How does Artificial Intelligence impact the booking of excursions and trips?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way people plan their trips—from choosing their destinations to the activities they do there—and is also driving a shift in online travel companies' strategies to engage customers. 

Tools like Google's AI Overviews, conversational assistants, and AI-based applications are reshaping the industry's rules of the game, and companies in the sector are preparing to face a radical change in the way travelers interact with the search engine.

In this context, Civitatis, the leading online platform for excursion sales in more than 160 countries around the world, analyzed the impact of this new technology on both the way people travel and the strategies tourism companies use to capture their attention.

How does AI impact tour searches?
Thanks to AI, travelers can now get automatic descriptions and instant summaries of tours, activities, and destinations without having to visit multiple websites. Features like Google AI Overviews offer AI-generated summaries directly in search results, streamlining decision-making. Additionally, assistants like ChatGPT help users plan trips conversationally, personalizing recommendations in seconds.

To make the most of these tools, Civitatis recommends using detailed and highly specific prompts; comparing sources and visiting the original platform of the tour recommended by the AI ​​to verify real reviews, photos, and booking conditions, among other information; and personalizing the experience, as some platforms allow you to save preferences and tastes. This, combined with AI, can offer suggestions tailored to the traveler's profile.

“For Civitatis, artificial intelligence represents a new scenario not only for optimizing operational processes, streamlining online booking methods, and accelerating content creation, but also for enhancing customer communication and capturing their attention. Search engine visibility is being redefined; it's no longer enough to be well-positioned and a leader in the sector. Other actions are now key, such as describing each of the more than 90,000 activities offered by our platform in the best possible way so that AI can prioritize us,” said Nicolás Posse, Country Manager of Civitatis Argentina and Business Development for Chile & Uruguay.

“If AI directly answers questions like, 'What is the best excursion in Rome?' or 'What excursion do you recommend for me to take in Rome with two children next May?', users can obtain information without having to visit a website. This means that tourism companies will have to innovate their content strategies and differentiate themselves even further through content quality,” Posse noted, adding, “The main challenges for the tourism sector will be maintaining both authority and credibility, both with search engines and users.”

In short, “AI is changing the way we search, compare, and book excursions. As travelers, we have new tools to plan better. As a platform, at Civitatis, we see this change as an opportunity to continue innovating and offering our community unique experiences with the best possible information. We are also committed to adapting and continuing to innovate so that the experience remains human, reliable, and unforgettable,” Posse concluded.

Source: Civitatis.