Smart Tourism in the AI-Era: evolve or become irrelevant

Buhalis speaks from more than thirty years of research into technology in tourism—from the floppy disk era to today's hyperconnected society. His main message: “Everyone says they use AI, but when you ask further questions, it turns out that at most ten percent actually implement it.” Everything is changing: “Not only information, but intelligence itself is shifting from humans to machines.” He had a poignant wake-up call for the tourism sector: “Our sector is sleepwalking through technological developments until it is forced to wake up.”

From internet revolution to AI paradigm

Buhalis compares the current hype to 1997, when the internet was still dismissed by many as a temporary trend. If you want, you can easily replace the word “internet” in the headlines of that time with “AI.” The parallels are striking: high expectations, major misunderstandings, and enormous uncertainty. Yet this time, the scale and consequences are different. “Where the internet mainly transformed access to information, AI is transforming decision-making and intelligence.” According to Buhalis, we are on the eve of an era in which technology not only supports, but also makes decisions itself.

AI in tourism: lots of potential, little implementation

Although everyone is talking about AI, the reality, according to Buhalis, is that its application is still limited. McKinsey research shows that only a small proportion of companies actually use AI on a large scale. It is no different in tourism. We see major differences within the sector: "Airlines are leading the way because they have to. Efficiency is their raison d'être." They use AI in a variety of processes:

• Automation of communication and customer service
• Intelligent crew planning
• Personalized offerings
• Operational optimization

Hotels and destinations are lagging behind, mainly due to a lack of knowledge, conservatism, and the complexity of systems. Luxury hotels in particular cling to “high touch” service, which means they avoid technology—which, according to Buhalis, is a strategic mistake, because AI can deliver extreme personalization. He also had an alarming message for destinations: "A destination is not an organization but an ecosystem. Whoever connects the data determines the future."

The big step: from traditional to ‘agentic’ AI

The biggest change is the shift to agentic AI: systems that execute goals themselves and act autonomously. This shifts the balance of power: from humans using technology to technology deciding for humans. This offers enormous opportunities—efficiency, personalization, better predictions—but also risks. Especially when AI systems start communicating and competing with each other without human moral boundaries. Buhalis: “For the first time in history, technology is making decisions instead of humans. People stop arguing because they want to remain friends. Machines don't; they continue to the bitter end.” This makes ethics, governance, and ‘humanized AI’ crucial.

The smart tourism ecosystem

According to Buhalis, we should no longer view tourism as separate organizations, but as ecosystems: networks of providers, intermediaries, governments, mobility partners, and visitors, all connected via data streams: “We are redesigning experiences and delivering them in real time. That is the real revolution.” AI makes it possible to find exactly the right solution for every traveler, no matter how complex the request. He sees AI changing ecosystems in three ways:

• Extreme personalization
  AI can help travelers with hyper-detailed preferences: a wheelchair-accessible room in Amsterdam, without an armrest on the right, between €70–€80, near the Marriott, including transportation options and weather forecast. Where a human would spend hours on this, AI does it in seconds.
• Real-time decision-making
  With AI, destinations can respond in real time to traffic flows, overtourism, safety, energy consumption, and weather.
• Process optimization
  From revenue management to pricing, from check-in to crowd control: AI accelerates, simplifies, and predicts. Yet Buhalis emphasizes that many organizations are still “sleepwalking” through technology. They are waiting until they are forced to move, and he believes that moment is coming soon.

The metaverse and digital twins

According to him, the rise of the metaverse and digital twins is creating new layers of experience and planning. He sees various applications for this in the travel industry:

• Virtual pre-visits to destinations
• Hybrid conferences
• Immersive marketing
• Realistic training and simulation environments
• Virtual replicas of cities and buildings for management and planning

Buhalis sees this as a logical extension of smart tourism: a world in which physical and digital experiences merge.

Robots and autonomous systems

Buhalis sees rapid adoption of service robots, particularly in Asia: in hotels, hospitals, restaurants, and cleaning services. Robots deliver immediate, practical added value:

• They take over repetitive work,
• offer 24/7 service,
• reduce operational costs,
• and can compensate for staff shortages.

However, he notes that robots are often purchased without a strategy: they literally stand ‘in the corner’. The greatest value is only created when organizations redesign processes: from the bottom up, not from the top down.

The main challenges for tourism

Five major challenges emerge from the presentation:

• Digital literacy in the sector
  Many tourism professionals lack the knowledge to use AI strategically.
• Data quality and interoperability
  AI only works if data is complete, reliable, and connected: something that is often still lacking.
• Governance and ethics
  From privacy to algorithmic transparency: the sector is still insufficiently prepared for this.
• Organizational change
  Hotels, DMOs, and travel organizations need to rethink processes, not just add tools.
• Aligning with social values
  AI must contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. However, Buhalis warns that technology can also be misused.

Conclusion: a new era of tourism

According to Buhalis, we are at the beginning of a fundamental transformation. The travel industry will change into a real-time, hyper-personalized, data-driven ecosystem, in which AI not only supports but increasingly decides. The challenge for the sector is clear: evolve or become irrelevant.