What will be the impact of generative AI and big data on the future of the tourism sector?
The so-called “generative intelligence” represented today, mainly by ChatGPT, the conversational interface based on OpenAI’s GPT-3 technology, is becoming increasingly popular in tourism. With its ability to generate text autonomously, GPT-3 can be used by tourism companies in many ways to simplify the creation of communication content, improve the customer experience and automate repetitive tasks.
Before continuing reading, if you don’t know what we’re talking about, I suggest you read this article published on Wired recently and maybe watch this video.
Generative Intelligence is not a simple evolution of current AIs; it is precisely one of those things that will completely change different scenarios. The world of tourism, as always, is one of the most sensitive to innovations and will undoubtedly be impacted very quickly by this revolutionary technology.
Generative AI and the future of the tourism
In this article, I will use ChatGPT or GPT-3 almost as synonyms; in reality, GPT-3 is the “engine”, the technology accessible via API, and integrable (for a fee) in third-party solutions. ChatGPT is a (still) free service based on GPT-3, accessible to all, and allows you to test and exploit the enormous capabilities of GPT-3.
One of the most critical ways GPT-3 can be used in the tourism industry is content generation. In addition to textual content, tools such as DALL-E and Midjourney also belong to the same category, which, starting from a textual input, generate original images, each time different and of high quality.
GPT-3 can generate engaging accommodation descriptions and automatically respond to customer inquiries. These descriptions may include information about the size, view, amenities and services offered, the surroundings and nearby points of interest. For example, a hotel could use ChatGPT to generate unique and detailed descriptions of rooms and services, automatically answer customers’ frequently asked questions, such as breakfast times or how to check in and check out, and even create responses to reviews of their services to manage their online reputation. All this in multiple languages. This helps the hotel save precious time and provide accurate and personalised information to its customers, all in real-time.
As for tourist destinations, GPT-3 can create personalised travel guides for visitors based on their interests and preferences. For example, a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) or Tourism Board might use GPT-3 to generate descriptions of places of interest, recommended itineraries, suggestions for local restaurants and shops, and much more. GPT-3 can also be used to create promotional content, such as articles about major destination events or attractions and targeted marketing campaigns to attract specific visitors. Furthermore, GPT-3 can generate drafts and templates for ADV and customised marketing campaigns to attract new visitors and increase user engagement.
Using GPT-3 in combination with Big Data can also enable tourism businesses to offer personalised experiences and increase visitor satisfaction. For example, a hotel may use customer data to personalise their stay experience, offering recommendations for places to visit and local restaurants based on their specific interests and preferences.
Similarly, a tourist destination could use GPT-3 technology in combination with Big Data to enhance the visitor experience, creating a customised trip planning application (web or mobile doesn’t matter).
The tourist destination could thus collect data on visitors, such as their preferences and interests, by analysing their website navigation data combined with extensive data related to UGC (User Generated Content). Using this data, the tourist destination could use GPT-3 to generate a personalised travel itinerary for each visitor, including recommended attractions and activities based on what they like.
Furthermore, the application could use GPT-3 to generate detailed descriptions of the attractions and recommended activities and suggestions related to verticals such as food & beverage, shopping or even the outdoors. The tourist destination could also use GPT-3 to generate exclusive promotions for visitors, such as discounts on attraction tickets or specific vacation packages, by optimising copy, profiling, and creative selection based on the channel or the type of campaign chosen.
In general, GPT-3, combined with Big Data, allows tourist destinations to offer personalised travel experiences and improve visitor satisfaction. This can increase the chances of visitors returning in the future and recommending the destination to friends.
Disclaimer
Well, yes… over 80% of this blogpost was written by ChatGPT. I used the following prompt: “You are an expert in digital marketing and innovation in the field of tourism, with a deep understanding of technology, AI, and big data. Write a blog post to imagine the impact of GPT-3 and Generative AI on tourism businesses, specifically focusing on the hospitality sector (hotels, B&Bs, camping, resorts, etc.) and destinations (DMO, tourism boards. Include detailed example use cases.” I then thought of deepening some aspects, again via ChatGPT, asking, for example: “Learn more about the aspect of content creation”, and so on …
The cover image was also generated similarly and is therefore free of copyright.
Mirko Lalli
Fondatore e CEO di The Data Appeal Company e Travel Appeal e co-fondatore di HICON. È stato Direttore della Comunicazione Corporate di Clouditalia SpA e prima Direttore Marketing e Comunicazione di Fondazione Sistema Toscana, dove ha ideato e coordinato i progetti “ToscanaLab” e la campagna di marketing e promozione della Regione Toscana “Voglio Vivere Così”, la prima campagna al mondo di marketing digitale per il riposizionamento di una destinazione. Speaker internazionale e docente in master e corsi di comunicazione digitale e management per il turismo in diverse università italiane. È Direttore Scientifico di MATIS, Master in Travel Innovation Strategy di H-Farm education. Ha fatto parte del Comitato Innovazione Turismo del Ministero del Turismo e fin dalla prima edizione ha collaborato all’ideazione e alla realizzazione di BTO - Buy Tourism Online; fa parte del Comitato Tecnico Scientifico di BTO Educational. Ha partecipato all'Executive Program di Singularity University in Silicon Valley, nel dicembre 2017.
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