TORONTO — When you’re hosting a conference about artificial intelligence, who better to kick off the show than an avatar that looks just like you?
That’s exactly how Travelweek’s latest ‘Future of Travel’ conference began, with a ‘Devatar’ made in the likeness of Travelweek’s Publisher, Devin Kinasz, welcoming viewers to the show.
To watch the conference, click here.
“Artificial Intelligence is such a hot topic these days and Travelweek has attempted to take the lead in getting agents the information they need to use this technology,” the ‘Devatar’ says in its opening remarks.
Kinasz – the real Kinasz – then appears on screen to officially open the show, the latest in Travelweek’s long-running, hugely popular virtual conference series, which first launched in 2020. Airing yesterday, May 1, the conference featured a double theme: A.I. and Travel Agent Appreciation, coinciding with Travel Agent Appreciation Day, which takes place each year on the first Wednesday in May.
Acknowledging that her avatar looks “great,” despite not sounding exactly like her, Kinasz invites travel agents to register for Travelweek’s brand new A.I. webinar series, launched in partnership with TravelBrands.
“Next month I’m going to be teaching you how to do these A.I. avatars, which might work for training or social media videos. And today, my avatar is going to be helping me during the show, taking over some of the hosting duties,” says Kinasz. “As we mentioned, today we’re doing two things: talking about A.I. and showing appreciation to travel agents. So thank you, thank you so much travel agents for all that you do.”
‘Future of Travel: A.I. Agent Appreciation’ featured a stellar lineup of keynote speakers who touched on hot topics like A.I., booking trends and travel agent resources and perks. Viewers also watched updates from Visit Atlantic City, Playa Resorts, Riverside Cruises, G Adventures, Collette Vacations, CIE Tours, Railbookers, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Temptation Resorts, Visit California, Hyatt Ziva and Globus family of brands.
Dan Christian, Host, Executive and Entrepreneur, Travel Trends Podcast
Speaking on the hot topic of artificial intelligence and how its many uses can benefit the travel industry, Christian, a travel industry veteran who held previous positions at Carlson Wagonlit, G Adventures and The Travel Corporation, says it’s essential to embrace A.I. and not fear it, a key message that he delivered at this past February’s Travel Trends A.I. Summit 2024.
“It’s not that A.I. is going to take your job; it’s that someone who knows and understands A.I. is going to take your job,” he says. “If we all look back just 20 years ago with the evolution of the Internet, and when you look at travel agencies now and see how our business has grown and adapted, I think that’s an important comparison to look at. And hence, the reason to embrace and understand these tools like ChatGPT.”
Though Christian highlights a few challenges for implementing A.I. in the travel industry, notably the cost of “compute power,” or the cost of access A.I. resources, he does foresee an exciting future ahead that, in his wildest dreams, includes autonomous vehicles.
“I’m genuinely excited about this potential because hotels are already investing in this technology, tour operators as well. And we’re seeing more and more examples of driverless vehicles, which are available in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, China and soon in Saudi Arabia. Just think about staying at a hotel that has a fleet of cars you can get into and do tours around the city, without having a driver – it takes a lot of friction out of travel today,” says Christian.
When asked which A.I. tools he would recommend to enhance businesses, Christian highlights three: Jasper.ai, “an incredible tool for marketing uses”; synthesia.io, which creates studio-quality videos with A.I. avatars and voiceovers in over 130 languages; and lastly, Canva, which through prompt engineering, allows users to be their own designers and create marketing materials.
Dan Christian
Nathalie Tanious, President & CEO, TravelBrands
Fresh off the announcement of TravelBrands’ new A.I. partnership with Travelweek, Tanious says that the company is 100% all about technology, in particular, A.I.
“There’s so much buzz around A.I., it becomes a question of, ‘Alright, what’s next? How can I implement A.I. in my environment, in my work structure?’ So now, the goal is for us to help the travel industry create more tools with A.I.”
In addition to a monthly webinar series, ‘Unleashing A.I.’s potential for Travel Agents,’ and an A.I. manual for agents, both launched in partnership with Travelweek, TravelBrands has been reaching out to agents directly with Agent Appreciation events last month in Toronto and Montreal, as well as a new booking incentive called ‘The Amazing Agent Race.’ All these recent initiatives, says Tanious, has paid off big time.
“We saw a huge pickup in sales after the shows because we exposed what new products, technology and tools we had for travel agents. We saw over a 30% pickup right after the events because all of a sudden, everything we knew we had, we shared it with the travel industry. So it was all about, it’s there, it’s yours for the picking, and we definitely saw the love and continue to see the love,” says Tanious.
