Latest news with #RichardTuren
Travel Weekly
8 hours ago
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Is AI something we need to embrace ... or survive?
Richard Turen Consider this one in an ongoing series of columns that will eventually be written by AI, I'm sure. I was not anxious to open the door to this subject. Perhaps articles about AI's potential impact on our industry should best be written by those who study and design AI in the tech sector or at universities. Many travel advisors I speak to say they will embrace AI when it can do more. Some think it is a threat in terms of eliminating the need for professional, human advisors. Why, after all, rely on the travel knowledge and experience stored in one single brain when you can more quickly access the collective wisdom of tens of thousands? In our time together, I have not addressed in depth the potential impact of AI. I do not want to try to predict where it/we are headed. I do not want to pretend that I have any scientific expertise in the field. But I thought it might be helpful to devote some space to just talking through some of my observations over the past several years regarding the impact of amateur or, if you prefer, "artificial" intelligence on our industry. I have been keeping files on the progress of AI over the years, knowing I would write about it at some point when I felt I had a handle on the subject. Any objective observer would look back and marvel at the progress that has been made in technology in a few years and, all too often, in just a few months. Should we be worried? Should we be unusually proactive? Or should we do the one thing we as a profession never do: Should we actively communicate to our clients that AI is a potentially destructive way to enable a machine to plan the best moments of one's life? In wondering what the future might hold for our little shops that sell the world, I decided to start with the source: "While AI is gaining ground in the tourism sector, this does not mean that travel agents will disappear. On the contrary, their role is evolving. Rather than focusing on flight and hotel research, they can now focus on their true expertise: advising, guiding and offering unique experiences." That is not an altogether reassuring statement. If we lose the ability to compete with AI in flight planning and accommodations, does that mean that we all need to convert to the highest level of personal FIT planning? And will that be profitable? Do we want to engage in a profession where we are no longer trusted to do 75% of what most of us do for a living? I did not write the statement. Google AI wrote it in response to my question. It is the only part of this column I did not write. And it is interesting in terms of Google AI's confidence that it will soon be taking over several of the most critical functions we fulfill. And there is a question left unanswered: If our "true expertise" is offering "unique experiences," how will we compete with a technology that can scan tens of thousands of unique experiences at any destination in the world within moments.? A comment from respected Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li illustrates the major goal of AI and its immediate focus. She said there was a phrase from the 1970s that AI "is a machine that can make a perfect chess move while the room is on fire." Machines lack contextual understanding. Travel industry skeptics, and I am not one of them, claim that the lack of conceptual understanding is the reason that AI will never replace the home-based IC or the office-based corporate agent. Let's continue this conversation next time -- there may, after all, be a new AI breakthrough to report.
Travel Weekly
07-06-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Are you booking or designing travel?
Richard Turen Looking back, I know that I would never have opened up a travel consultancy had I not worked the supplier side for quite a while. And I certainly would not dare write about our industry had I not walked both sides of the street. They are very different, even though they might be in the same neighborhood. I worked for one of the largest cruise lines, starting out on the West Coast. I visited travel agencies four days a week. I was a director of sales, and my job was to drum up business. But my reality was that our ships were starring in a little TV series called "The Love Boat" then, and they were sold out much of the time. I might have been a lousy salesperson, but no one knew it, and I was promoted to be vice president of the East Coast and the Midwest. Now I was responsible for 26 states; lots of agencies to visit. So starting on the West Coast and then taking on the East Coast and the Midwest, I was in and out of more agencies than I could count. During every visit, I was looking forward to discovering dozens of new business models. It would all be so stimulating. But it usually wasn't! There were precious few unique business models, and innovation was rare. Everything was sold on some sort of airline-owned CRM system. Airline sales made up just over 70% of a typical agency's sales. It was always the same scene. Two chairs in front of a desk with the client facing the back of the computer. And so it was for about four decades. Technology improved, and we noticed our clients searching online instead of seeking out a storefront. We were no longer booking robots; that could be done online. We started evolving into advisors. ASTA, an organization I feel has always had the collective backs of the membership it represents, caught on and went so far as to change its organization's name, with that last "A" now standing for "advisors" rather than "agents." We are now advisors -- sort of important to the families we serve. I see us as financial advisors, except our role is less about showing our clients how to grow their money and more about advising them on ways to dispense with some of it. Which leads me to an April article by Julie Bogen in the Washington Post. She explores the growth of the trend for agents to describe themselves as online travel "designers" who concentrate on creating truly personalized itineraries, travel troubleshooting and providing luxury perks. The article explains how contemporary consumers want to hire a "designer" instead of an "agent." The concept of a travel "agent" is now dated. Several successful designers are profiled in the piece, including one who created an itinerary with perks she felt would meet the needs of four prominent influencers. Sure enough, they liked the presentation, and it started being circulated on Instagram. Of course, a true travel designer has to be an FIT specialist, and some of you will surely feel that FITs are unusually time-consuming and less profitable than booking brochure programs. A travel office where every journey is custom-designed to meet the guest's profile may be fashionable, trendy, hip and always personalized, but I can't help but wonder what a travel design firm would need to charge guests in order to be profitable. I actually like the "designer" designation. I also like "travel architect" and "dream creator." It is possible that, at our best, we listen and then design what is best suited for the client instead of trying to sell them a program without taking into account their unique profile. But will we have to start spending more on our business attire if we start describing ourselves as designers? Will we need to be a bit more flamboyant? If we "flamboyantize" our industry in the months to come, I'm just not sure that my blue blazer will survive.
