Why Human-Centric Tourism Is So Important For The Travel Industry

This article was originally published to align with World Tourism Day, but the discussion around how tourism impacts people around the world, the planet, and the prosperity of the industry as a whole is critical to engage with on an ongoing basis.

When we think about travel, and the travel industry as a whole, it’s evident that the notion of ‘being a force for good’ - allowing travel to thrive without compromising people or places - has become an increasing priority. This point is coming ever-clearer into focus as traveller profiles evolve, and as we look to the future.

This World Tourism Day, it’s even more apparent that we need to continue to be responsible. To hold in high regard the impact of travel on people and the planet, and the prosperity that comes when these factors align. 

In fact, ‘people, prosperity and planet’ is one of the key themes of this year’s World Tourism Day; and the United Nations World Travel Organisation (UNWTO), alongside worldwide travel players, identify that travel must continue to offer opportunities for the people involved in tourism, while also continually being in accordance with the pressing sustainability goals which will allow travel and tourism to remain in existence.

But what is World Tourism Day, and why is it a great stepping stone for thought-leadership when it comes to travel?

World Tourism Day is an annual event in the travel calendar, where we - as travel players - think about the impact of tourism as a whole on the world: in social, cultural, environmental and economic ways. 

This year, we’re thinking about what happens when travel is the force for good that facilitates many ways of travelling, and industry-wide considerations and structures, that are beneficial for the people involved at every stage, the prosperity of the industry in the long run, and the planet itself as the most important factor in this equation. Though there are countless ways the travel industry can achieve this, we think there are a number of key considerations that lend themselves to the themes for this World Tourism Day for 'people, prosperity, planet'.

Striking A Balance With AI 

In a world where generative AI is making the headlines multiple times a week for as many reasons as there are days in said week, and carving all-new routes and paths for the travel industry to push forwards deeper into tech-focused solutions for travel sellers and end travelers alike, we think it’s important not to lose sight of the people involved in the travel process.

It’s suggested that a staggering 71% of customers expect personalised service and therefore personalised interactions as standard when engaging with a business, which is certainly not a figure to take lightly. With 75% customers frustrated if they aren’t offered personalised service, and 76% suggesting that receiving personalised service is a key factor in their consideration of a business, this arguably proves that human-centric communication for customers is still critical to building a positive relationship between seller and consumer. 

For instance, the 2023 consumer research survey from the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) discovered that 50% of travellers are now more likely to use a travel agent since the pandemic. While this was previously as a result of needing more information regarding changing safety protocols during COVID-19, it is now also an example of the increasing importance of this type of human-centric customer-business relationship to consumers.

However, catering to tech and AI, as one of the biggest trends in travel, is undoubtedly key for businesses who don’t want to be left behind. 

Human-centric solutions have always been at the forefront of our business model, but it’s certainly not to suggest that TravelTech is not the way forward: with the implementation of vast metaverses available to citizens and travelers, such as the Japanese metaverse economic zone; the use of generative AI at nearly every step of the pre- and post-booking stages; the incorporation of virtual reality during the travel decision-making process seen in examples such as Hotelverse; and even autonomous taxis arriving onto the transportation scene and disrupting the traditional transfer business. 

Technology, especially within the travel industry, is forging ahead into unprecedented areas, and it’s vital that businesses at every point in the travel ecosystem are keeping up with the resulting customer expectations that increasing implementation of technology will bring. 

From cloud-based tech solutions and intelligent algorithms that make our booking platforms that much more intuitive, to our TravelTech Lab initiative which collaborates with the most innovative TravelTech startups to push the industry further, it’s our mission at Hotelbeds to strike a firm balance between the power of TravelTech and the connections that being a technology-forward organisation brings, but also with the significant power of keeping things grounded in human-focused connection. 

We do this by combining the importance of offering locally-owned tours and experiences as part of our vast global portfolio, with the practice of curating and maintaining knowledgeable sourcing teams on the ground in trending destinations worldwide. This is just one of the many ways that we’re striking a balance with human-centric approach and the increasing implementation of AI and other game-changing types of traveltech.

Learn more about the TravelTech Lab by Hotelbeds here! 

Why Do We Ask AI ‘What Is The Future of Travel?’

