational,unified,traveler profile.When it comes to driving loyalty,this is crucial as humans we all want to feel recognized,understood,and valued.Not knowing whats happening is unnerving in any journey,but presenting options and up-to-date information across all airline touchpoints ensures the traveler remains informed.The insight also allows the airline to pre-empt issues;and either ensure theyre stopped before they happen or are resolved swiftly,subsequently reducing their impact.Delivering this when travelling(which is embedded in scenarios where hope for a smooth experience sits side-by-side with varying levels of anxiety),makes for an enjoyable,stress-free journey.Removing anxiety through insightCreatures of airside habitIt turns out that leisure travelers love a routine.Amadeus research uncovered several touchpoints airside where passengers have developed specific habits while waiting for their gate theyve become a core part of any holiday!Indeed,when asked whether they follow a ritual at the airport,81%of those on a family trip or a trip with a partner agreed dropping only slightly to 79%of those on a trip with friends or 72%of those travelers on a solo trip.In terms of what these rituals are:Family trip or with a partnerTrip with friendsSolo trip81yr4%Of travelers on a trip with friends will have a drink at the airport bar29%on a family trip will buy travel essentials in the airport(e.g.,suncream,shower gel,etc.)27%on a family trip will buy entertainment for the journey(e.g.,magazine,crosswords,etc.)36%of those on a family trip or a trip with a partner will go shopping in duty free3652mily tripTrip with a partnerTrip with friendsWill eat at the same restaurant or cafe67Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Its been over twenty years since Lufthansa began offering in-flight WiFi,first offering device connectivity,and subsequently ushering in a new era in entertainment in the process with the increased bandwidth and functionalities this technology brought.Today,video and catch-up services are an expected and intrinsic part of any trip.The in-flight experience actually starts with trip inspiration and booking.The whole process from pre-trip to in-trip continues to evolve with a focus on technology that enables highly personalized journeys.Based on IATAs Offers and Orders shift from legacy architectures and processes to a more modern retailing environment,pioneering Finnair became the first global airline in 2025 to create a native order.The airline says this new approach will ultimately benefit customers at every touchpoint and enable it to deliver frictionless experiences.This transformative shift in airline retailing is opening up a breadth of opportunities through highly targeted promotional and upgrade offers.And through the use of a unified record in an order,its also extending the reach of customer support through both Agentic AI systems and dedicated agents.Maintaining the personal touchThe in-flight experience68Part 2:Putting this into practiceAmadeus InsightsTransforming TravelAmadeus.Its how travel works better.Personalization is only possible through a unified approach throughout the order chain one which now extends into the air.Retailers are able to receive and process a service request from the traveler and,in turn,agree this transaction with the supplier in order to confirm inventory.This could include a hotel upgrade or transfer on arrival at the airport alongside strategic commercial partners in leisure,entertainment and corporate services.This gives ultimate flexibility(and control)to the passenger decisions dont all have to be made ahead of the flight and can be adapted to suit circumstances.As an example,in the event of flight delays,travelers can update their ground transport accordingly without having to placate a very fed-up taxi driver whos been waiting an hour.Journey orchestration means travelers no longer need to update all suppliers when their order changes,this will happen automatically,with the retailer keeping an up-to-date view of which services have been delivered to the traveler.These services rely on modern airline retailing solutions such as Amadeus Nevio a modular,AI-powered platform that enables airlines to craft personalized,context-aware offers during the journey.It enables one-click payments tied to the travelers profile,allowing upsells like seat upgrades,lounge access or baggage offers in real-time,and even post-disruption.Payment flexibility is changing traditional in-flight operations.Whereas midair meals would likely be agreed in advance as part of the booking,the opportunities now e
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Artificial Intelligence(AI)in Tourism Assessing and Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations Artificial Intelligence(AI)in Tourism Assessing and Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations A report produced for the European Travel Commission by Kairos Future Brussels,July 2025 ETC Market Intelligence Report Copyright 2025 European Travel Commission(ETC)Artificial Intelligence(AI)in Tourism-Assessing and Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations All rights reserved.The contents of this report may be quoted,provided the source is given accurately and clearly.Distribution or reproduction in full is permitted for own or internal use only.While we encourage distribution via publicly accessible websites,this should be done via a link to ETCs corporate website.Published by the European Travel Commission Rue du March aux Herbes,61,1000 Brussels,Belgium Website:www.etc-corporate.org Email: ISSN No:978-92-95107-81-6 This report was compiled and edited by Kairos Future on behalf of the ETC Market Intelligence G Cover:White humanoid hand on blurred background using globe network hologram with Europe map 3D rendering Image ID:1097626520 Copyright:Licence Standard Shutterstock Artificial Intelligence(AI)in Tourism-Assessing&Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations FOREWORD The rapid development of emerging technologies is reshaping industries around the world,including the tourism sector.For Europes National Tourism Organisations(NTOs),these technologies offer new opportunities to enhance operations in research and marketing,drive innovation,improve efficiency and provide solutions to meet evolving travel trends.However,it is a reality that not all NTOs are equally equipped to take advantage of these developments.Differences in digital maturity,access to expertise,and concerns around data use,ethics,and regulatory compliance create real obstacles.As such,there is a growing need to bridge these gaps and ensure that all tourism bodies unlock the benefits of AI.To this end,the European Travel Commission(ETC)launched this study to explore how AI,can be used to strengthen the capabilities of NTOs and foster knowledge sharing.While these tools are still relatively new,early findings from this study point to major gains in both productivity and content quality,especially in communication and knowledge-driven tasks.This report focuses on how such technologies can be successfully applied within tourism marketing and research functions.It shares lessons from early adopters,outlines potential risks,and presents practical recommendations tailored to the specific context of NTOs.By encouraging shared learning,highlighting responsible AI use,and supporting the exchange of best practices,ETC seeks to foster innovation while ensuring that progress is inclusive.The insights in this study aim to help NTOs confidently navigate this evolving landscape and unlock the value of AI for smarter,more responsive,and more resilient tourism strategies.Miguel Sanz President European Travel Commission(ETC)Artificial Intelligence(AI)in Tourism-Assessing&Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations Acknowledgements This report was prepared by Olivier Rostang,Lisa Lan Bolin,Johannes Larsson and Johanna Danielsson(Kairos Future)for the European Travel Commission(ETC).ETC extends its sincere gratitude to Kairos Futures team for their creativity,unwavering dedication,and exceptional professionalism throughout the duration of the project.This report forms part of ETCs ongoing Market Intelligence Programme and was conducted under the guidance of Marieke Politiek(Netherlands Board of Tourism&Conventions(NBTC),Jennifer Iduh,Lyublena Dimova,Menno van IJssel,Cornelia Keller,Marie Guilleux,Miguel Gallego and Diogo Pacincia(ETC Executive Unit),on behalf of ETCs Market Intelligence Group(MIG).We thank them for their valuable input and dedication to this project.The successful completion of this project would not have been possible without the active involvement of ETCs member National Tourism Organisations(NTOs).We sincerely thank all ETC members who generously contributed their time and insights.In particular,we wish to acknowledge and thank:All respondents to the ETC Survey on AI in Tourism-Assessing&Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations carried out between 24th March-17th April 2025.ETC members who participated in the exploratory interviews to help shape the scope of the questionnaire.ETC members who participated in follow-up interviews,deepening the understanding of their specific position in terms of their AI development,challenges and best practices.Your collective efforts and collaboration have been fundamental in the success of this initiative.We thank you sincerely.Artificial Intelligence(AI)in Tourism-Assessing&Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations Executive Summary Artificial intelligence(AI)is already reshaping day-to-day operations across Europes National Tourism Organisations(NTOs).A handful of member bodies have emerged as early adopters,reporting tangible productivity and quality gains.Crucially,employee sentiment is broadly positive:resistance to experimentation is low,signalling fertile ground for rapid diffusion.Maturity,however,varies markedly between functions.Marketing departments are generally ahead of research departments in both adoption and confidence,and the performance gap within marketing teams