(MENAFN-Al-Bayan)
Experts expect that advanced technology will contribute to enhancing the output of the tourism sector in the UAE economy during the coming period, noting that travel technology and artificial intelligence can enhance the direction of the hospitality and travel sector towards creating more personalized tourism experiences for consumers, identifying new business opportunities and future trends for the sector and anticipating demand for destinations. Tourism, by analyzing data related to travel patterns and the social and cultural changes of travelers and creating visual contents to introduce travelers to destinations before traveling to them.
Government statistics expect an increase in the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the UAE’s GDP by 4.9% annually, from about 159 billion dirhams, which represents 12% of the gross domestic product, to 264.5 billion dirhams, which represents 12.4% of the GDP in 2027.
In exclusive statements to Al-Bayan, the experts pointed out that the participation of travel technology developers in the Arab Travel Market in its 30th edition this year is the largest of its kind in the history of the exhibition, and an indication that Dubai is a leading global market for travel and tourism technology. They indicated that most work related to travel and tourism, including destination search, booking and payment for tours and tourist experiences during vacation, will be conducted virtually, and that all tourism enterprises of all sizes must find ways to adopt digital technologies and develop their digital infrastructures or face the risk of being left behind.
At the end of last year, the size of the global travel technology market reached $8.6 billion, according to Research and Markets, while the institution expected the market size to reach $13.4 billion by 2027, at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% during the period 2021-2027.
artificial intelligence
Since the beginning of this year, many tourism companies in the world have quickly integrated ChatGBT into their digital platforms to handle reservation requests and chat with customers to make a reservation, ask about availability, or modify their reservation, which helps reduce the burden of the customer service agent and provide faster and more service. efficiency for customers.
Faisal Memon, founder and CEO of IOL, a company that specializes in reservations and financial technology solutions, said that many global tourism websites and tour operators have already started using artificial intelligence tools – led by ChatGBT – to provide more specialized tourism experiences to consumers. . He added: “Today, artificial intelligence software analyzes huge amounts of data about travelers, including their travel patterns and past preferences, to provide personalized recommendations for their next trip, which enables travel companies to provide tailored and customized experiences to their customers, which leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.” for the company. Artificial intelligence can be used to improve several aspects of the travel experience, such as flight routes, hotel room availability and pricing.”
Supportive technologies
Arvind Bondum, Director of the Mauritius Tourism Authority, said that the role of technology in supporting the tourism sector has emerged clearly after Corona, as many tourism bodies, after the closure of airports and the cessation of tourism and travel after Corona, resorted to technology by developing many campaigns and digital contents. He pointed out that the Mauritius Tourism Authority had recently launched several visual contents with the aim of providing visual inspirations to travelers.
He added: Social media is one of the most powerful and user-friendly technologies that support tourism destinations, by creating attractive contents about tourist destinations. It is expected that the number of travelers from the UAE to Mauritius will reach 20,000 by the end of this year.
For his part, Vijay Singh, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Vervotech, a developer of travel reservation software, said that tourism companies are increasingly using RPA to simplify and automatically process applications, manage reservations and paperwork to reduce human errors. AI also provides interactive conversational platforms, such as virtual support agents and chatbots, that can directly address consumer requirements, thus enhancing their overall experience.
