AI Will Speed Travel Agent Decline, Says Booking CEO. Not So, Says ASTA Boss
Photo Credit: A photo of travelers. Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel said AI will exacerbate the decline of traditional travel agents. Pixabay
Skift Take
True, as the head of ASTA says, some people will always prefer to use a travel advisor over an online travel website. But in the big picture, how will AI skew the trend?
There has been a resurgence in the use of travel agents since the pandemic – and even before – especially for luxury trips.
One survey of U.S. travelers in 2023 found that 38% of millennials and Gen Zers said they prefer traditional travel agents to sort out their trips. There are reports of High Street travel agents in the UK opening new physical storefronts, as are several travel agencies in Singapore, for example.
But Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel thinks that growth will fade fast and that AI will accelerate a decline in traditional travel agents.
“But the truth is the human travel agent has been a declining population for a very long time," Fogel said on the Decoder podcast that came out Monday. "And, I’ll tell you, the things we are working on right now in AI and things of that nature, I suspect it’s going to continue to decline."
Fogel, of course, has skin in the game. His company competes with offline travel agents, and s
