Navigating AI and Travel: 'Social-First,' Influencers, and the Human Touch
Photo Credit: Artificial intelligence is expected to continue upending the travel industry. Wikimedia Commons / Jernej Furman
Skift Take
AI and social commerce are reshaping travel, blending personalized automation with human connection across a mobile-first global market.
The AI revolution is going global and shifting from a discovery function to a personal agent. Social media companies are integrating search and transaction functions into their platforms, paving the way for a new era of social commerce.
Sub-Saharan Africa is no exception: smartphone adoption is set to reach 87% by 2030, up from 51% in 2022, which will change the way travelers there search, engage, and book.
At Web in Travel (WiT) Africa 2025, held at Innovation City in Cape Town in mid-March, speakers placed an emphasis (unsurprisingly) on AI and how the travel industry has evolved from static marketing strategies to the rise of online travel agencies in the late 1990s and, more recently, to social-media-driven bookings. However, Generative AI is an entirely new kind of disruption.
According to Skift Research’s 2025 Travel Outlook, 37% of travelers used AI tools such as ChatGPT to plan trips, with 13% using it extensively and 24% occasionally. Among those, 83% reported satisfaction with the results, highlighting strong positive sentiment toward AI’s ability to personalize travel experiences.
Search Has Moved to Social
During a panel on the rise of social commerce in travel, the conversation quickly turned to one of the most fundamental shifts: the move from traditional search engines to social platforms as discovery tools. “All search is happening on social media,” said Naomi Ekberg, Head of Brand and Marketing at Travelstart. “People don’t want to be marketed to — they want to be engaged with.”
Rather than focusing solely on search engine optimization or email marketing, Travelstart has pivoted to a “social-first” strategy, relying heavily on user-generated content. “Our social media manager is in most of our content now, and we’ve seen a huge spike in engagement,” Ekberg shared.
Influencers That Convert
There has also been a major shift in how influencers are perceived — from fringe figures to legitimate conversion agents.
“Five years ago, influencers were seen as people we paid to have a drink in one hand and a camera in the other,” said Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism. “Now, they’re agents who can drive conversion, not just awareness.”
This tracks closely with Skift’s 2025 Megatrends. “The travel industry has maintained an uneasy alliance with social media influencers for over a decade. Yet these self-styled experts are set to become even more important in a brave new world of social commerce. They aren’t just serving FOMO — they’re providing a direct line to book the exact same experience they’re showing off on their Instagram feeds.”
But the panel warned against blindly chasing follower counts. “Followers don’t matter anymore,” Ekberg said. “If 80% of an influencer’s audience is in the U.S. and your market is in South Africa, they’re not the right fit.”
Instead, brands should focus on influencers with authenticity and trust, and even treat them as affiliates. “We need to start holding influencers accountable like we do with travel agents,” said Duminy. “They can be part of the booking ecosystem.”
The Future of AI in Travel: Automation with a Human Touch
While AI is automating travel bookings and driving personalization, Natalia Rosa, CEO of Big Ambitions, stressed the importance of human touchpoints.
Rosa urged brands to use AI to enhance – not replace – human interactions. “We’re using AI to do what we already do cheaper and faster. But what if we asked it better questions?”
Rather than automating away all human interaction, Rosa advocated using AI to enhance what makes tourism uniquely human: storytelling, empathy, and connection. “Think about those human touchpoints — those AI vacuums — and design around them.”
The panel agreed that AI should free up time for deeper human interaction. “I don’t want an automated welcome message,” said Rosa. “I want my hotel owner to use AI to run things behind the scenes — so they can actually connect with me in person.”
Rosa offered a more human-centric forecast: “I think travel agents and consultants are going to become more important — not less. People are overwhelmed. Those who build trust, show creativity, and use tech to create space for human connection will thrive.”
Staying ahead of the next wave of change.
June 4, 2025 - NEW YORK CITY