is narrower than that observed across research teams.Practitioners in marketing report more immediate,visible valuefrom automated copywriting to data-driven campaign optimisationwhereas researchers consider the technology useful but still exploratory.Across both functions,the most urgent enabler is skills development.Staff require structured,role-specific training to move beyond ad-hoc tool use and unlock AIs full potential.After basic capability building,the priorities diverge.Research teams need clearer insight into what AI can achieve for their tasks;without this vision,experimentation risks stalling.Marketing teams,by contrast,call for stronger leadership and a cohesive strategy to scale successful pilots,but face budget constraints that threaten momentum.Organisation-wide barriers likewise reflect these themes.The single greatest hurdle is a scarcity of in-house AI expertise.For research departments,the next obstacle is the absence of a well-defined AI roadmap.For marketing,constrained financial resources present the more pressing challenge.Targeted investment in training,coupled with strategic guidance for research and budgetary support for marketing,will accelerate responsible AI adoption,close inter-departmental gaps and position NTOs to compete more effectively in the global tourism marketplace.Artificial Intelligence(AI)in Tourism-Assessing&Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations Artificial Intelligence in Tourism-Assessing and Supporting NTOs Research and Marketing Operations Contents Introduction.6 Methodological Approach.8 Interviews.8 Survey.8 Mapping.8 Stages of Adoption.10 Key Survey Results.12 AI at the Organisational Level.12 AI at the Departmental Level.13 Summary.14 Mapping Results.17 Roadmaps for Research and Marketing Departments.20 Dos and Donts Guide.25 Best Practices for Research and Marketing.29 Research Best Practices.29 Marketing Best Practices.33 Understanding AI Regulatory Framework.39 Regulatory framework.39 Understanding NTOs relationship with AI and AI regulation today.40 Risks and benefits of current AI applications.41 Futures Outlook.44 Key AI trends for knowledge organisations.44 Three visions of the future.45 Conceptualising the new model for knowledge work.46 Conclusion.49 Artificial Intelligence(AI)in Tourism-Assessing&Supporting NTOs Research&Marketing Operations Chapter 1 Introduction 6 Introduction Introduction Artificial intelligence1(AI)has moved rapidly from a niche technology reserved for the advanced-analytics teams of well-funded companies to a mainstream set of tools used by a growing share of the global workforce.The meteoric rise of ChatGPT made AI tangible in day-to-day work,and the specific class of generative AI2(GAI)based on large language models3(LLMs)is already regarded as indispensable in many knowledge-intensive roles.This report therefore places particular emphasis on GAI.Because GAI and LLMs are still relatively new,evidence of their impact on knowledge work remains thin.Early studies,however,indicate sizeable gains:productivity in writing tasks has been found to increase over 60 per cent4,and over 50 per cent for coding output5.Many of these efficiency gains are often matched by improvements in quality.With figures such as these,it is easy to see why organisations and employees are keen to harness the technology.As general-purpose tools,GAI systems are poised to reshape numerous sectors.This report focuses on their implications for Europes National Tourism Organisations(NTOs),and in particular for their research and marketing functions.It assesses opportunities,challenges and ethical or legal constraints,and highlights lessons from early adopters in the tourism industry.The aim is to equip NTOs with practical guidance so they can deploy AI responsibly,boost innovation and strengthen cross-border collaboration.A deeper understanding of AI applications will,in turn,allow NTOs to refine their data-driven strategies and deliver greater value.Given the rapid developments both in the regulatory and technological landscape surrounding AI,as well as in the ETC member organisations operational contexts,the results presented here should be seen as a snapshot of the situation as it appeared in April 2025,when the data was collected.1 Artificial intelligence refers to computer systems that can perform complex tasks normally done by human-reasoning,decision making,creating,etc.2 Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can learn from and mimic large amounts of data to create content such as text,images,music,videos,code,and more,based on inputs or prompts.3 Large language models(LLMs)are a category of AI systems trained on vast amounts of text and related data,enabling them to understand and generate natural language(and other content)for many different tasks.4 https:/www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh2586 5 https:/www.bis.org/publ/work1208.pdf 7 Methodological Approach Chapter 2 Methodological Approach 8 Methodological Approach Methodological Approach This report is based on several research methods.Interviews Before designing the questionnaire,two interview rounds were conducted with two different NTOs.The aim was to ensure that the survey questions covered all relevant areas of AI use within the departments,in order to reliably assess their level of maturity.Once the survey results had been compiled and analysed and the AI maps produced,further interviews were conducted.These targeted organisations in each quadrant of the map,with the aim of deepening the understanding of their specific position in the map,challenges and best practices.Survey Survey responses were collected between March 24th and April 17th,2025.The survey was completed by 29 out of 36 ETC member organisations.The findings presented in this report are based on input provided by the headquarters of the National Tourist Organisations and do not reflect the views or circumstances of their international or regional offices.The survey included a total of 64 questions,divided into five sections with different focuses each:Section 1 consisted of background questions.Section 2 aimed to capture the organisational conditions for successful AI implementation within the NTOs.Section 3 and 4 focused on examining how AI is used in the research and marketing departments respectively,what benefits this use generates and how these applications relate to the relevant regulatory framework.Section 5 was for further comments.Mapping In creating the two-dimensional maps,two aspects derived of the survey questions were analysed:organisational readiness and the perceived utility of AI use.For the first dimension,McKinseys 7-S model was used to calculate an average score reflecting the organisational structures capacity to support AI implementation within the departments.The second dimension was based on responses related to the current usefulness that AI provides within the departments.1.The Readiness Variable The 7-S model is an analysis tool that highlights seven key elements within an organisation that must be aligned for change initiatives to succeed:Strategy the action plan an organisation has set up to meet external changes,for example a business plan that point out the direction the organisation should take to strengthen its position.Structure the way an organisation is organised to support the strategy and meet external changes.Systems monitoring,measurement,rewards and resource allocation.Shared values the core of the working culture that shapes peoples behaviours,actions and decision-making.Skills the competencies and skills that are characteristic of the organisation.Staff the people who work in the organisation are seen as a resource that needs to be developed and supported and aligned with strategic needs.Style refers to the people in leadership positions and their leadership qualities and behavioural patterns.9 Methodological Approach By aligning specific survey questions with each domain in the 7-S model,a composite variable was developed to enable the calculation of an overall score indicating how well equipped each department is to successfully and effectively implement new ways of working based on AI usage.This variable was labelled Readiness(displayed on the x-axis).The areas in the 7-S model were linked to the following questions in the survey.Each response option is assigned a different point value(up to a maximum of 7 points),with options indicating more stable structures for change efforts corresponding to higher scores.Each area was weighted equally towards the overall score.Element Question Options Strategy Does your NTO have a formal AI strategy?By strategy we mean a high-level plan outlining how AI will be leveraged to achieve your NTOs business objectives.1)Yes,a detailed AI strategy is in place 2)No,but we are currently working on an AI strategy 3)No,we have some AI-related plans but no formal strategy 4)No,we do not have an AI strategy 5)Dont know Structure How centralised are AI efforts in your NTO?1.Completely fragmented-7.Fully Centralised 8.Dont know Systems Does your organisation track or follow up on AI use among staff members in any way?1)Yes 2)No Shared values Does the team feel they have the freedom to experiment with AI initiatives?1.No opportunity-7.Strong encouragement and autonomy to innovate Skills How significant are the following challenges in AI adoption within your department?Limited AI expertise and skilled staff 1.Not a challenge at all 7.Major barrier 8.Dont know Staff What percentage of team members in your department use AI tools on a weekly basis?Please provide an estimation.1)0%2)1%-10%3)10%-20%4)20%-50%5)50%-75%6)75%-100%Style In general,how would you describe top management teams support for AI adoption in your NTO?1.No management support-7.Full management support 8.Dont know 2.The Usefulness Variable To capture the benefits of existing AI initiatives,both the perceived value of AI in relation to department-specific tasks and the time savings achieved through AI implementation were measured and combined into a composite variable.This variable was labelled Usefulness(displayed on the y-axis).The variable is based on a combination of the following survey questions.The greater the perceived value of AI use whether in terms of benefits or time savings the higher the score assigned to the response.Each area was weighted equally towards the overall score.10 Methodological Approach Perceived usefulness Question Options Perceived value In general,how valuable has your team found AI tools to be for the following tasks?Different tasks specific for research and marketing departments listed.1.Not valuable at all-7.Highly valuable 8.Dont know/Not applicable Time saving In general,has the use of AI tools led to time-savings within your team?