Decades after online booking platforms shifted control to consumers, another technological shift is under way as travel advisors begin integrating artificial intelligence into daily workflows. Some advisors, particularly in the luxury segment, say the tools help them generate high-level route ideas, draft client communications faster, and free time for marketing and client outreach. Athena Livadas, who runs Páme Travel and books five-star trips, reports roughly 40% business growth when comparing a six-month period before and after adopting these tools, and credits time savings with enabling her to take on more clients.
Adoption is uneven, and many advisors remain skeptical or offended by the notion that a model can plan travel. Still, companies that supply advisors are embedding Artificial Intelligence into platforms. Fora, a digital travel agency, began rolling out AI-powered features in fall 2023 and integrates them into advisor workflows for drafting proposals, formatting rate displays to be more client-friendly, and building itineraries. Fora also trained a chatbot called Sidekick on proprietary trainings, help articles, and hotel and destination data; the tool is used by about 25% of advisors each month and by 35% of newly onboarded advisors. Rita Carton, a Fora advisor, estimates that using the platform and standalone tools such as ChatGPT halved her planning and response times, tripled bookings year over year, and let her handle nine simultaneous itineraries in a quarter versus two or three previously.
Despite these productivity gains, advisors argue the sector´s competitive edge rests on relationships and local knowledge that technology struggles to reproduce. A Deloitte study found generative tool use for trip planning doubled from 8% to 16% between October 2023 and October 2024, signaling growing consumer reliance on machine-generated research. Yet advisors point to bespoke touches as the enduring value proposition: tailored off-the-beaten-path recommendations, personal calls to hotel managers that secure upgrades, and curated arrival surprises. In short, advisors are using Artificial Intelligence to amplify capacity and efficiency, not to replace the human interventions that deliver privileged experiences and long-term client loyalty.