Nathalie Tanious
Guy Young, Chief Trade Engagement Officer, The Travel Corporation
The Travel Corporation, which recently unveiled its ‘Always’ promise to travel agents, is also dipping into the A.I. space, which Young says offers “huge opportunities” to enhance the customer experience and streamline the company’s operations. TTC has developed an A.I. committee that has come up with an overall strategy, which includes analyzing chat data to better gauge customer sentiments by way of Genesis, the company’s Contact Centre’s communication software. TTC is also using A.I. to enhance its chatbot for internal questions for Contact Centre employees, increase functionality of its websites, and assist with copywriting.
“Our view is, we want to continue to use technology and A.I. to enhance the guest experience, make the lives of our employees easier, and make them more efficient. We think A.I. can be a great tool for us as long as we’re using it in a responsible way,” says Young.
Guy Young
Brian Joseph, BDM, Ontario for Hyatt Inclusive Collection
Comprising 10 brands (Secrets, Dreams, Impression, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Zoëtry, Breathless, Alua, Sunscape and the brand new Hyatt Vivid), Hyatt Inclusive Collection is ensuring that travel agents stay informed at all times through Confidant Collective, an advisor-exclusive website launched a year ago. Here, says Joseph, agents can submit their bookings to earn rewards, which can be redeemed for free nights, cash and more. The website also includes Confidant Learning, a series of modules that agents can complete to be certified experts and gain access to special agent rates and benefits, an Offers tab where all current consumer and agent offers are listed, as well as agent resources and tools such as downloadable logos, images and videos.
“I used to be a travel agent myself, so travel agents are close to my heart,” says Joseph. “I thank you for being strong and resilient. We always get affected by things globally and somehow, we come back stronger. I appreciate every agent and I’ll take every opportunity to celebrate travel agents, so thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Brian Joseph
Armando Mendonça, Trade Liaison, Vienna Tourist Board and President, AMpm Canada
Vienna, Austria has seen a significant increase in Canadian visitors in the last five years, says Mendonça, thanks to Air Canada flights out of Toronto and Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines service out of Montreal. When asked what products are available to travellers from tour operators, Mendonça notes that Air Canada Vacations, by way of Vienna’s partnership with Air Canada, offers a “one-stop shop” for tours and packages. But as far as new tour operators, MyEscapades, part of the Kensington Group, is one to watch.
“They’re going to be introducing Austria into their European portfolio, and I’m assisting in the curating of tours into Vienna and beyond. That’s going to be coming soon, sometime in early summer,” says Mendonça, adding that Kensington Tours specializes in customized bespoke travel.
Other tour operators to book Vienna with, he adds, include Globus family of brands, Trafalgar and Collette, G Adventures and Goway, all of which offer various trip styles to suit all types of travellers.
To keep travel agents informed of new offerings, Mendonça urges them to sign up for the Vienna Experts Club, available at https://www.wien.info/en. From there, agents can find a dedicated section where they can register as a Vienna Experts Club member for free.
“The great thing about the Experts Club is that when you go to Vienna, you get complimentary admission to certain museums, culinary discounts, theatre concerts, and an advisor’s discount at participating hotels,” says Mendonça. “Not only can you take advantage of these discounts, you also get up-to-date information on what’s happening in Vienna.”
Armando Mendonça
Allan Brooks, Director of Sales, Canada, Celebrity Cruises
According to Brooks, it’s been another great year for Celebrity Cruises, with 2025 already looking strong. Out of the Canadian market, the cruise line is seeing a significant amount of Europe bookings through the summer, thanks in large part to the Celebrity Infinity sailing year round in the region. In the Caribbean, the cruise line has increased its presence with three ships sailing year-round, including its newest Edge-class ship, Celebrity Beyond. And in Asia, which Brooks says has been very popular this year, product has “pretty much sold out and people are already looking at 2025 and eagerly awaiting our 2026 deployments.”
As for ongoing offers and promotions, Brooks is reminding agents of Celebrity’s 75% off offer for second guests, and thirds and fourths sail free, “one of the richest offers I’ve seen in a long time.”
For agents, “we’re always trying to find that commission with a comma,” he adds, noting the cruise line’s recent bonus commission offer of $1,500 as well as ongoing contests.
“Agents are our eyes and ears out there, and they’re the ones who recommend our brand to their clients, whether they’re coming back to Celebrity or want to try Celebrity for the first time,” he says. “Coming out of a pause and now reemerging out of this, it’s so great to see business coming in, primarily for our travel partners.”
Allan Brooks
To watch ‘Future of Travel: A.I. Agent Appreciation’ in its entirety, click here.