(Please provide an approximate percentage)1)0%-20%2)20%-40%3)40%-60%4)60%-80%5)80%-100%6)More than 100%7)We have not saved any time User confidence On average,how confident is your team in using AI tools for research and data analytics?and On average,how confident is your team in using AI tools for marketing?1.Not confident-7.Fully confident Organisations AI development At what stage of AI adoption would you classify your NTO?1.No AI use 7.Fully integrated AI across all departments 8.Dont know These two variables give the two departments at each organisation an x-value and an y-value which together generate their position in the map.Stages of Adoption The map visualises NTOs overall score regarding organisational readiness and perceived benefit from their AI use into four quadrants.Beginners(bottom left quadrant):They are characterised by being at the beginning of their AI exploration,having low AI usage or usefulness,with weak or no organisational structures supporting the development of AI-focused working methods.Opportunistic Users(upper left quadrant):Their perceived benefit of their AI use is high,but that organisational support structures are weak.Untapped Potential(bottom right quadrant):they seem to have well-functioning organisational support structures for developing new AI-based working methods but somehow do not fully seem to be reaping the benefits of their AI work.Early Adopters(upper right quadrant):They are distinguished by having among the highest scores in both the conditions for successful change efforts and the perceived usefulness of AI tools.The map should be viewed as relative rather than absolute.An organisations placement in it reflects its position in comparison to others.A location in the upper right quadrant does not indicate that the organisation is“done”in its AI journey,but rather that it has progressed further than those located in the lower left quadrant.In chapter 4,different paths that an organisation can take to advance in its AI journey is outlined,in general,as well as for research and marketing teams.5 Methodological Approach Chapter 3 Key Survey Results 12 Key Survey Results Key Survey Results As described in the previous chapter on methods used for this study,the survey was divided into five sections with different focuses.One of the sections focused on the organisations overall approach to AI integration.Two of the other sections focused on the actual AI use in the research and marketing departments.This chapter presents selected results from these sections to provide a picture of the organisations overall approach to AI and how the practical work with AI is done at the departments.Given the rapid developments both in the regulatory and technological landscape surrounding AI,as well as in the member organisations operational contexts,the results presented here should be seen as a snapshot of the situation as it appeared in April 2025,when the data was collected.Survey results are available for participating member organisations upon request.AI at the Organisational Level Overall,there is a significant interest in AI and its potential among the organisations.Many member organisations believe they are still in the early stages of their AI journey.Despite this,there is generally strong support from top management for adopting AI.However,perceptions of how urgent this adoption will be,vary widely across the organisations.Figure 1.Self-reported stage of AI adoption among NTOs,based on a scale from 1(No AI use)to 7(Fully integrated AI across all departments).Based on Survey Responses,April 2025.Question:At what stage of AI adoption would you classify your NTO?There is also considerable variation in how organisations have approached AI from an organisational perspective.While several are working to develop strategies,policies and visions for AI use,none currently have a formal strategy or vision in place.Only 14%have a policy,making this relatively uncommon.Nearly four in ten have established a dedicated team to coordinate AI initiatives,and a similar proportion actively monitor AI usage among employees.In many cases,AI efforts remain more fragmented rather than being fully centralised.These results are neither surprising nor unexpected.Given how recently AI tools have become widely available to the public,it is natural that most organisations remain in an exploratory phrase.At this stage,no single actor is fully ready or positioned to serve as a clear model for others.7%7R(%3%0%0%3%0 0P%1.No AI use234567.Fullyintegrated AIacross alldepartments8.Do not know13 Key Survey Results AI at the Departmental Level Even though AI is used in different ways and for different purposes,it has gained a strong foothold in both research and marketing departments.In research departments,AI is perceived as particularly valuable for desk research,a view shared by 72%of the NTOs.Open-ended responses show a wide range of use cases:tools like Qwen are used for sentiment analysis,while others mention applications such as AI translation,coding,transcription,image generation,and summarising reports.In marketing departments,AI is valued primarily for copywriting,also cited by 72%.Here,AI supports both the creation of marketing campaigns and the streamlining of internal processes such as brainstorming,ideation,and quick testing of content formats.A concrete example is MarIAnne,an AI-powered chatbot on France.fr that provides personalised recommendations based on user interests.Other uses include survey summarisation,supporting presentations,and evaluating creative concepts.Despite these varied efforts,there is notable variation in who drives the use of AI-tools within departments.In research departments,over half(55%)report that initiatives are pursued informally,with no clear ownership.In marketing departments,AI use is more often led by a specific person or small group(45%),though many efforts still arise organically or without defined leadership.This fragmented approach underscores the broader challenge of moving from individual experimentation to a more coordinated,organisation-wide adoption of AI.Nevertheless,confidence in experimenting with AI is high across both departments.The prevailing sentiment is one of strong encouragement and autonomy,with few reporting limited opportunities to explore AI tools.Figure 2.Perceived freedom to experiment with AI initiatives.Based on Survey Responses,April 2025.Question:Does the team feel they have the freedom to experiment with AI initiatives?This freedom to experiment,is largely bottom up.When learning about AI,employees in both departments most often rely on self-directed learning and knowledge sharing among colleagues,rather than formal trainings or structured internal initiatives.This suggests a strong individual interest but also highlights the lack of systematic support for developing AI capabilities across the organisations.This is closely tied to the main challenges departments identify in advancing AI use,as well as what is seen as the most important enablers.Limited AI knowledge and a shortage of skilled staff are seen as main obstacles.To make progress,many emphasise the need for skills development,greater insight into what AI can achieve,and for the marketing departments,a stronger leadership paired with a clear strategy for implementation.0%7%3!(%3%3%3$4%0%5 %05%1.No opportunity234567.Strongencouragementand autonomy toinnovateResearchMarketing14 Key Survey Results Figure 3.Key enablers for advancing AI adoption,according to the research and marketing departments.Based on Survey Responses,April 2025.Question:What would most help your department advance in AI adoption?You can choose up to 2 options.In addition to the main challenges and enablers identified,departments expressed several other factors that could encourage greater AI adoption.Research teams highlighted the need for secure data handling,access to professional AI tools,more time to experiment,and inspiration from successful use cases elsewhere.Marketing departments pointed to concerns around cybersecurity,clearer measurement of AIs return on investment,stronger leadership,and dedicated time and resources.Both departments shared aspirations to deepen AI usage,researchers aim to leverage AI for enhanced data analysis,forecasting,and efficient reporting,while marketers envision AI as a tool to personalise customer experiences,optimise campaigns,and streamline workflows without compromising creativity.Summary AI at the Organisational Level Strong interest in AI,but most organisations are still in early stages General support from top management,though urgency levels vary Few formal frameworks in place,no strategies yet,and only 14%have an AI policy as of today Around 40%have dedicated AI teams or monitor AI use Efforts are often fragmented rather than centrally coordinated AI at the Departmental Level Overall,AI is well established in both research and marketing,but with different purposes Research departments perceive AI as most valuable for desk research Marketing departments perceive AI as most valuable for copywriting and campaign development AI use is often informally driven in research,more frequently led by individuals or small teams in marketing High confidence and autonomy to experiment with AI across both departments Learning is mainly self-directed,formal training is rare 66U4%7b1U!