According to a new report from Amadeus, generative AI remains a central focus for the travel sector looking ahead to 2025, although challenges around data, talent and cost are beginning to emerge.
The Navigating the future: How generative artificial intelligence is transforming the travel industry report, which surveyed 300+ experts in the field from across the travel ecosystem, revealed generative AI was a top priority for 46% of respondents, ahead of any other technology. This figure rose to 61% in Asia-Pacific, suggesting the region may be ready to take the lead in this transformative technology.
Other technologies cited as a top priority for 2025 included data management (38%), cloud architecture (36%), non-generative AI IT infrastructure (34%) and biometric technology (23%).
Globally, over half of travel technology leaders (51%) argued that generative AI already has a ‘significant presence’ in the travel industry in their country, while a further 36% expect this presence to emerge over the next year and 11% expect the process to take one to two years. Just 2% of travel technology leaders think it will take three or more years for generative AI to have a significant presence on the travel sector where they are.
The report revealed 41% of travel companies have the budget and resources in place to implement generative AI, while 87% are open to working with a third-party vendor to develop generative AI-powered applications.
Data, talent and cost challenges
While support for the rollout of generative AI in the travel sector remains undimmed, Amadeus’s report found several challenges were emerging.
When asked what, if anything, was slowing the rollout of the technology, industry leaders said:
- Data security – 35%
- Lack of generative AI expertise and training – 34%
- Data quality and inadequate technological infrastructure – 33%
- ROI concerns, lack of use cases, or difficulty in estimating value – 30%
- Difficulty in connecting with partners or vendors – 29%
According to Amadeus, generative AI specialists are grappling to recruit experts and train existing workforces to bridge a skills gap, while working to secure data and convince senior leaders of the value of generative AI investments.
How is generative AI being used?
While the process of experimentation continues with the deployment of generative AI, several use cases have emerged in the travel sector.
These are led by digital assistance for travelers during booking (53%) and followed by recommendations for activities or venues (48%), content generation (47%), helping staff to better serve customers (45%), and collecting and condensing post-travel feedback (45%).
Successful deployment
The report’s respondents said they were looking for, in ranked order, return on investment, customer satisfaction, efficiency and productivity improvements, performance metrics (accuracy, precision and relevance) and increases in key performance indicators when it comes to the successful implementation of generative AI.
Sylvain Roy, chief technology officer at Amadeus, said, “At Amadeus, we work to make the experience of travel better for everyone, everywhere and there is perhaps no better example of this mission coming to life right now than through the deployment of generative AI. This is a technology that has the potential to transform every facet of the travel ecosystem, significantly enhancing the passenger experience at every step of the journey.
“While the technology will be a key focus for the next year, questions are rightly being asked whether generative AI will deliver sufficient returns on investment, while talent shortages are also coming under the spotlight.
“It is crucial that we use this new technology responsibly, including ensuring data security, privacy and content reliability. It is time for generative AI to prove it can live up to the hype.”