Is AI Replacing Travel Companies and Are They Ready for What Comes Next?

Over the past couple of years, the travel industry has been flooded with predictions about how artificial intelligence will transform the way people plan, book, and experience their holidays. Some believe AI will eventually replace traditional travel agencies and online booking platforms. Others see it simply as another tool that will help the industry evolve.

Personally, I believe the reality will be considerably more complex.

Having spent many years developing and operating tailor-made travel experiences, I think we may be focusing too much on who AI will replace and not enough on how it will reshape the relationships between travelers, travel professionals, technology platforms, and local destination experts.

The real question is not whether AI will change travel. It already is. The question is who will remain relevant when that transformation accelerates.

Planning a Trip Is Not the Same as Delivering One

Today, an AI assistant can produce an impressive ten-day journey through Portugal in seconds, recommending hotels, restaurants, activities, and a beautifully structured itinerary. But creating an attractive travel program and delivering it successfully are two very different challenges.

Who confirms hotel availability, coordinates local services, and ensures everything runs smoothly?

And, perhaps more importantly, who takes responsibility when something goes wrong?

Delayed flights, last-minute cancellations, unexpected weather conditions, and travelers requiring assistance are part of the daily reality of travel.

AI can design the promise of a journey. Someone still needs to deliver that promise.

This is precisely where experienced travel professionals continue to play an essential role.

The Biggest Disruption May Happen Before the Booking

For years, travelers have relied on search engines, travel websites, and professional travel advisors to discover destinations and evaluate their options.

Increasingly, they are also asking AI.

Where should we spend two weeks in Europe? Which destinations offer authentic cultural experiences? Can you recommend a reliable travel specialist who can organize everything?

These conversations happen long before anyone makes a reservation. And this is where I see a fundamental shift emerging.

The companies that influence how travelers discover their next destination may not necessarily be the ones that ultimately organize or book their journey.

An AI assistant might recommend a destination, suggest an itinerary, identify a travel specialist, and then direct the traveler to an existing agency or booking platform.

Traditional travel companies may continue handling reservations while gradually losing influence over how customers find them.

For travel agencies and local destination specialists, this distinction matters enormously.

Being excellent at what we do will remain essential. But being visible and relevant in an increasingly AI-driven world will become equally important.

The Future of Travel Professionals

I don't believe AI will eliminate the need for professional travel advisors or local destination experts. I believe it will challenge them to become even better at what they do.

Those who rely mainly on assembling basic itineraries or providing easily accessible information will face increasing pressure.

But those who genuinely understand their clients, anticipate their needs, and provide trusted guidance will continue creating meaningful value.

Our role cannot simply be to receive a request, contact a few hotels, add transportation and activities, and return a quotation.

If that is all we offer, technology will inevitably challenge our business model.

Instead, we need to demonstrate why our local expertise matters: why one hotel suits a particular traveler better than another, why an itinerary that looks perfect on paper may be exhausting in practice, and why having someone locally who can solve problems makes all the difference.

The value of a travel company lies not in how much information it possesses, but in how intelligently it transforms that knowledge into exceptional travel experiences.

As information becomes more accessible, genuine expertise, trust, and accountability will become increasingly valuable.

Technology Should Make Us More Human, Not Less

Many travel companies still depend on highly manual processes. Preparing quotations, checking supplier availability, coordinating reservations, and updating itineraries consume enormous amounts of time.

These tasks are essential, but they are not necessarily where our greatest value lies.

At Splendid Portugal, we've been investing in improving our systems, integrating technology into our daily work, and exploring how AI can support our teams.

Not because we want to replace people. Quite the opposite.

We want to give them more time to build relationships, understand travelers, develop original experiences, and deliver outstanding service.

For our clients, that should translate into faster responses, more personalized journeys, and even better support before and during their travels.

The objective should not be to remove the human element from travel, but to remove unnecessary work so that the human element becomes even stronger.

The Future Belongs to Travel Companies That Evolve

I don't believe artificial intelligence represents an existential threat to travel companies.

The greater threat is assuming that our existing business models, processes, and relationships with customers will remain unchanged.

Some activities will become automated. New ways of discovering and booking travel will emerge. The relationship between technology companies, booking platforms, travel advisors, and local specialists will continue to evolve.

We cannot control all of that. But we can control how we respond.

For me, the travel companies that succeed over the next decade will not necessarily be the largest, the cheapest, or even the most technologically advanced.

They will be the ones that successfully combine three essential strengths: intelligent technology, exceptional local expertise, and genuine human relationships.

Technology will help us work faster. Local knowledge will help us create better journeys. And human relationships will give travelers the confidence to trust us with experiences that matter.

That is where I believe travel companies around the world should be investing.

Not in trying to compete with AI at everything it can do, but in becoming exceptionally good at everything that makes us valuable alongside it.