Simon Powell, chief executive of Inspiretec, was explicit when asked the question of where travel sat in the adoption of technology compared to other industries.

“We all know why. We have diverse systems and they’re not connected in a streamlined fashion. Will we be able to adapt? We absolutely can, but here we are, slightly behind where other industries are today,” said Powell.

Also on the panel, Joao Gonzaga, chief digital officer of Kuoni parent Der Touristik Group, supported Powell’s claims, describing the travel industry as “data rich, but insight poor”.

Nisha Botevyle, UK and Ireland director of Sabre, added: “We have the data but we don’t always know what to do with it. We say that we have the data solutions, but you have to translate it into something tangible in a way that you can use it to your advantage.”
 
Powell emphatically urged the room to “take their time” when it comes to considering implementing technology, including AI.
 
“There’s a whole lot of people in the room who are going to go back and think there’s been a whole session on AI, but please don’t rush and take on something because you think you have to.

 
“I would urge people, take your time. [Travel’s] not as easy as ’selling something’, so please, when you’re seeing this technology, see it working in our domain, in our sector, because that’s really important – It doesn’t just auto-cross.”

Gonzaga added that currently technology is not designed from a user perspective. “We don’t design tools for the sake of the users, we do it from our perspective and that has to change.”

Botevyle pointed to examples the travel industry could learn from in the modern retail industry that could offer “a real transformation in the customer experience”, citing beauty company Sephora’s “ability to replicate its in-store experience online” using augmented reality aids and virtual assistance.
 
“What they’re doing is creating an emotional experience with their customers throughout. They have something called ‘making your trip count’; from the moment someone accesses something to when they’ve bought, those customers end that experience and they come back.”
 
But while conceding that the travel industry had some work to do, Phil Gardner, chief commercial officer at Ambassador Cruise Line, pointed to the end customer and their perception.
 
“Where [travel] is lacking is being bold enough to put something at the front end, that the customer would see, and in doing so we have to consider whether a customer cares about that or not.”