%0 0Pp%AI training and skill-buildingMore insights intowhat AI can achieveStronger AIleadership andstrategyMore funding for AIprojectsRegulatory andethical guidance onAI useBetter solutions tohandle cybersecurityrisksResearchMarketing15 Key Survey Results Most important enablers for both departments were targeted skills development,better understanding of AIs potential.In addition,for the marketing departments,stronger leadership,and clear strategy Staff in both departments express strong motivation to use AI more extensively in the future.They emphasise the need for secure data handling,time to experiment,professional tools and inspiring use cases to move from experimentation to integration 16 Mapping Results Chapter 4 Mapping Results 17 Mapping Results Mapping Results This study has mapped European Travel Commission(ETC)members AI maturity for research and marketing departments.Results are based on survey responses and consider AI maturity as a two-dimensional aspect comprising a readiness variable(organisational predisposition for long-term success deploying AI)and a usefulness variable(current observed gains from AI use).Based on member responses,research and marketing departments were placed into four different groups reflecting members stage of development:beginners,untapped potential,opportunistic users and early adopters(see figure 4).Given the rapid developments both in the regulatory and technological landscape surrounding AI,as well as in the member organisations operational contexts,the results presented here should be seen as a snapshot of the situation as it appeared in April 2025,when the data was collected.Figure 4.Categories of members according to the two-dimensional mapping of AI maturity conducted in this study.The graphs below are an anonymised mapping of AI maturity in research and marketing departments based on the abovementioned readiness and usefulness variables.Specific data is available to participating NTOs upon request.Overall,the results from the mapping indicated that AI tools have an impact in many ETC members already today.Members find themselves in varied stages of development with some indicating early adoption of tools,with observed gains(time or value)and enabling structures(for example top managements support,a cross-departmental team for AI usage etc.).Others are much more cautious in their use,having observed fewer real-world gains and with organisational structures that would suggest slower adoption.Nevertheless,there was a high interest for AI across members and the perceived importance of addressing AI is high,with in general low resistance from employees regarding the deployment of AI tools and systems.A general observation is that marketing teams seem to have extracted more useful gains from AI use than research departments,as they systematically scored higher on the usefulness variable.This is not very surprising,considering many of todays AI tools excel at many tasks generally associated with marketing departments tasks,such as copywriting or generating content for social platforms.The variation between NTOs teams was also found to be lower among marketing than research,indicating that marketing teams are all closer to the same level.For research,the usefulness varies more,some finding it very useful,while others reporting much less usefulness.Opportunistic Users Beginners Early Adopters Untapped Potential Readiness -Usefulness 18 Mapping Results Mapping of Research Departments AI Maturity Figure 5.Two-dimensional mapping of the research departments AI maturity.Based on Survey Responses,April 2025.Mapping of Marketing Departments AI Maturity Figure 6.Two-dimensional mapping of the marketing departments AI maturity.Based on Survey Responses,April 2025.Research Marketing 19 Roadmaps for Research and Marketing Departments Chapter 5 Roadmaps for Research and Marketing Departments 20 Roadmaps for Research and Marketing Departments Roadmaps for Research and Marketing Departments The preceding chapter mapped every NTO on a AI-maturity spectrum,from Beginners to Early Adopters.The present chapter converts that assessment into a sequence of practical actions.Three tailored roadmaps organisational,research,and marketing are provided so that capability develops cohesively rather than in isolated pockets.As the position of the member organisations on the maturity map is relative rather than absolute,those located in the upper right corner,Early Adopters,should not be considered as having completed their AI development.To support their continued progress,a fifth group has been introduced in the roadmaps to point out actions that early adopters can take to further advance their AI work.This way,all member organisations,regardless of their position on the maturity map,receive guidance on activities to help them progress their AI work.The recommendations are grouped by the maturity cohorts introduced earlier.Because the challenges faced by each cohort differ materially,the guidance is calibrated accordingly.Where objectives overlapmost notably for Untapped Potential and Opportunistic Usersthe advice is consolidated;where they diverge,bespoke recommendations are offered.Beginners Get started:establish foundational skills,foster confidence,and identify internal champions.Untapped Potential and Opportunistic Users Set structures and increase use:replace fragmented experimentation with coordinated practice supported by light-touch governance.Early Adopters Define AI strategy and initiate pilots:embed AI in several workflows and scale the most valuable use cases.AI Pioneers Scale up responsibly:integrate AI end-to-end,uphold quality and ethics,and sustain innovation ahead of the curve.AI pioneers are introduced as a new stage in this section as a next step for those with desire to progress beyond the Early Adopter stage.Together,these roadmaps form the operational companion to the maturity model:they clarify what must be done next and how to begin.Whether an NTO is opening its first exploratory pilot or scaling successful projects,the guidance that follows is intended to meet the organisation at its current stage and support a disciplined,responsible,and ultimately transformative journey towards AI excellence.21 Roadmaps for Research and Marketing Departments hase et Started eneral Roadmap hase Set Structures and Increase se hase De ne AI Strategy and Start ilots hase Scale p eginners ntapped otential Opportunistic sers Early Adopters AI pioneers 22 Roadmaps for Research and Marketing Departments hase et StartedResearch Roadmap hase Set Structures and Increase se hase De ne AI Strategy and Start ilots hase Scale p eginners ntapped otential Opportunistic sers Early Adopters AI pioneers 23 Roadmaps for Research and Marketing Departments hase et StartedMarketing Roadmap hase Set Structures and Increase se hase De ne AI Strategy and Start ilots hase Scale p eginners ntapped otential Opportunistic sers Early Adopters AI pioneers 24 Dos and Donts Guide Chapter 6 Dos and Donts Guide 25 Dos and Donts Guide Dos and Donts uide AI adoption does not have to start with a big strategy or expensive tools.Many NTOs are already experimenting in small ways,such as drafting content,analysing visitor data,or improving planning tools.This section outlines practical dos and donts for getting started and advancing with AI across research,marketing,and internal work.Each recommendation is based on real-world use and tailored to different maturity levels,from beginners to early adopters.Category Do Dont NTO Maturity level General Expectations View AI as a“junior”colleague good at writing and helping out with various tasks,but lacks context,experience and deeper knowledge of your organisation View AI as a“senior”colleague or an expert.While it can provide good advice,it lacks the experience and tacit knowledge usually found in senior roles.All levels General Internal AI skills Sponsor training and encourage learning and experimentation.Assume AI adoption will happen without internal support.All levels General Cooperation View AI as a cross functional tool and treat it as an organisation wide capability.View AI as an IT question or work in silos.All levels General Tools Test beginner tools like ChatGPT,DALL-E,or NotebookLM on real internal tasks.Introduce advanced tools without understanding their limitations.Beginners General Internal sharing Create a shared space(e.g.Teams,Google Doc)to document AI experiments,tips and best practices.Avoid sharing knowledge with each other.All levels General Ethics and safety Define clear rules for data management and ethical use of AI tools.Limit the use and adoption of AI with overly complicated governance.All levels General Mindset View AI as a time-saving tool.View AI as a job-taker.All levels 26 Dos and Donts Guide General Experimentation Encourage experimentation and start small pilots before scaling.Wait for the perfect strategy or use case to get started.All levels General External collaboration Work with universities,startups,or vendors to test AI use cases and access expertise.Rely on internal AI skills only.Early adopters General Scaling AI Identify successful pilots and build the infrastructure,training,and processes to scale them.Scale too quickly without evaluating outcomes or preparing support systems.Early adopters General Data Management Centralise data and make it available across the organisation.Build data silos,fragmented across the organisation and hard to access.Early Adopters Research Report summaries Use AI tools to summarise reports,surveys,or policy documents.Expect AI summaries to be accurate without checking source alignment.Beginners Research Real Time Monitoring Use AI to monitor tourism patterns and impact in real time.Assume all metrics are useful just because they are real time.Early adopters Research Trend Detection Use AI to identify trends in search,social media,reviews and news.Confuse weak signals with trends.Early adopters Research Pattern Analysis Use AI to find patterns in large datasets.Rely only on one kind of data.Early adopters Marketing Generative AI content Use GAI to create marketing content.Create low quality generic AI content.All levels Marketing Personalisation Use AI to tailor offers and content.Send the same content to all