AI In Tourism: Limited Impact On Guest Experiences, Survey Shows

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Amperity, the leader in AI-powered customer data solutions, made public the difficulties the tourism and airline sectors face in incorporating AI into customer-facing solutions in their 2025 State of AI in Travel and Airlines report. Despite the growing trend in AI investment, the report outlines that a mere 35 percent of tourism ventures managed to integrate AI into direct guest communications, and even lesser consider themselves ready to deploy AI across operational scales.

Adoption of AI within marketing and customer support sectors, spend to improve guest feedback and experience offerings, is still lacking. As the holiday season quickly approaches and countless tourism enterprises aim to build new, seamless, and highly personal customer experiences, this problem is especially glaring.

AI Investments in the Tourism Sector

The report indicates that 96 percent of tourism professionals anticipate maintaining or increasing their AI investments in the coming year. This shows a strong commitment within the industry to harness the potential of AI. However, there remains a significant gap between investment and tangible benefits for guests. Over 80 percent of travel companies are using AI to some degree, primarily in marketing, sales, and customer service, but AI-driven direct engagement with guests remains in its infancy. The study suggests that while travel brands are eager to innovate, they are reluctant to introduce AI in front of customers due to concerns around data accuracy and AI reliability.

Challenges in Data Fragmentation and Staff Training

One of the primary barriers to effective AI implementation in the tourism sector is data fragmentation. More than half of businesses surveyed reported challenges with fragmented or incomplete customer data, which limits the effectiveness of AI in personalising guest experiences. As AI relies heavily on data to create relevant, timely interactions, the lack of a unified data structure hampers its potential.

Another significant hurdle is the lack of formal AI training for staff. Approximately 36 percent of respondents reported that their companies do not provide any formal training on AI, resulting in difficulties when deploying AI in real-world situations. This gap in training further exacerbates the challenges of scaling AI in tourism businesses, as employees are not equipped to manage or implement AI tools effectively.

The Role of Customer Data Platforms in AI Success

A key finding from the report shows that organisations leveraging Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are seeing faster AI adoption and more successful guest-facing applications. Companies with CDPs are more likely to use AI daily, deploy AI in guest-facing services, and expand AI usage across various departments. This indicates that a unified customer data system is essential for unlocking the full potential of AI in tourism, enabling brands to deliver more personal and engaging experiences to their guests.

Building the Path Towards Guest-Ready AI

While the current state of AI in tourism may not be fully realised, the report outlines a path forward for businesses to enhance their AI capabilities. This path includes unifying first-party guest data across all touchpoints, streamlining data preparation workflows, prioritising guest-facing use cases, and closing gaps in training and governance. By focusing on these areas, businesses can gradually transition from experimental AI pilots to robust, scalable AI systems that can consistently improve customer interactions.

In particular, the need for a comprehensive data strategy is highlighted as essential for advancing AI capabilities. By ensuring that guest identities are consistently recognised and updated across all systems, tourism brands can bring AI closer to their customers, offering more personalised and meaningful experiences with greater confidence.

The Future of AI in Tourism

Though there are some challenges at present, there is a noticeable inertia towards adopting AI within the travel and tourism industry. The wider the gap between vision and implementation AI is said to clutch are the businesses investing in the technology. AI is capable of optimising user experience and service delivery for industries like tourism and travel, warranted the notions of relevant infrastructure, adequate employee reskilling, and efficient data management systems.