Digital tourism: why chatbots are the next game changer
Technology is revolutionizing tourism
Tourism is one of the industries technology has fundamentally changed. Until a few years ago, booking a flight, train or hotel required specialists and a lot of paperwork to sift through to find the best trip.
From paperwork to self-service booking
That's no longer the case today: you open Skyscanner or the website of Lufthansa, ITA, Eurowings, Ryanair and so on, enter your departure and arrival airports, and in less than 10 seconds you're presented with a range of possible options.
Chatbots as the next step in innovation
But recently, many companies have introduced an even more innovative tool: a chatbot that takes over these tasks … and many more! And this use of chatbots in tourism is far from the end of the road.
Outlook: how chatbots are used in tourism
Let's take a look at how chatbots are used in the tourism industry.
Chatbots for travel and booking advice
With the help of natural language processing, a chatbot can help someone figure out where they want to go. The chatbot will understand what's meant by a romantic getaway or a fun trip and filter out the best options.
Formentera? Apulia? Cyprus? The Maldives? 🌹 Or Malta, Budva or Barcelona instead? 🎉
This way, you get tailored, personal advice that guarantees the best experience. Users are guided through the entire process. And when the chatbot can no longer meet the user's wishes, employees step in.
One example is the chatbot from TUI Germany.
There are also chatbots you can use both to book and to manage your existing bookings. One example is Elisa, the chatbot of Lufthansa, Germany's national airline, which offers great support in this respect.
Chatbots for travel planning
Chatbots for travel planning: the digital Lonely Planet
Chatbots for travel planning offer various information about the destination: they can tell you what's worth seeing, which special experiences are on offer, whether there are tours and so on. In short, a digital Lonely Planet.
Where they're used: websites and travel blogs
This type of chatbot is often used on websites about a specific place or on travel blogs. One of the main benefits is clearly that website visitors no longer have to search for information themselves in a tedious, time-consuming way.
The planning pain point: time & motivation
Everyone (or almost everyone) likes traveling, but it takes a certain amount of planning and therefore time. And if you do it in the evening after a day at work, you may be tempted to give up if you don't find the information you want right away.
Solution: guided navigation & booking
But the good news is that this can be avoided. With a chatbot, you can guide visitors to the topics they're looking for and possibly to booking a service. All under the constant guidance of a digital assistant.
Real-world example: the island of Norderney (Lower Saxony)
A successful example is the chatbot on the website of the island of Norderney in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Chatbots for day planning
Then there are chatbots whose focus – similar to those above – is helping visitors plan their vacation days. They're especially useful once you're already there.
In this case, information is filtered by day or length of stay so travelers know what's on offer during their vacation.
Events, guided tours and tour information as well as weather and climate forecasts are presented. Or the chatbot might warn that a tree species many people are allergic to grows on a particular street.
A vivid example is the chatbot of the town of Büsum on the North Sea in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Chatbots for visitor management
Overtourism is a tangible problem. The most famous and best-known example is the beautiful island city of Venice.
The damage caused by overtourism includes pollution (water, air, soil, noise, etc.), harm to the local ecology and overloaded or missing host infrastructure. Add to that the overcrowding of indoor and outdoor public spaces and much more. In short, terrible scenarios.
Technology has stepped in here too. Chatbots have been developed that can help.
There are in fact chatbots that aim to steer crowds elsewhere by offering alternative tours away from the usual beaten paths, lesser-known events and hidden corners of towns and cities. For them to work, the user's location is needed, which also allows other basic information such as weather reports and directions to be shared.
Augmented reality chatbots
Similar to Google Earth, this type of chatbot lets you be where you want to be – while you're still lying on your couch at home. Some websites even offer the option of taking part in virtual tours or learning about a destination through an avatar.
Playful chatbots
Finally, we have to mention playful chatbots. They're used by tourism companies to entertain website visitors. To do this, they share interesting quirks or stories, sometimes in a playful way – with a quiz, an activity and so on. They can appear anywhere, at any stage of the customer journey.
Chatbots for travel & tourism – conclusion
Vacation planning: more than just the destination
Planning a vacation isn't just about choosing your preferred destination but also about booking a flight or train (if needed), accommodation and/or excursions.
Simplifying things with tourism chatbots
Tourism chatbots step in to simplify these often tedious and unpleasant tasks.
A wide variety of chatbot types
There's a wide range of chatbots on the market: chatbots for travel and booking advice, for booking itself, and for planning an entire trip or a single day.
Chatbots against overtourism
There are also chatbots designed to help combat overtourism: they try to divert the crowds and lead them elsewhere to relieve a particular place of overcrowding.
AR experiences and virtual tours
Then there are chatbots that use augmented reality to enable virtual tours or give a first impression so you can tell whether a destination is right for you. Here, too, you can discover anecdotes and stories along the way through play.
A companion before, during and after your vacation
In general, chatbots are there for you before, during and after your vacation. Before the trip, they help with the formalities; during it, they help with planning; and afterwards, they collect experiences to help and advise others.