audiences.Early adopters Marketing Creative exploration Use AI tools to explore variations of headlines,copy,or visuals.Publish content without review or alignment with your brand tone.Beginners Marketing Campaign Testing Use AI to test multiple versions of ads or emails to find what performs best.Optimise campaigns based on one-size-fits-all messaging.All levels 27 Dos and Donts Guide Marketing Cross-channel alignment Make sure AI-driven content or recommendations are consistent across web,email,and social media Let each channel run its own version of personalisation without coordination.Early adopters Marketing Performance Tracking Set clear metrics for how AI-generated content performs(e.g.engagement,click-through)Use AI tools without checking whether theyre actually improving results.Early adopters Marketing Chatbots Use AI chatbots to make travel planning and finding information easier.Deploy chat bots without clear value or tested scripts.Early adopters 28 Dos and Donts Guide Chapter 7 Best Practices for Research and Marketing 29 Best Practices for Research and Marketing est ractices for Research and Marketing In this section,best practices from real life examples in research and marketing are presented,both from the tourism industry as well as other relevant industries.These examples showcase a breadth of best practices,from foundational infrastructure to user facing applications.While they can be used for inspiration for all levels of maturity,they primarily belong to the“Early Adopter”category.Research Best Practices 2.Predict demand to optimise operations Predictive AI can forecast destination demand in advance,helping manage staffing,pricing,and resource allocation.By analysing historical booking patterns,seasonality,events,and external factors,AI enables proactive planning.Hospitality Demand Forecasting InsightMax 1.Theme/Focus area AI-powered revenue management and probabilistic demand forecasting for hotels.2.Description InsightMax ingests historical bookings,live pace data,weather,events and social sentiment to generate probability curvesfor example,a 70%chance of hitting 90%occupancy during a festivalso teams can plan for multiple outcomes.3.Results/Impact Hotels report up to 20tter forecast accuracy and 1525%revenue uplift;scenario planning also optimises staffing and marketing spend,as shown when dynamic pricing captured peak demand while keeping service levels high.4.Tools/Technology used Ensemble ML models that learn continuously,real-time data pipelines for market signals,and a cloud dashboard that visualises forecast distributions and sends alerts.5.Lessons learned Probabilistic forecasts outperform static point estimates in volatile markets,but human revenue managers must interpret the ranges and fine-tune strategyAI augments,not replaces,expertise.6.More information https:/ 3.Use AI to monitor tourism in real time AI can help tourism organisations track the impact of tourism on destinations in real time.By integrating live data sources such as mobility,traffic,bookings and sentiment into AI-powered dashboards,organisations can detect changes quickly and respond accordingly.This supports rapid decision-making,improves coordination with local stakeholders,and enables more proactive visitor management.Jackson Hole Tourism Dashboard Jackson Hole Travel&Tourism Board 30 Best Practices for Research and Marketing 1.Theme/Focus area Real-time destination management and sustainability analytics.2.Description A live dashboard,developed with the University of Wyoming and a data-science partner,that merges 37 data streamslodging,trail counters,traffic,wildlife incidents,social sentiment and moreinto 55 sustainability indicators,updated almost instantly through machine-learning data fusion.3.Results/Impact Gives local government,tourism officials and community groups a daily view of tourism pressure,helping them manage peak periods,protect wildlife corridors and gain international recognition for progressive destination stewardship.4.Tools/Technology used Cloud data warehouse,API integrations and machine-learning models for anomaly detection and trend synthesis,surfaced via an interactive BI dashboard.5.Lessons learned Integrating diverse local datasets with Machine Learning(ML)delivers a far richer,faster picture than periodic reports,while universityindustry collaboration keeps costs down and rigour up.6.More information https:/ 4.Create a centralised,multi-source data platform Tourism research often depends on fragmented data from multiple sources.AI can support the development of centralised platforms that combine data from national,regional,and private partners,allowing for more consistent and accessible insights.This helps align strategy across sectors,reduce duplication of effort,and improve the quality of market intelligence.31 Best Practices for Research and Marketing Tourism Data Collective Destination Canada 1.Theme/Focus area National tourism-data infrastructure and real-time AI insight-generation.2.Description A Canada-wide platform that pools data from public bodies,credit-card networks,mobility services and regional DMOs,then applies AI to deliver live dashboards and demand forecasts for partners across the sector.3.Results/Impact Democratises high-quality data for smaller businesses and regional organisations,enables coordinated,evidence-based decisions at local and federal levels,and flags emerging market shifts early to support Canadas long-term tourism-growth strategy.In less than 12 months,the platform has engaged over 18,000 active users and 60 subscribing partners,delivering more than$4.5 million worth of insight to each annually.It has helped inform regional investment,optimize marketing spend,and support sustainable development.It also won the 2024 DataIQ AI for Good Award.4.Tools/Technology used Cloud data lake with secure API feeds,machine-learning models for predictive analytics,and interactive BI dashboards accessible via a partner portal.5.Lessons learned Building shared,well-governed data infrastructure is the cornerstone of effective AI;broad stakeholder buy-in and clear value exchange accelerate adoption and scale.6.More information https:/www.tourismdatacollective.ca 32 Best Practices for Research and Marketing 5.Use AI to detect and interpret emerging trends AI can analyse large volumes of unstructured data,such as online conversations or reviews,to identify shifts in consumer behaviour,preferences,or trends.This enables tourism organisations to detect early signals and adjust offerings or campaigns accordingly.It improves responsiveness to changes in demand and helps identify opportunities before they are widely recognised.Coca-Cola Creations AI-Driven Social Listening 1.Theme/Focus area AI-powered consumer insight for product innovation and marketing.2.Description Coca-Cola continually analyses millions of online conversations with AI sentiment and trend tools,fuelling its Creations pipeline to launch limited-edition drinks e.g.Dreamworld(2022)and Y3000(2023)that echo emerging cultural themes.3.Results/Impact Real-time insights have shortened concept-to-market cycles and produced headline-grabbing flavours that deepen Gen-Z engagement and lift campaign ROI.4.Tools/Technology used Enterprise social-listening platforms(such as Sprinklr),machine-learning topic clustering,and AI-assisted co-creation tools integrated with agile R&D sprints.5.Lessons learned Always-on AI listening uncovers niche cultural currents missed by traditional research,enabling rapid,low-risk product experiments and more authentic storytelling.6.More information https:/www.coca- 6.AI to identify behavioural patterns in large datasets AI can find recurring behaviours and hidden patterns within vast travel datasets such as booking histories or mobility data supporting informed decisions on resource allocation,itineraries,and visitor flow.B Machine-Learning Framework B 1.Theme/Focus area Personalised search and recommendations through machine learning.2.Description B trains hundreds of ML models and runs thousands of A/B tests at any moment to learn how travellers actually search and booksuch as their price limits,preferred property types or trip purposeand then shows more relevant options.3.Results/Impact Sharper recommendations have boosted booking conversions and let new ideas move from concept to live feature in days rather than months.33 Best Practices for Research and Marketing 4.Tools/Technology used Cloud-based data pipelines,an in-house testing platform,and a mix of simple classifiers and neural networks.5.Lessons learned Giving every team easy access to data and fast,reliable testing turns machine learning into a steady stream of low-risk improvements.6.More information https:/ AI-based fraud detection in transaction systems AI-based fraud detection models in banking analyse behaviour and transaction patterns to flag suspicious activity.This approach enhances trust and reduces losses more effectively than static rule systems.Anti Money Laundering AI HSBC 1.Theme/Focus area AI-powered anti-money-laundering and fraud monitoring.2.Description Co-developed with Google Cloud,AML AI scans about 1.3 billion transactions a month,learning normal spending patterns and connections between accounts to flag suspicious activity without fixed rules.3.Results/Impact Detects two-to-four times more illicit activity,cuts false-positive alerts by 60%,and shortens case resolution to roughly eight days,earning Celents 2023 Model Risk Manager award.4.Tools/Technology used Google Cloud AML AI models running in HSBCs encrypted cloud environment,with open-source projects such as Kubernetes and built using React.js.5.Lessons learned Replacing static rules with self-learning models greatly improves security.NTOs collect and manage large amounts of traveller data.AI systems can secure this data by detecting anomalies in real time,such as suspicious login attempts or data access patterns.AI can also identify and block bots and fraudulent users attempting to exploit marketing offers,ensuring marketing funds are spent on genuine potential travellers.6.More information https:/ Marketing Best Practices 8.Use AI to personalise visitor experiences 34 Best Practices for Research and Marketing Personalisation through AI allows tourism organisations to tailor content and services to individual users based on their preferences,behaviours,and context.This includes generating itineraries,recommending experiences,or adapting content layout in real time.This helps improve the relevance of digital services,increases the usefulness of planning tools,and provides tourism boards with behavioural data that can inform future marketing and product development.