Julia Simpson, president and chief executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), urged delegates at WTM London’s annual Ministers’ Summit to throw their weight behind efforts to develop the necessary standards, training and infrastructure to help more travel businesses adopt AI, and attract the investment needed.

"Artificial intelligence will help us meet new demands and strengthen our role as the driver of positive change," said SImpson. "Despite its potential, I have to stand here and tell you our sector is way behind other industries in terms of adopting AI."

Simpson reeled off a slew of reasons for the perceived lag in AI adoption, including travel’s “most senior leaders” failing to fully grasp the value of AI.

Other challenges include weak high speed internet and data centre infrastructure in some regions, which she said was "creating a significant gap between rich and poor in the AI economy”, as well as skills gaps and clear, consistent regulation.

"AI sometimes makes people nervous," Simpson continued. "We need good, clear regulations from the governments sitting in this room."

“It’s not just smart business, it’s our chance to help drive the sustainable change we all need by leveraging the technology we already have available. AI is something to be discussed at the CEO’s table, not just the technology departments.”

Simpson insisted it was down to public sector influence to “create the right environment” to work with private sector businesses towards implementation and risk management. “By uniting our efforts we can make our sector a global leader in innovation, growth and environmental responsibility,” she said. 

Natalia Bayona, executive director of UN Tourism, which recently launched its Global Start-up Challenge, added there needed to be a global conversation on the topic and its integration into travel and tourism.

She said AI was synonymous with "hyper-personalisation" and would help the sector personalise the service it provides.