Still Using Excel and Phone Books for Travel? In the AI Era, What Determines Your Success is "Connectivity"

UTE Global Travel Expo Outbound Travel Show January 9, 2026 17:09

Click the blue text

The tourism market in 2026 is experiencing a profound transformation driven by technology. If the focus of industry discussion in the past few years was "Internet + Tourism," then today, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has pushed the tourism industry into a new era of "AI + Tourism."

Faced with the rapid development of AI, tourism practitioners generally have two mindsets: on one hand, they feel confused or even anxious about the endless stream of new technologies, worrying that traditional business models will be impacted; on the other hand, they are deeply aware that if they cannot keep up with this trend, their companies may face the risk of being eliminated by the times.

Observing the global tourism market, it can be found that while many traditional travel agencies are still troubled by high customer acquisition costs and the severe homogenization of traditional routes, some internationally leading tourism companies have quietly used AI technology to achieve significant improvements in efficiency and profits in key areas such as itinerary planning, customer service, and precision marketing. This is not a distant future vision, but a business practice that is rapidly being implemented worldwide.

"Efficiency" and "Trust" in the Digital Age: What Do We Really Need?

Whenever AI is mentioned, the first reaction of many industry bosses is often worry: Will AI replace travel planners? Will AI make tour guides unemployed? Will AI make travel agencies redundant?

This worry is not unreasonable. We have indeed seen that AI's performance in certain repetitive, standardized tasks has far surpassed humans. For example, a powerful AI model can, within seconds, generate a complete itinerary plan based on a customer's budget, preferences, number of travelers, etc., including flights, hotels, attractions, and dining, even complete with transportation routes and booking links. In the past, this might have taken a travel planner hours or even days to complete.

If we only see AI as a "replacer," that would be a big mistake. The real value of AI lies in its ability to liberate us from tedious, low-value-added repetitive labor, allowing us to have more time and energy to focus on those core competencies that AI cannot yet replace: interpersonal communication, emotional connection, crisis management, innovative planning, and deep understanding of complex needs.

As emphasized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in its "Travel & Tourism Technology Trends Report" released in 2025, the application of AI in tourism will be more about "enhancing human capabilities" rather than "completely replacing humans." It is a powerful "enabler," not a "terminator."

The Irreplaceability of Human Connection: Building the Foundation of Trust Beyond Efficiency

In today's world where AI and big data are increasingly prevalent, information access has become unprecedentedly convenient. For the tourism industry, especially businesses involving complex customization, high-end services, and overseas resource connections, relying solely on online information and algorithmic recommendations is far from enough. The following aspects are precisely where digital tools are difficult to completely replace, and where the value of human connection becomes prominent:

1. Establishing Deep Trust:
--Challenge:
Online communication makes it difficult to establish deep trust, especially when involving large transactions, long-term cooperation, or handling emergencies. Customers and partners tend to prefer dealing with trustworthy individuals or teams.
--The Value of Human Connection:
Face-to-face communication can quickly bridge distances and build a level of trust that is incomparable online. This trust is the foundation for long-term cooperation and a safeguard against risks.

2. Precise Identification and Integration of Non-Standard Resources:
--Challenge:
Information about many high-quality overseas destination management companies, unique hotels, and niche attractions is incomplete on the internet, and there are even language and cultural barriers, making effective screening through search engines or AI tools difficult.
--The Value of Human Connection:
Only through direct communication with local resource providers can one gain a deep understanding of their service details, operational philosophy, and uncover those unique resources not yet discovered by the market.

3. Personalized Matching of Complex Needs:
--Challenge:
Customers' personalized needs are often multi-dimensional and dynamic. While AI can provide solutions, it struggles to capture customers' underlying emotional needs and unexpressed expectations.
--The Value of Human Connection:
Experienced travel consultants, through deep communication with clients, can discern their true travel motivations and provide solutions that exceed expectations, even on levels the clients themselves are unaware of. This matching based on emotional understanding is something AI finds hard to achieve.

These applications are not a distant future; there are already mature solutions that can be implemented. The key lies in how we approach, understand, and choose these technologies, and integrate them into our existing business processes.

Human Collaboration: The Irreplaceability of 30 Years of Experience and Trust-Built Connections

No matter how powerful AI is, it cannot replace the industry experience we tourism professionals have accumulated over the years, our insight into human nature, and our ability to adapt flexibly in unexpected situations.

The future of tourism is definitely not a solo performance by AI, but the perfect combination of "Human Wisdom + AI Efficiency." Our experience and insights will be the cornerstone for AI's learning and evolution; AI's efficiency and precision will be the accelerator for our business growth.

For tourism practitioners, the most valuable assets are understanding the market and grasping the customer. And AI is precisely the best tool to free us from tedious repetitive labor, giving us more time to think, innovate, and serve our customers well.

UTE Global Travel Expo: Desk-Style Setup, Building Trust, Connecting the Future

In the information-explosion digital age, how to efficiently and precisely find trustworthy partners and establish deep cooperative relationships has become a challenge for all tourism companies.

This is precisely the important mission that UTE Global Travel Expo—a professional platform with 18 years of deep cultivation in travel exhibitions—shoulders. UTE's mission is to build an efficient, trustworthy communication platform for buyers and sellers in the tourism industry, allowing everyone to find the latest solutions here and establish mutually trusting cooperative relationships.

UTE Global Travel Expo has a clear positioning: to provide an efficient communication platform for domestic and international destination management companies, hotel booking platforms, airlines, travel platforms, and other resource providers, as well as for tour operators, online customer acquisition platforms, customized travel, wholesalers, conferences, MICE, and other buyers.

On UTE's platform, the paid exhibitors are the supply side—destination management companies, hotels, attractions, travel insurance, airlines, travel platforms, etc., from both domestic and international markets. They bring their most core resources and products here to seek partners.

And those who visit for free are the demand side—thousands of tour operators, online customer acquisition platforms, customized travel, study tour organizations, travel agency stores, wholesalers, conference & exhibition and business travel culture companies. They bring the most genuine market demands here, looking for unique products that can help them stand out in the new market.

• Efficient Face-to-Face Communication:
Exhibitors and visitors conduct one-on-one negotiations in a relaxed, direct environment, avoiding the sense of distance and information asymmetry brought by large booths, ensuring the depth and efficiency of communication.

• Quickly Building Trust:
The tourism industry is built on a foundation of trust. Desk-style negotiations allow both parties to observe closely and communicate deeply, quickly establishing initial trust through non-verbal information such as eye contact, tone, and body language, laying a solid foundation for subsequent cooperation.

• Precise Matching of Needs:
Visitors can bring specific needs and questions to directly engage in detailed discussions with resource providers, jointly customizing solutions to achieve precise matching of supply and demand.

This "desk-style" communication model is precisely the core reason why UTE exhibitions have been able to continuously provide value to the industry for 18 years. It returns to the essence of business cooperation—connection and trust between people. In today's world where AI and online tools are increasingly prevalent, this kind of real, efficient, warm face-to-face communication has instead become the most scarce and valuable resource.

In 2026, AI is no longer a distant future, but a tangible present. For the tourism industry, this is both a challenge and an unprecedented development opportunity. Rather than passively observing, it's better to take the initiative and transform AI into part of your company's core competitiveness.

The true value of AI lies in empowerment. It will help those tourism companies that actively embrace technology to occupy a favorable position in the market competition. And UTE Global Travel Expo, with its efficient desk-style setup, brings you the most authentic connections, the deepest trust, and the broadest future.

Immediately scan the QR code below to get your free exhibition admission ticket and find your next important partner at UTE!

END