The travel industry is witnessing a significant shift, with traditional travel agencies declining since their peak in the 1980s. Experts, including McKinsey’s Jules Seely, suggest that AI agents may soon replace human travel agents for booking. Seely’s cautious use of “if” indicates uncertainty about when AI will fully take over the travel booking process. Skift Founding Editor Dennis Schaal explored AI’s potential impact on online travel agencies (OTAs) like Booking.com, questioning whether AI could disrupt their business model as OTAs did to traditional agencies. Analyst Jake Fuller from BITG believes that OTAs will remain essential partners for hotel chains due to their extensive supply networks and advertising power. He argues that the AI tools utilized by large hotel chains are also integral to OTAs. Thus, rather than repeating historical patterns, the travel industry is evolving into a new phase with a complex interaction between AI, traditional agencies, and OTAs.
Source link
Share
Read more