eTourism Trends and News

Die Studie von Google Schweiz zeigt: Generative KI kann das BIP der Schweiz bis 2034 um bis zu 85 Milliarden Franken steigern.

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled Tuesday it will uphold a former ruling by the European Commission and levy a fine of €2.4 billion against Google with regard to Google Shopping, ending a years-long antitrust case against the tech giant.

The fine, initially announced in 2017 and then appealed by Google and Alphabet, is being imposed against the internet giant for abusing its “dominant position” in a number of online search markets as it favored its own shopping service over competitors’.

The wide gap between female and male leadership within the travel technology industry is shrinking - at a snail's pace - but becoming smaller still.

Over the past few years, there have been a number of appointments of women in leadership roles across the travel industry - with a notable uptick in the airline space.

Partie 2 : L’intelligence artificielle s’immisce dans des domaines aux tâches complexes et à forte intensité de connaissances qui étaient jusqu’à présent réservés à l’humain. L’intervention de l’Etat est-elle nécessaire ?

Bien que marginaux, les Suisses qui déclarent ne jamais utiliser les médias sociaux sont plus nombreux que l'an dernier, montre le grand sondage SSR "Comment ça va, la Suisse?". La population se montre très critique envers les géants du numérique. Une des raisons de la fronde: ces réseaux ne sont plus vraiment "sociaux".

Researching and booking a vacation today takes more time and effort than ever before

Sep 4, 2024
Today, travelers visit an average of 277 different web pages before booking a trip, a significant increase from just 38 sites in 2013, based on data from Expedia. This highlights how much more time and energy is now required for trip planning, at a time when consumers are often pressed for both.

Key takeaways

On average, travelers spend 303 minutes - or just over 5 hours - researching and browsing in the 45 days leading up to a booking;
Early in the trip planning process, travelers visit fewer pages (around 2.5 per day), but as the purchase date approaches, this jumps to around 25 pages on the final day. These page views span a variety of websites, starting with online travel agencies (OTAs), then moving to airline and hotel websites, and finally, meta-travel sites;
This activity isn’t just about re-checking details; travelers are actively searching, often encountering difficulties, and then returning to search again. The study shows that in the weeks before making a booking, users repeatedly visit and navigate between various web pages before finalizing their decision.

Ces dernières années, l’IA générative est de plus en plus sollicitée du fait d’une demande sans cesse croissante, surtout sur les réseaux sociaux. Face à cela, les entreprises doivent apprendre à composer entre les avantages apportés par l’IA générative sur les réseaux sociaux et ses inconvénients souvent importants, dont le manque de touche humaine qui peut finir par détruire la crédibilité de la marque. Alors, comment améliorer sa stratégie de contenu social avec la GenIA tout en préservant l’authenticité ?

L’IA générative en passe de devenir un outil incontournable
D’après une récente étude de GetApp sur l’IA générative sur les réseaux sociaux, 47% des Français interrogés sont conscients des risques de l’IA générative : les contenus générés par intelligence artificielle ne s’accordent pas avec les valeurs de leur marque. 16% admettent même être très préoccupés par ce problème.

Generative künstliche Intelligenz hält in Schweizer Unternehmen Einzug. Welche Chancen GenAI bietet und welche ­organisatorischen Herausforderung die Einführung von solchen Tools mit sich bringt, verraten sechs Expertinnen und Experten

Trip.com Group said it believes artificial intelligence "stands to revolutionize the travel industry" as it delivered second quarter 2024 results.

The company announced net revenue of $1.8 billion for the quarter, up 14% year over year. Accommodation revenue was up 20% to $707 million for the same period.

Transport ticketing revenue for Q2 increased 1% to $670 million. Meanwhile, revenue from packaged tours increased 42% to $141 million year over year. Corporate travel revenue for Q2 rose 8% to $87 million compared with the same quarter in 2023.