“Ask AI”Trip Planner Discover Puerto Rico 1.Theme/Focus area Conversational AI for personalised trip planning and visitor-insight capture.2.Description Launched in February 2025,the“Ask AI”tab on DiscoverPuertoR uses Mindtrips engine to quiz travellers on their interests and instantly build shareable,multi-day itineraries that blend the DMOs existing content with maps,images and safety tips.3.Results/Impact Returns information on preferred themes and locations,helps steer users away from closed sites,and deepens links to local businesses.4.Tools/Technology used Mindtrip for Business conversational AI,real-time content indexing and embedded interactive maps.5.Lessons learned Structuring existing destination content for AI unlocks ultra-fast,tailored trip planning while generating actionable insight without extra field research all in a very seamless experience.6.More information https:/ 9.Use AI to Create“share-worthy”Visual Storytelling AI image-generation lets marketing teams turn abstract brand values into vivid experiences that travellers can see and share.Dutch Cycling Lifestyle Tool Netherlands Board of Tourism&Conventions(NBTC)1.Theme/Focus area Sustainable mobility and destination branding through generative AI.2.Description A free web tool(launched October 2023)that lets anyone drop a Google Street View location and instantly see it re-imagined as a greener,bicycle-friendly Dutch street via AI in-painting.3.Results/Impact 442 k images created and over 1 million sessions in the first month;earned-media reach of roughly 7.5 million across five priority markets and multiple digital-impact awards(Webby,Lovie,Dutch Interactive,Anthem).35 Best Practices for Research and Marketing 4.Tools/Technology used Stable Diffusion for image generation plus a road-and-vehicle segmentation model,orchestrated with ComfyUI;full backend released open-source on GitHub.5.Lessons learned Visually striking,shareable AI prototypes can rapidly shift public imagination around sustainable transport and boost a destinations soft power,while open-sourcing prolongs impact through community reuse.6.More information https:/ 10.Use chatbots to simplify visitor planning Chatbots powered by AI can help users find relevant information faster by responding to natural-language questions.They can be used to guide different types of visitors through planning processes without the need for staff support.This improves access to planning resources,increases engagement on digital platforms,and reduces friction in the visitor journey.“Ellis”Chatbot New York City Tourism Conventions Theme/Focus area Multilingual conversational support for meetings and events.1.Description Launched in 2025,Ellis answers planners questions on venues,hotels and attractions across more than 40 languages and channels,drawing on NYCs official DMO and Convention&Visitors Bureaus existing content.2.Results/Impact Doubled traffic to the meetings section within a month,boosted newsletter sign-ups and session duration,and surfaced query data to flag content gaps.3.Tools/Technology used Cloud chatbot platform from GuideGeek AI with large language model,destination knowledge base.4.Lessons learned Training a bot on curated in-house content delivers accurate,brand-safe 36 Best Practices for Research and Marketing answers while generating first-hand insight into planner priorities.5.More information:https:/ 11.Use AI to deliver real-time,personalised marketing offers AI can be used to analyse customer data and deliver personalised messages or offers at the right moment and on the right channel.These systems typically draw from app usage,location,past purchases,or contextual data like weather.This increases the efficiency of marketing campaigns by targeting people with relevant content,improving both engagement and return on investment.Starbucks Deep Brew Personalising Coffee at Scale 1.Theme/Focus area Using AI to tailor offers and run stores more smoothly.2.Description Starbucks started gathering data with its loyalty app in 2011 and,in 2019,built an AI engine called Deep Brew.The system studies billions of orders to suggest drinks customers may like,predict busy times,stock the right ingredients and even pick new caf locations.3.Results/Impact The app now drives record sales and more repeat visits;the Starbucks Rewards club has topped 17 million active US members.Faster service and less waste follow from smarter staffing and stock forecasts.4.Tools/Technology used Deep Brew machine-learning software,the Starbucks mobile app,and smart coffee machines that feed real-time data.5.Lessons learned Collecting good data early makes later AI projects far easier.Letting algorithms handle the numbers frees baristas to focus on friendly,personal service.6.More information https:/ 12.Use generative AI as a creative tool in campaigns Generative AI can support creative marketing by producing visuals,text,or concepts based on prompts.It can be used to develop unique,engaging content or to invite user participation in campaign creation.This adds novelty and engagement to digital campaigns and can help destinations reach new audiences through creative formats.“Heinz,It Has to Be Heinz”Kraft Heinz 1.Theme/Focus area Generative-AI visuals for playful brand storytelling.2.Description Heinz fed text-to-image prompts such as“ketchup in space”into a diffusion model;almost every output 37 Best Practices for Research and Marketing resembled the classic Heinz bottle,provingtongue-in-cheekthat even AI“knows”what ketchup looks like.3.Results/Impact Campaign delivered approximately 850 million media impressions,beat previous engagement benchmarks and earned global press,with assets reused on social,packaging and digital galleries.4.Tools/Technology used Text-to-image diffusion model(Stable Diffusionstyle),in-house creative pipeline and multichannel ad buy.5.Lessons learned Generative AI offers a low-cost sandbox for creative ideas experimentation;if brand codes are distinctive,the outputs themselves become proof-points that audiences love to share.6.More information https:/ AI to adapt content and offers dynamically AI systems can adjust marketing content automatically based on how users interact with it.This includes changing offers,layouts,or messaging across digital platforms in real time.It allows organisations to scale personalisation across large audiences without needing to manually manage multiple campaigns or segments.Real-Time Personalisation Platform U.S.Bank 1.Theme/Focus area Using customer data to send the right message at the right moment.2.Description U.S.Bank brought together information from all its products(cards,mortgages,savings,etc.)in Adobes customer-data platform and now uses it to show personalised offers on the website,in the mobile app,at ATMs and even in branches.3.Results/Impact Within a year,personalised messages converted nearly twenty times better than before and helped the bank more than double the number of new accounts opened.4.Tools/Technology used Adobe Experience Platform with Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Journey Optimizer,linked to the banks existing website,app and branch systems.5.Lessons learned A single view of each customer lets marketers act in hours instead of weeksbut only if marketing,IT and compliance teams work closely together.6.More information https:/ 38 Best Practices for Research and Marketing Chapter 8 Understanding AI Regulatory Framework 39 AI Regulatory Framework nderstanding AI Regulatory Framework As showcased in previous sections,AI has moved from the periphery of tourism strategy to the heart of daily operations for many ETC members.With this shift comes the pressing need to understand,and comply with,a fast-evolving regulatory landscape while still unlocking the technologys advantages.This chapter maps that landscape and positions it firmly against the realities uncovered in the survey.This section begins with an overview of the European Unions AI Act,adopted in 2024 and entering its phased application period through to 2026,as well as other authoritative reference points.Together,these instruments set the guard-rails for trustworthy AI across the Single Market and beyond.The second part turns the lens inwards,examining how ETC members are currently deploying AI and the extent of their regulatory readiness.Drawing on survey responses from members across Europe,this summary outlines which functions are most AI-enabled,and how ETC members relate to current regulation.Finally,a concise appraisal of the risks and benefits evident in members present AI use is presented.Taken together,the chapter equips ETC members with a clear view of the rules already in force(or imminently so),a benchmark of where the community currently stands,and a pragmatic understanding of the trade-offs they must manage as they scale AI responsibly.Regulatory framework What is the EU AI Act?The EU AI Act,in force since 1 August 2024,is the worlds first horizontal(i.e.applicable across industries)law for artificial intelligence.It aims to make AI deployed in the EU safe,rights-respecting and innovation-friendly by matching legal duties to the risk posed by each use-case.Who and what does it cover?The rules apply to any organisation that places an AI system or model on the EU market(providers)or uses it professionally(deployers).Location is irrelevant:if the output affects people in the EU,the Act bites.It is therefore important to understand whether a specific application of AI in an organisation makes one a provider or a deployer.How does it manage risk?The act categorises four different