The argument could also feasibly be made that Artificial Intelligence is as beneficial as the people who create it, and the human input that platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing Chat receive. So in this case, the people involved in the travel industry are still the drivers here; still the ones who don’t need to rely on asking non-sentient machines what the future of travel is. 

We know where the future of travel is taking us - it’s into a landscape where we can protect our planet with sustainable practices, ensure that economies in destinations who rely on tourism thrive as a result of tourism that gives back, and where we as travel players need to lead the way by decarbonising operations.

To get there, it’s important that we use human initiative combined with the use of innovative TravelTech that builds better, faster connections between travel distributors and the final traveller, and between travel distributors themselves. Focusing on the people at each stage of the travel industry is just as critical as understanding how technology can help travel distributors better meet and serve the needs of travellers themselves.

There are undeniable benefits of TravelTech: virtual reality tours pre-booking and in-destination, augmented reality overlaid onto real-life destinations to offer increasingly engaged cultural experiences, better customer service thanks to AI platforms and customer-facing generative AI. But there are also the very real implications of using real-life customer data in a way that can cause friction - seen as an example recently with the use of facial recognition by an airline during the booking process, designed to discourage the use of online travel agents and third party booking platforms, and the subsequent questions of data security this raised.

So here is where alignment becomes key: human-centric industry practices, which focus on the people (whether that is the end traveller, the local economies, or the individual travel distributors at every stage of the chain), facilitated by innovative travel technology which furthers the implementation of sustainability as the core principle in the industry.

Sustainable Travel For All 

We’ve all seen the recent incidents where our planet continues to change before our eyes as a result of climate change - wildfires, crumbling coastlines, drought, flooding, vibrant species disappearing. 

Naturally, the arrival of groundbreaking green technology is of course, a game-changer in this sphere, especially when as much as 8% of global CO2 emissions are produced nowadays by activities in the tourism sector - transportation, construction, catering, services, land promotion activities, etc. Green technology such as operational systems which control energy management; online check-in, digitised communications technology, renewable sources of energy, and artificial intelligence solutions that reduce food waste in the hospitality industry.

Of course, there is no one solution that will alter the course of climate change. But by ensuring that sustainability is the main pillar from which travel opportunities are created in line with, it's a key way that we can continue travel being a force for good not just for the planet, but for the people all over the world.

Sustainability, then, needs to champion things like:

• Renewable energy 
• A focus on public transport such as trains, to reduce tourism’s impact on carbon emissions
• Sustainable aviation fuels
• Plastic-free initiatives in hotels, accommodation, and travel hopitality around the world to reduce plastic waste
• A reduction in the harmful impacts of cruise ship pollution by focusing on greener practices to minimise the significant damage that this industry does to the planet

However, sustainable travellers are understandably choosy with where they put their money. Support will only come for travel programmes and experiences that are authentically engaged with not only a more eco-conscious way of travelling, but the local communities and ecosystems in their destination of choice.

We also have previously explored the importance of plastic-free initiatives to today’s traveller, insights into how this can become part of every travel distributors’ strategy and offering and why this is so important.

For instance, our time-saving booking platform allows travel distributors to easily filter for ‘Sustainable Hotels’, in order to more easily identify the listings that have been categorised as eco-friendly, plastic-free or renewable! 

Tourism That Benefits Local Communities

Intrinsic to the idea of travel as a force for good is the understanding that sustainable travel doesn’t just mean renewable energy, carbon neutral practices or reducing plastic waste. 

Maintaining a stable, successful economy is also a large part of what we mean by sustainable travel, which is more important than ever as we consider that travellers are seeking to ‘get off the beaten path’, as this will begin to place demand on local economies that may not yet be equipped to handle higher levels of tourism.

Sustainable travel as a method is an essential factor in ensuring that local economies around the world continue to thrive off tourism, rather than facing the challenges that come with issues like ‘overtourism’ and ‘undertourism’.

Of these, ‘overtourism’ is a significant challenge faced by many local economies around the world - especially as tourist arrivals reached 80% of pre-COVID levels in the first quarter of 2023, with an estimated 235m tourists travelling internationally during that time. 

It is most negatively impactful in destinations that were not initially designed for tourism, such as Venice, Barcelona, Bali, Greece, Rome, Amsterdam, Thailand and many more ‘hotspots’, and where an excess of people puts massive strain on the natural environments, the local economy and the people living there.

