Pace Of Innovation Set To Pick Up In Travel Sector, Though Fraud Worries Grow

Innovative breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) may not be directly disrupting the travel industry just yet, but they are among the new technologies that experts at the WiT Singapore 2022 conference say could drastically change the way services are delivered in the coming years.

They looked at increasingly smarter methods for customers to plan a trip during the three-day industry event in October while highlighting the growing concern of fraud in the digital sphere. While linear growth is easier to see, exponential development in areas such as AI and ML is more difficult to forecast, according to Ross Veitch, CEO, and co-founder of online travel firm Wego. He cited quick advances in computational art, where AI creations have astounded people with their out-of-the-box thinking. Big changes will also be brought about by cloud computing services, which now include capabilities like AI, allowing smaller businesses to compete without having to establish a full innovation pipeline.

Many items will be customized for specific customers by 2030, and automated conversational agents would utilize AI to identify speech and respond quickly in a synthetic human voice, he continued. Many of tomorrow’s digital systems will be built with ready-made tools that make coding simple, according to Johnny Thorsen, Spotnana’s vice president of strategy and alliances. “Six lines of code,” he noted, are all that is needed to connect an e-commerce site to various payment systems worldwide today.

Simultaneously, highly advanced technology will ease the management of business travels, from planning to permission, requiring less manual input, he said.

“Every time someone’s typing manually, it’s a chance for error,” he added. “It’s also wasting time.”

Payment is another rapidly expanding field, he observed. Smart contracts enabled by blockchain technology, for example, might allow users to buy and pay for a ticket at a predetermined price automatically and without human intervention. Fintech is also a significant driver for settlements, and online travel firms are looking for innovative methods to make it easier for clients to pay.

Indeed, one disadvantage of digitization is the threat of fraud. According to experts at the WiT 2022 event, the travel industry is increasingly in need of a better strategy to control risks. According to Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, principal of T2Impact, one way ahead might be the usage of a sovereign digital ID. He stated that doing so might allow users to digitally verify to service providers that they are whom they claim they are while conducting online purchases. However according to him, the US government, for example, is facing an estimated $45.6 billion in false Covid-19 unemployment insurance claims.

In other words, as travel businesses strive to provide more convenient, sustainable, and rewarding travel experiences through digitization, preventing fraud will remain a continual worry.