Ultimate transformation: How will automation technologies disrupt the travel, tourism and hospitality industries?

Abstract

Companies from the travel, tourism and hospitality industry have started adopting robots, artificial intelligence and service automation technologies (RAISA) in their operations. Self-check-in kiosks, robotic pool cleaners, delivery robots, robot concierges, chatbots, etc., are used increasingly by tourism companies and transform the ways they create and deliver services. This paper investigates the impact of RAISA technologies on travel, tourism and hospitality companies – their operations, facilities design, marketing, supply chain management, human resource management, and financial management. The paper emphasises that in the future companies will divide into two large segments – high-tech tourism companies offering standardized cheap robot-delivered services, and high-touch companies, which rely on human employees.