Travel Weekly
24-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Taking the temperature of summer travel
Richard Turen When you operate a store that sends patrons with varying budgets to various places on our planet at various times of the year, the results can, well, vary. Examining data that is useful for explaining what is happening in travel this summer and next is time-consuming and can lead to conclusions that are far from universally accepted. But I feel an obligation to look at some of the hard questions with you to see if we can find any reality in the data. Where the hell are we when it comes to the current travel plans of Americans? Clients are concerned about several issues that are affecting their choices for both domestic and international travel. Revenge travel is over. Talk about tariffs; price increases; canceled flights and the need to overhaul our air traffic control system; anti-American feelings reflecting the election of an "America first" president; and a stock market that is, at best, unpredictable, have caused many of our clients to reconsider travel abroad. But we want to be very careful not to overstate the case. Nothing truly dramatic is revealed in the data, and 2026 can still be a strong year for Americans visiting Europe. I do, however, think we need to take note of the following: The percentage of American adults planning a summer vacation this year has fallen from 53% to 46% since last year, according to a survey done by CNBC and Bankrate. The same study showed that those who cited the hassle of traveling as a possible reason to delay has risen from 11% to 16%. Fears of a recession, more job insecurity and tariff talk are causing an increasing number of Americans to take a wait-and-see attitude about future travel plans. A Bank of America report from March shows that spending for lodging, flights and touristic activities are all off year over year. CNBC reports that, for the first time, 15% of respondents now list flight safety as a reason they are reconsidering current travel plans. There is also data that shows that lower-income households are cutting back the most on vacation spending. The Bank of America report reveals that wealthier Americans seem to be both aware and accepting of higher travel costs in Europe, and this is not resulting in any obvious cutback in demand. Of course, inbound tourism figures mightily into the overall picture of our economic health going forward as well. And things aren't looking good there, either: Travel Weekly news editor Johanna Jainchill reported that the latest Economic Impact Research from the World Travel & Tourism Council and Oxford Economics said the U.S. is on track to lose $12.5 billion in international visitor spending this year. Delta, United and several other domestic carriers have reported on earnings calls that they are projecting weaker outlooks tied to fewer Americans vacationing abroad but also, perhaps more importantly, to the decline of non-Americans flying for a vacation in the U.S. What really has the analysts' attention is that a significant number of U.S. tourists are now turning away from France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland. We are also seeing a demonstrable turning-away from beach destinations with the likelihood of record-high temperatures. What we are seeing, in its early stages, is a shift from our most popular European destinations to places like Japan, Iceland, Latin America and the U.S. When the final analysis is done, we may see a stronger euro, market saturation, concerns about a "welcoming attitude" in parts of the world that were once close allies, fear of flying hassles and the growing price differentials between domestic and international vacations as factors that will cause a shift in destination demographics. Our Little Shop That Sells the World will experience some new challenges. But we never expected the world to make our work any easier.
Travel Weekly
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Travel Weekly
Looking for happiness in the wrong place
Richard Turen I am feeling good today. This column is being written in real time — I am going to be opening and reading the 2025 World Happiness Report as I write, and I am feeling this great sense of optimism and joy. Perhaps the U.S. will, as we should, top the list. Aren't we the country with the statistically "happiest" citizens on Earth? Do we really have any major issues to keep us from achieving our goal? Don't we have the world's highest standard of living, world-class healthcare available to all and a nation united in its political beliefs? Don't tourists from all over the world want to visit us on vacation to share time with our happy citizens? Don't our North American neighbors welcome us with open arms? Our citizens are supportive of our efforts in travel. I am truly moved, for instance, by the sheer number of people — millions — who have taken an interest in improving our travel products. I don't know if you've seen those red hats that proclaim "Make American Great Again." Even our president wears one. As an AA frequent flyer and supporter, I am grateful to the millions who are wearing their caps in support of my airline. So, I am opening the report now; give me a few moments to digest the results. The report is a highly regarded collaboration between the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Gallup polling of more than 100,000 world citizens and Oxford University. Oops! The news is not good. In 2024, there were 22 countries that ranked higher than the U.S. on the report. I am afraid that in 2025, we slipped to No. 24. Some of the major reasons for our positioning in terms of the happiness level of our average citizen: declining "joy" and "social trust" as major factors contributing toward increasing "polarization" in the U.S. Our clients will want to visit countries where the locals are generally happy with their lives. So where should we be sending them? Costa Rica came in at No. 6 and Mexico at No. 10. Yes, Mexico has far happier citizens than we do. Canada, Slovenia and Czechia are all in the top 20, along with Australia and New Zealand. Western European countries fill in most of the remaining gaps in the top 20. Of course, the Nordic countries lead the list. Finland is No. 1, with Denmark a close second. It reminds me of the piece "60 Minutes" did several years ago about the report and the fact that the Danes did so well. There was this incredible moment when Steve Kroft sat with a small cross-section of Danish citizens and explained that he and his crew had been in Copenhagen for a week and they were surprised that in one of the world's happiest countries, "we hardly saw any laughter, joke-telling or even very many smiling faces." A young man on the panel in front of Kroft explained, "That is true. But smiling is not how we look at happiness. Happiness is when you go to bed at night and you just don't have major things to worry about like paying for college, receiving the best healthcare if you need it, being threatened by crime or losing your job. To us, happiness is really about what you don't have to worry about." Noted.