risk levels of AI.Unacceptable risk:banned outright Practices such as social scoring,untargeted scraping of faces,real-time public-space biometric ID,or AI that manipulates vulnerable groups are prohibited.High risk:heavily regulated AI that can seriously affect health,safety or fundamental rights(e.g.,migration-control tools,credit-scoring,safety components in transport)must clear a checklist before launch:quality-managed development,documented risk assessment,human oversight,robust cybersecurity,and registration in an EU database.Limited risk:transparency rules Chatbots,recommender engines and most generative-AI tools need only two things:tell users they are interacting with AI and label synthetic content(content created with the use of AI);the models provider must also publish a copyright-compliance policy and technical documentation for downstream users.40 AI Regulatory Framework Minimal risk:largely unregulated Spam filters,video-game AIs and similar everyday software remain unregulated,though voluntary“AI Pact”commitments are encouraged.Figure 7.EU AI Risk Pyramid:Ranking AI uses from minimal up to unacceptable risk.Other resources related to AI,AI ethics and AI regulation:-Briefing from the European Parliament on EU AI Act -European AI Office,centre of AI expertise-European Commission guidelines on responsible GAI use in research-OECD G7 Policy Paper,AI and Tourism-Stanford University AI Index Report-DeepLearning.ai open courses in AI Understanding NTOs relationship with AI and AI regulation today As of April 2025,all surveyed NTOs report using AI on a weekly basis with between 30%to 100%of both research and marketing teams,on average across all ETC members,engaging with these tools.This is a significant figure and likely a stark contrast to only a few years ago,when such tools were neither as common nor as easily accessible.Only a few research teams report seeing no time savings at all,while others report up to 80%in time saved.This suggests that AI tools are here to stay and makes understanding current AI regulation all the more important.With 82%of research teams and 64%of marketing teams still in the process of deepening their understanding of the EU AI Act,the results underscore the importance of ongoing compliance initiatives.This is not particularly surprising and likely reflects a wider early stage for AI development and implementation.Many research and marketing teams are still at the early stages of operationalising AI-regulation readinessfewer than half have begun targeted alignment efforts,and only about one in ten have completed an internal compliance assessment.Level 4:Unacceptable RiskLevel 3:High RiskLevel 2:Limited RiskLevel 1:Minimal Risk41 AI Regulatory Framework Regulation,as mentioned above,is often primarily related to risks in AI use.To better understand those risks,it is first key to understand for what purposes AI is used today and what risks(and benefits)are associated with those use cases.The table below displays the five main applications where research and marketing teams report seeing the greatest value from AI,along with how many of the surveyed team who say so.Key AI Applications Delivering the Most Value to NTO Research and Marketing Teams (Based on Survey Responses,April 2025)Research tasks Marketing tasks Desk research,75%Copywriting,68ministration and communication,54%Search and media management,54%Scripting,50vertising,46ta analysis,39%Content creation(images,video,audio,etc),46%Questionnaire design,39%Segmentation and personalisation,29%Risks and benefits of current AI applications This subsection enumerates the benefits and corresponding risks of each task,recognising that,within a regulatory context,it is the identified risks that fundamentally dictate the applicable regulatory obligations.Research task Main benefits Main risks Desk research Cuts literature-review and summary production time dramatically.Ability to process multiple languages.Can act as own reviewer before human review.Possible hallucinated citations and facts,fact-checking mandatory.Check for copyright exposure when re-using paywalled content.Administration and communication Rapid,clearer,error-free and tone-consistent communications.Potential GDPR breaches if personal data fed to models.Scripting Speeds up prototype scripts for data scraping/cleaning.Lowers entry barrier for non-developers.Bug and/or security flaws in autogenerated code.Data analysis Easier to handle open-ended surveys and text data.Provides results that seem functional at first glance but may lack context.42 AI Regulatory Framework LLMs can provide specific advice for complex programs(e.g.excel,R,etc)and write code for particular analysis use-cases.Black-box reasoning can make it difficult to explain results.Languages models have a harder time handling quantitative data.Questionnaire design Drafting and formatting survey questionnaires can be significantly faster.Ability to get fast second opinion and simulated survey answers in testing.Risk of generic and/or low-quality questions if not enough human involvement.Marketing task Main benefits Main risks Copywriting Drafts headlines&body copy in significantly faster times with easier A/B variants for testing and multilingual versions.Consistent tone guidelines if properly integrated into prompts.Generic“AI-sounding”text can hurt SEO and/or reader trust.Search and media management Easier to use agentic search for scouring web for mention of destination,NTO or other strategic keywords.Assistance in speeding up SEO.May hallucinate details or make up elements that have never existed.Unclear how SEO scoring will function in increasingly AI dominated search systems.Advertising Much faster campaigns,with potentially more and better assets at cost-efficient price points.People are increasingly exposed to AI,and low-effort AI advertising may be quickly spotted and genuinely disliked.Content creation Speeds up blog,social,video asset production.Lowers cost of localisation and seasonal refreshes.Enables always-on content calendars.Risk of“AI slop”(low quality,AI generated content that people avoid and actively mistrust).Segmentation and personalisation Can make any content match exactly how users prefer it,which can significantly boost engagement.Over-personalisation can be experienced as uncomfortable and may breach GDPR.43 AI Regulatory Framework Chapter 9 Futures Outlook 44 Futures Outlook Futures Outlook Since the mid-2010s artificial intelligence has progressed at an extraordinary pace.One signal is the career choices of new AI PhDs:in 2011 roughly half remained in academia while the other half joined industry;by 2022 almost 70%chose the private sector and barely 20%stayed in universities6.Capital flows tell the same story.After years in which annual global investment in AI never exceeded USD 5 billion,funding soared past USD 20 billion in 20237.These two datapoints talent migration and surging investment place AI squarely in a rapid expansion(and unquestionably“hype”)phase.Because AI is a general-purpose technology8,its ripple effects may ultimately reach every industry.NTOs whose value proposition rests on knowledge creation,coordination and dissemination,are therefore likely to feel the impacts as well.While it is impossible to forecast every implication for tourism,understanding how AI reshapes knowledge work provides a practical compass.This chapter therefore:reviews the main AI trends affecting knowledge-intensive organisations,sketches alternative scenario lenses,and considers what these dynamics might mean for future organisational capabilities and roles.Key AI trends for knowledge organisations 1.Widespread,bottom-up adoption of AI tools Large-language-model(LLM)interfaces such as ChatGPT,Le Chat and Claude have lowered the barrier to experimentation almost to zero.Recent studies in Denmark9,for example,report that more than 60%of journalists,software developers and marketing professionals already incorporate AI into daily tasks from drafting headlines to debugging code.Similar patterns are emerging across the world.The lesson for NTOs is that adoption is no longer a fringe experiment led by tech enthusiasts;it is a grassroots reality that alters team workflows.Policies and up-skilling programmes must catch up with the pace set by individual employees.2.From chatbots to autonomous agents The first wave of LLM-based tools acted primarily as conversational aides.The next wave adds planning,memory and ability for systems to use tools(e.g.web browsing,access to messaging and emails)creating agents capable of browsing the web,running multi-step research loops or even executing code.Early products such as OpenAIs DeepResearch can run advanced report production and produce in a matter of minutes what a junior analyst could produce in days.For knowledge organisations this raises new best-practices questions:How can these workflows be integrated and used efficiently?What are efficient(not necessarily formal)“audit”processes that can allow agents to act(semi-)independently while preserving the“human-in-the-loop”checkpoints?3.The quest for higher-value human work and the capture gap Automating routine cognitive chores(minute-taking,first-draft writing,basic data aggregation)frees up time,but organisational productivity gains do not automatically follow10.Studies across several industries show a capture gap:individuals report higher output,yet the organisation struggles to translate that into measurable performance 6 https:/hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2024-ai-index-report/education 7 https:/ourworldindata.org/data-insights/investment-in-generative-ai-has-surged-recently 8 National Academies of Sciences,Engineering,and Medicine.2025.Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work.Washington,DC:National Academies Press.9 https:/bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/the-adoption-of-chatgpt/10 https:/www.nber.org/papers/w33777 45 Futures Outlook improvements.Closing this gap requires redesigning workflows,incentive structures and knowledge-management systems so that AI-generated value is retained,validated and reused rather than siloed in personal inboxes.NTOs can lead by codifying AI-augmented processes for content creation,market analysis and partner communication preferably in open-dialogue with personnel.4.Idea-to-prototype cycles collapse With LLM-powered code assistants(e.g.Cursor,GitHub Copilot)and no-code tools(e.g.Lovable),non-technical staff can now spin up functional prototypes such as interactive dashboards,data pipelines,even simple booking engines in hours instead of weeks.The cost of experimentation plummets;the bottleneck shifts from building to evaluating and prioritising experiments.For tourism bodies that often juggle many small initiatives,this means decision-making frameworks must adapt:instead of evaluating ideas abstractly,steering committees may increasingly compare working prototypes and allocate resources to those that demonstrate traction.5.Open-source parity and early signs of commoditisation According to benchmark analyses by Epoch11 and others,open-source foundation models trail frontier proprietary models by roughly 12 months but are closing fast.Organisations with modest budgets can already fine-tune private models that match some of the latest model-class performance while avoiding vendor lock-in and data-sharing concerns.Meanwhile,many proprietary model providers remain currently unprofitable as compute and infrastructure costs outstrip revenue.These economics hint at future commoditisation:as capabilities diffuse and price-performance improves,the distinctive advantage will shift from owning an exclusive model to mastering integration,data quality and domain-specific workflows.Three visions of the future In a report12 by the American National Academies of Sciences,Engineering and Medicine on AI and the Future of Work,researchers crafted 3 scenarios:Scenario 1:Extended Occupational Polarisation AI is learning to handle many routine white-collar tasks,such drafting standard legal text,pulling together research notes,writing basic code,or giving first-pass medical advice.As these tools spread,mid-skill office jobs such as paralegals or claims clerks shrink,because software can now do their predictable work quickly and much more cheaply.Jobs at the very top,such as creative strategists,senior engineers,trial lawyers still grow,because big,uncertain decisions need human judgment.At the same time,in-person service roles that are hard to automate,like elder-care or hotel work,also keep growing.Degrees and elite credentials could lose some of their gatekeeping power,since a newcomer with a good AI assistant can often produce work that used to require a specialist;true experts step in only when stakes or uncertainty are high.Scenario 2:AI Out-competes Humans A less likely but more dramatic future imagines AI systems that match or beat people at almost every mental,emotional,and many physical tasks.If that happens,most human skills,diagnosing illnesses,writing software,negotiating deals,even creating art lose much of their market value.Wages fall,and wealth flows to the owners of the technology.Society would then face tough choices about income support,new kinds of work,and the role of humans in an economy where machines can do nearly everything.The report argues this extreme outcome is 11 https:/epoch.ai/blog/open-models-report 12 https:/nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27644/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-work 46 Futures Outlook unlikely in the next decade or so,because of technical limits,ongoing demand for person-to-person care,and historys habit of inventing new jobs when old ones fade.But the risks may be large enough to plan for.Scenario 3:Mass-Expert Complementarity In a more hopeful path,AI serves as a powerful helper that lifts human judgment instead of replacing it.Smart tools supply facts,spot risks,and explain their suggestions,so professionals make quicker,safer decisions.A nurse practitioner can diagnose and prescribe with an AI double-check,calling in a doctor only for the toughest cases.A junior coder learns on the job with a code copilot.Because AI removes much of the drudge work and speeds up learning,many more people can reach near-expert performance in new fields,while humans focus on overseeing AI,inventing new ideas,and offering highly personalised services.Achieving this future depends on deliberate design:companies,educators,and regulators must choose to build AI that augments people,invest in training,and keep humans in the loop.Conceptualising the new model for knowledge work Knowledge work is changing.Generative AI can now increasingly automate large portions of an organisations workflow.Modern tools can draft text,write code,summarise meetings,search vast information sets,and present insights intuitively.Many dull or repetitive tasks are therefore ripe for automatione.g.,converting data into standard formats or combing lengthy documents for relevant content.What AI still cannot do is make accountable decisions,and that limitation will likely remain:models cannot be held responsible for their choices.Ultimately,a human must own both the decision and its consequences.This creates a paradox.While AI simplifies execution,it must still be guided by humans who decide what to do and why.Employees who have never needed to articulate their work may now spend part of their day explaining tasks to an AI system.The shift looks can be captured as a“before and after AI”in figure 7.If ways of working are not redesigned,there is a risk of no real efficiency gain:bottlenecks migrate from execution to decision-making.Teams could end up waiting for meetings to approve next steps while lacking the authority to advance automated processes themselves.Previously(without GAI)most steps in a standard process belonged to the human,and most of the work falls on performing a given task.With GAI,this is changing.Performing the task can increasingly be delegated to AI(with proper supervision),which means the typical tasks of reviewing and evaluating quality is where humans may spend more time on.This is represented by the relative size of the circles in the model in figure 7.Over time,performing the tasks may occupy an ever-smaller share of a given workflowand increasingly falls within the computers domain.By contrast,defining,deciding,and evaluating tasks will likely remain time-consuming and must still be led by people.Figure 9:Shift in work processes for knowledge work.47 Futures Outlook Is everyone becoming a manager?As task coordination and instruction grow in importance,employees effectively assume more managerial duties.Organisations must address how to distribute this new workload.Self-leadership is already cited as a critical 21st-century skill,and AI is accelerating the move from hierarchical structures toward more individualised onesfor better and worse.A related issue is culture.If AI assistants handle more work,will humans interact less(or perhaps more)with each other?The answer will depend on role and task,and may evolve as new practices take hold.These are long-term questions every organisation needs to monitor while considering the broader shifts that AI tools make probable.48 Futures Outlook Chapter 10 Conclusion 49 Conclusion Conclusion Artificial intelligence is already producing observable effects within Europes NTOs,yet implementation remains largely exploratory.Empirical evidence from the mapping study indicates that a small subset of members acts as early adopters,while the majority are engaged in short-term pilots and other types of trials intended to test feasibility rather than to achieve operational scale.Across the sample,employee sentiment is consistently favourable:interest in AI applications is high and overt resistance is minimal,creating a receptive environment for further diffusion.Functional analysis reveals a marked differential in maturity.Marketing departments score higher on perceived usefulness,current capability and inter-organisation convergence than research units.This discrepancy is attributable to the presence of well-defined marketing use-cases such as automated content generation,where benefits are readily quantifiable and tangible.Research teams,by contrast,report greater uncertainty about AIs potential contributions to data acquisition and insight generation,and correspondingly lower levels of adoption.Human-capital factors represent the principal constraint on progress.Limited AI expertise and insufficient training opportunities were cited most frequently as barriers in both functions.For research departments,an additional impediment is the absence of a clearly articulated strategy or roadmap;for marketing,budgetary limitations are more salient.Technological access and infrastructure issues were mentioned far less often,suggesting that capability gaps outweigh resource availability at this stage.The evidence leads to several actionable implications.First,allocating structured time for experimentation through informal hackathons,internal innovation sprints or simple workshops would leverage existing staff enthusiasm while generating organisation-specific insights.Second,prioritising role-specific training programmes is likely to yield greater returns than generalised awareness sessions,particularly if internal early adopters are incorporated as peer instructors.Third,the development of function-level roadmaps could improve alignment between exploratory projects and longer-term objectives:research units require illustrative pathways from descriptive analytics to advanced modelling,whereas marketing teams benefit from frameworks linking pilot performance to relevant metrics.Finally,incremental increases in dedicated AI budgets,contingent on demonstrable outcomes,would enable successful pilots to transition into sustained operations.In sum,NTOs possess positive conditions for AI uptake;systematic capacity-building and strategic leadership now represent the main levers for advancing from exploration to utilisation.50 European Travel Commission Rue du March aux Herbes 61,1000-Brussels,Belgium Tel: 32 2548 90 00 www.etc-corporate.org
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