In this issue, we explore how AI can enable smarter bookings, better answers, and even help travelers lose items at the airport. Plus, clever marketing that’ll make you want to travel the world for under $1,000, and surprising numbers on the economic impact of European airports.
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The most clicked link in Travel Tech Essentialist #158 is This article Sequoia highlights how generative AI evolves from fast thinking (pre-trained reactions) to slow thinking (reasoning).
Tip Engineer Mike Taylor shares five tips Get more accurate and relevant responses from AI, regardless of LLM. Here are two:
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style spin-off. First, prompt to analyze and list the specific characteristics that make up a person’s unique approach (Prompt 1: “Describe key elements [expert]Style/technique in bullet points.“). You can then apply these characteristics in your prompts to create new content (Tip 2: “Do [task] Use the following styles: [style].“)
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role play. Prompt template: “You are an expert in [field] famous for [key adjective]. help me [task]”. Without clear direction, ChatGPT can produce generic responses filled with emojis and corporate spiel.
Let’s look at role-playing techniques in action. First, a general tip:
You are now prompted to make an announcement in the style of Brian Chesky:
Skyscanner software engineer Owen Merry created an interactive “Travel around the world” The game challenges users to travel around the world for under £1,000. Maybe that wasn’t his intention, but it turns out to be a neat demonstration of Skyscanner’s ability to find affordable flights and a great example of organic, engaging marketing.
Amadeus just released Lead the future A report on how generative artificial intelligence is transforming the travel industry. The report is based on a survey of 306 senior travel technology leaders with experience in generative AI across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Currently, companies are primarily using AI for digital booking assistance (53%), event recommendations (48%) and content generation (47%). Looking ahead, they are focusing on enhanced customer service (39%), digital support on the go (38%) and streamlined operations (38%).
A new study from Airports Council International shows the huge economic impact of Europe’s airports and aviation connectivity. They generate €851 billion of GDP (5% of Europe’s GDP) and support 14 million jobs (6% of Europe’s total employment). The impact extends beyond airport operations. While €121 billion and 1.8 million jobs arise directly from airports (check-in staff, security, retail…), it is their “catalytic impact” on tourism, trade and business activity that is the real strength. In terms of tourism alone, airports generate €174 billion in GDP and 3.5 million jobs. When direct air connectivity increases by 10%, GDP per capita increases by 0.5%. Read more.
Like Christmas, the travel trend season seems to start earlier every year. Booking.com’s 2025 predictions and new destinations show that travelers are moving toward more purposeful, meaningful and personalized travel (a trend that continues to emerge year after year). Surprisingly, more than a third of travelers now consider their destination airport to be part of the attraction, with Gen Z and Millennials leading the way. View report.
McKinsey latest Aviation Value Chain Report Showing strong performance in 2023, eight of the 11 sub-sectors improved from pre-pandemic levels, with overall losses improving from $67 billion in 2022 to $3.6 billion in 2023. Some highlights:
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Airlines posted their best results in decades, with North America and Asia facing some headwinds. Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East posted positive returns for the first time since the pandemic.
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Jet fuel producers, which benefited from higher fuel prices, and freight forwarders, which benefited from strong air cargo demand, posted the largest profits among the 11 sub-sectors analyzed.
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Airports improve in 2023 but post a $9 billion loss (performance varies by region), the largest loss among subsectors due to slow traffic recovery and impact on aviation and retail (i.e. passengers inside terminals expenses) fixed, regulatory costs of revenue.
American Airlines announced The company is piloting (pun intended) a new technology feature at three U.S. airports that prevents passengers from boarding before being assigned a group. If a ticket is scanned prematurely, the system sends an audible alert to gate staff.
But…calling it “new technology” is a bit of a stretch. It just checks the boarding group when scanning. The real test here seems to be how passengers react and whether that slows down the process, rather than the technology itself. Also, I’m pretty sure other airlines already do this. Can anyone confirm this?
For my second deep dive into travel tech essentials (where I profile six standout companies shaping the future of travel every year), I wrote about boomeranga startup transforming lost item recovery through AI-driven automation. Boomerang, co-founded by Skyler Logsdon, streamlines the lost and found process at airports, hotels and venues, making recovery fast, seamless and even profitable for businesses.
Pencils can be as sharp as knives, so why are they allowed on planes? I guess they have to draw the line somewhere.
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Mauricio Prieto
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