World Tourism Day: AI Redesigning Travel Without Losing the Human Touch
With this year’s World Tourism Day theme focusing on “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism”, AI is emerging as a powerful force in reshaping the way people plan, experience and remember their travels. From understanding traveller intent to anticipating guest needs, the technology is enabling more intuitive and personalised journeys, while the hospitality industry continues to emphasise the human connection at the heart of travel.
It is no surprise that artificial intelligence is now woven into the travel experience too. Tourism is moving beyond digital convenience towards more personalised and intuitive journeys. From understanding traveller preferences to anticipating guest needs, AI is emerging as a tool that can change how people discover, plan and experience destinations.
For hospitality, the shift is already influencing how hotels understand their guests. At luxury hotels, technology is positioned as a way to strengthen, rather than replace, the human element of hospitality.
“Technology does not replace human intuition; it strengthens it by giving our people the insights they need to understand and anticipate a guest’s needs,” says Biswajit Chakraborty, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru. He adds that the conversation is no longer about whether technology belongs in travel, but about how it can be used while preserving the warmth that makes an experience memorable.
Biswajit Chakraborty, General Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru at Embassy ONE.
At the hotel, this approach involves using insights gathered over successive visits to better understand guests and make their stays personal. “The quiet, continuous work of understanding our guests better with every visit and using those insights to make each stay feel increasingly personal” is where Chakraborty sees technology making a difference.
The hospitality industry also sees digital tools as making travel easier to plan, while placing greater importance on the human experience once guests arrive. Falaaz Ismail, Assistant Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Ozen Collection, Maldives, says, “As travel becomes easier to plan through digital tools, luxury hospitality must become even more human in the way it is experienced.” The focus, he says, is on creating journeys that feel effortless, personal and connected to the Maldives, from the first welcome to the memories guests take home.
THE OZEN COLLECTION - Assistant Vice President Sales & Marketing - Falaaz Ismail.
For destination marketers, AI offers another opportunity: understanding traveller intent and turning that information into more relevant recommendations. Lubaina Sheerazi, CEO and Co-founder, BRANDit, says, “AI’s real opportunity is in helping us understand traveller intent more deeply and translate that into experiences and recommendations that feel genuinely relevant.”
Ms. Lubaina Sheerazi, CEO & Co-founder, BRANDit.
While technology can make travel more intuitive and personal, Lubaina believes the elements that make destinations distinctive remain firmly human. “The human stories, local context and sense of discovery are still what make a destination worth choosing,” she says.
As tourism enters an era more and more shaped by AI, the emphasis is therefore not simply on automating the journey, but on understanding travellers better. The emerging model combines data and intelligence with local knowledge, hospitality and human connection, using technology to make travel more personal without making it less human.