Alternatively, the opposite is also true, where ‘undertourism’ can be seen in destinations that have a higher capacity for tourism but are seeing low demand - especially post-pandemic. When travellers visit lesser-known or lesser-frequented destinations, this brings in huge revenue and opportunity for growth for the local communities, and working with local tourist boards to promote destinations that would benefit from increased exposure and tourism levels, can help to ensure you’re facilitating travel that benefits the destinations in question, rather than creating strain or negatively impacting the local communities there. This is one of the most important ways that travel can, and must, become more sustainable for all involved - not just the end traveller. 

With regards to sustainable, ethical travel, here is where the work of organisations like the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is so important - and where travel players just like us at Hotelbeds can lead the way in terms of our collaboration with GSTC as we continue working closely with tourism enterprises in destinations to actively adopt recognised GSTC standards and promote sustainable tourism as part of our relationships with these stakeholders.

Discover more about our Environmental, Social and Governmental commitments here.

Another key way to create a culture of sustainable travel, for the communities in destinations themselves, is by advocating the benefits of out of season travel, or ‘shoulder’ seasons as a travel distributor. Travellers are also more engaged with slow travel and authentic experiences, and visiting destinations that are equipped and welcoming of higher levels of tourism, or visiting a destination during quieter times in the year, allows travellers to get a more in-depth look at their destination of choice, satisfying the growing need the industry is seeing in travellers for deeper connection when they travel.

Experience Tourism And Authenticity

Around 43% of global travellers are willing to spend more on trips that have a reduced impact on the environment. The sustainable traveller is not just one of the most important in the market today, considering the necessity of sustainability as a pillar within the industry, but they’re also high spending.

This, of course, is a massive incentive for travel distributors to actively accommodate and appeal to sustainable travellers because a higher spending segment means more opportunities to boost revenue during the booking process. 

But catering to more ethical travel is key not only for the potential revenue that it will bring travel sellers, but also for the way that this brings local communities to the forefront of the experience tourism sector, just as they should be.

Many businesses are incorporating an intrinsically human element to their offerings, working with local citizens in communities supported by tourism to create authentic experiences for visitors. 

Some tour providers, for instance, work with local hosts to offer genuine connection to travellers, inviting guests to share a meal with their hosts and learn about their culture and share their own in the process. By working closely with local communities, the money generated by tourism stays within the community where it is most needed. This therefore reduces the common occurrence of tourism ‘leakage’, where the money generated by tourism doesn’t stay within the local economy but is funneled away from the area.

Ethical tourism which benefits local communities is a sustainable model, creating an ecosystem designed to support and benefit local communities and cultural practices, furthering the stability of the local economies and ensuring that these are destinations we can continue to explore and enjoy for years to come.

Our Impact At Hotelbeds

Of course, we wouldn’t want to talk about the importance of sustainable practices within the industry that positively impact both the people involved at every stage of the travel ecosystem, and the planet itself, without taking a lead on initiatives that help to do just that.

As part of our ongoing dedication to demonstrate by action our own alignment with the GSTC’s recognised standards, and to our own environmental, social and governmental (ESG) commitments, we wanted to outline a few key ways that we are supporting our clients and partners in their aims, operating with transparency and inspire other like minded organisations to take up the mantle:

• 6,855 Volunteer Hours - contributed by 701 employees
• €5,000 Raised – for Syrian and Turkish earthquake relief efforts
• 25 Pallets of Clothing – collected for victims of the earthquake
• 600 Room Nights – set aside to house 180 displaced Ukrainian citizens
• 37,918 Properties – in our growing Sustainable Hotels portfolio
• Hybrid Vehicles – offered in more global cities by the end of 2023
• 2,583 Cultural Tours – available in our Booking Engine
• 1,480 Nature and Wildlife Activities – to encourage engagement with the natural world
• Safari, Reforestation and Sanctuary Experiences – available for our clients to book
• Purposeful Pause – space for employees to discuss important topics, such as financial wellbeing
• Health Month – promoting employee wellbeing via yoga sessions, meditation and more

There is always more to be done, but our mission is to ensure that our actions continue to have positive impacts on the world of travel, the people involved, and the ecosystems that we want to ensure that we and the travellers of tomorrow can continue to explore.