Picture this: You’re in Paris, Prague or Budapest for the first time. Years ago, you might have booked a walking tour with a local guide, but today your autonomous agent is guiding you around the city. Through your phone, the artificial intelligence (AI) assistant has become familiar with your likes, wants and needs and has the capability to share contextual information from historical facts to details on architecture.

Like the rest of the travel industry, the future of the tours and activities sector will be altered by some form of AI, though exactly how remains to be seen. The evolution of the in-destination experience aided by AI was discussed during part two of Phocuswright’s The New Age(nts) Trend Series, an online event led by Mike Coletta, senior manager of research and innovation at Phocuswright.

Panelists Alex Bainbridge, CEO of Autoura, co-founder and CEO of TripSchool Mitch Bach and Janette Roush, senior vice president of innovation and chief AI officer at Brand USA, joined Coletta for a wide-ranging, in-depth and informative conversation. 

“We feel strongly that some of the recent capabilities of generative AI models have significant implications for the in-destination experience. Specifically, advanced computer vision capabilities allow them to understand surroundings and context really well, and advanced real-time voice capabilities enable very natural conversations,” Coletta said. “And together, these stand to revolutionize how travelers tour neighborhoods and sites of interest, get recommendations and interact with locals.”

Travelers could theoretically take tours led by AI without ever contacting a human and ask their AI assistant questions as they move along their journeys, learning context about different destinations. AI could also be paired with human tour guides to improve the experience.

Mixed opinions on how AI may be used in tours

The panelists discussed AI’s integration into travel and the in-destination experience—and their takes varied.

Brand USA’s Roush believes AI’s incorporation into travel will not be an overwhelming shift from how we operate now with the use of tools such as Google Maps, but she thinks things will become more accessible as a result of AI.

“I see the future very much going towards I have a personal AI assistant on my phone … and then it’s going to provide the same nudging that I get now through Google Maps or just doing a Google search to tell me about a building,” Roush said. “[It’ll be] the same questions that I ask now, it’s just going to be more intuitive and easier to do. And I think that’s how it’s going to creep up on everyone.”

Autoura, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2024, is focused on operating experiences using AI, and Bainbridge sees AI agents acting as more than just digital assistants that can answer questions or provide factoids in lieu of a traditional search engine.

He believes AI might even make travelers feel more comfortable by building a rapport.

“These things will become your friend, rather than become some kind of Wikipedia retelling mechanism,” Bainbridge said. “They’re going to know you, and you’re going to know it, or them, or her, or he … and I think that that will be a relationship.”

Bach, whose company TripSchool offers training for tour guides and operators, had a different outlook. He said the profundity of the technology lies in making travel more accessible for differently-abled travelers. For that purpose, he believes AI can serve as a great resource.

But, generally speaking, Bach isn’t keen on the idea of autonomous tours.

“What is the point of travel? What are we trying to do here? Are we trying to make it easy and frictionless? Or are we trying to make ourselves better humans, better citizens?”

Coletta said he doesn’t believe it will be an all-or-nothing situation when it comes to using AI while in a destination.

Bainbridge agreed.

“I’m now a big believer in combining human tour guides with AI in some way,” he said. “Now that might be sequential, so you might have a six-hour tour, of which four hours are with an AI tour guide and two hours are with a human tour guide, or it might be concurrent … [in which] the AI [is] helping the human tour guide be a better … more informed tour guide.”

Bainbridge argued that not all tour guides operate at the same level of expertise. He said when he’s spoken to tour creators, they often encounter language barriers and solve that problem with something like a printed PDF, for example. That’s a situation that AI could tangibly improve. 

How are providers preparing for AI incorporation?

Like the panelists, wider tours and activities companies have differing opinions on AI usage in the sector but generally agree it won’t overtake human-led experiences.

Matthijs Keij, CEO of Withlocals, said his company is using AI to enhance human connection, not to replace it.

“Think of it as a smart assistant—helping local hosts personalize experiences faster and better, so they can focus on what truly matters: creating unforgettable moments with travelers,” Keij said.

He envisions using AI to help travelers discover better-matched tours, to help hosts make preparation for those experiences more efficient and to surface hidden gems.

AI is a powerful tool, but a hug from the guide’s grandmother after a homemade lunch in Naples? That’s something no machine can replicate.

Matthijs Keij, Withlocals

Catherine Treyz, head of corporate communications for GetYourGuide, said while AI poses some benefits to travelers, the company continues to subscribe to the idea that for experiences like tours, AI will have the biggest impact on the supply side.

Enrique Espinel, chief operating officer for Civitatis, said AI is being incorporated into its internal processes so its human team can focus on tasks it deems to be of higher value.

But AI won’t replace the discovery of a new destination alongside an expert human guide.

“That has been our value proposition and commitment since our platform was founded seventeen years ago,” Espinel said. “Almost two decades have brought about countless technological advances that we gladly embrace, but replacing the human touch in our tourist activities with AI … That will not happen.”

Espinel said Civitatis doesn’t plan to incorporate AI into its tours and activities, “neither in the short nor in the long term.”

“The closest thing to an autonomous tour that we currently offer—or will offer—at Civitatis are audio guide services,” Espinel said, reiterating that Civitatis is committed to guided services led by humans.

Keij said Withlocals will never offer fully autonomous tours.

“We’re not in the business of replacing people with robots,” Keij said. “Travelers don’t cross the world to be in a self-driving taxi. They do it for a shared laugh, a personal story, a real connection.”

Hosts are the product, according to Keij.

Treyz was on the same page. She said it’s “highly unlikely” GetYourGuide will include autonomous tours in its marketplace.

GetYourGuide was founded based on the idea that the future of travel is guided, Treyz said.

“We believe that experiences are avenues to disconnect from the burden of an overly-online society,” she said. “That largely means to let experiences help us reconnect with what’s real: the richness of the world’s cultures, fellow explorers and our five senses.”

Bottom line, tours and activities providers are betting on the need for human connection. It’s the one thing AI can’t replace, Treyz said.

“AI is a powerful tool, but a hug from the guide’s grandmother after a homemade lunch in Naples? That’s something no machine can replicate,” Keij said.