Skip to main content current edition: International edition The Guardian - Back to home Become a supporter Subscribe Find a job Jobs Sign in Search Show More Close with google Guardian sustainable business Transport Automated holidays: how AI is affecting the travel industry Travel companies are investing in artificial intelligence, but that doesn’t mean fewer jobs for humans Airlines logos last year, but online bookings are becoming the norm.
 Photograph: Alamy Guardian sustainable business Transport Automated holidays: how AI is affecting the travel industry Travel companies are investing in artificial intelligence, but that doesn’t mean fewer jobs for humans Senay Boztas Fri 17 Feb ‘17 06.
00 GMT Last modified on Tue 21 Feb ‘17 17.
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 “We have to reinvent the place of the man in the system,” says Fabrice Otaño, chief data officer at AccorHotels group.
 “Artificial intelligence can replace some existing jobs, and managers have to take care of what the next step for people is, that is relevant in the data world.
 We have to evolve our revenue managers into more data jobs, balancing old jobs with new school jobs in business analytics.
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 Read more But not everyone is predicting the demise of travel agents.
 A spokesperson for ABTA, which represents UK travel agents and tour operators, says almost a fifth of Brits still booked a holiday in a travel store last year and that although artificial intelligence can help with targeted marketing, “it can be hard to beat the human touch”.
 People quickly get frustrated if a chatbot isn’t responding accurately, for a start.