James Liang, chairman of Trip.com Group, said, "The second quarter of 2024 witnessed continued growth driven by strong travel demand, especially for cross-border travel. Our strong performance highlights our adaptability in a dynamic market. Looking ahead, we are dedicated to leveraging the potential of AI to revolutionize the travel industry and provide exceptional value to our customers."

Marnie Wilking, the firm's head of internet safety, reported a surge of "anywhere from a 500 to a 900% increase" in the last 18 months, with a significant spike in phishing attacks. These scams, where individuals are deceived into sharing their financial information, have become more prevalent since the introduction of generative AI tools like ChatGPT.

Key takeaways

During her speech at the Collision technology conference in Toronto, Ms. Wilking emphasized that AI is making scams more difficult to identify, as it can produce convincing images and highly accurate text in various languages;
She advocates for hotels and travelers to implement two-factor authentication—an added security measure involving a code sent to your phone—as "the best way to combat phishing and credential theft;"
Despite her concerns about scammers leveraging AI, she noted that the technology is also enabling Booking.com to swiftly eliminate fake hotels attempting to defraud users.

Eine bisher unveröffentlichte Studie zeigt, die Schweiz ist die grösste Profiteurin von Künstlicher Intelligenz in Europa.

Phocuswright’s recent research report Social Media Usage Approach in Travel cuts past the mores of social marketing and behavior built for other sectors and delves specifically into the way the platforms are used for travel. It explores the platforms being used for specific components of the trip and how travelers think about which account types and platforms offer the best information. 

Les gens parlent de votre entreprise sur le web et les médias sociaux, dans les chats et les forums, sans oublier les conversations autour de la machine à café au bureau ou lors de soupers en famille le weekend. Pensez-y un instant. Les commentaires sur les médias sociaux. Des avis déposés sur les produits et service sur Amazon, Ebay et les sites de ecommerce. Les recommandations sur Facebook. Votre appréciation du chauffeur Uber ou d’une livraison avec UberEats. Les étoiles Michelin, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Booking ou Google…

Partie 1 : L’intelligence artificielle a fait son entrée sur le marché du travail. Une première analyse le montre : les cadres devraient profiter de ces technologies, tandis que les employés de bureau risquent plutôt de faire face à une concurrence accrue.

The marketing spend of online travel giants continued to edge upwards in the second quarter, although there are signs diversification in spend is being taken seriously.


The sales and marketing investment of the likes of Airbnb, Booking Holdings, Expedia Group and Trip.com Group increased year over year in the second quarter. The vast marketing spend, a total of $4.6 billion in Q2 compared with $4.2 billion year over year, serves as a measure of the fierce competition in the market and the lengths online travel agencies continue to go to push consumers into the funnel at the top.

The travel booking industry is undergoing significant change, with a growing trend toward direct bookings changing the competitive landscape. What's driving this shift? Skift Research explores these crucial developments in its latest report, "Direct Bookings vs. OTAs: Analyzing the Shift in U.S. Travel Booking Trends."

Key takeaways

While travelers increasingly rely on online travel agencies (OTAs) for research, they prefer to book directly. For example, 26% of travelers use OTAs to research flight options, but 55% choose to book directly through airline websites;
This 29-point gap highlights the "billboard effect," where OTAs serve as a valuable tool for comparison shopping, but travelers often turn to airlines for perceived reliability, better deals or exclusive perks when finalizing their bookings;
In addition, many travelers show little enthusiasm for OTA loyalty programs compared to those offered by hotels and airlines. This suggests that OTAs need to improve their loyalty initiatives to better attract and retain customers.

Disponibles en version preview depuis le mois de juin, les Artefacts (ou Artifacts), permettant de visualiser et modifier le résultat d’un prompt, sont déployés mondialement.

Die Nutzung von virtuellen Marktplätzen ist in der Schweiz deutlich angestiegen. Obwohl sich die hiesigen Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten mehr Nachhaltigkeitsoptionen wünschen, kaufen sie mehr und mehr bei chinesischen Onlineshops ein, wie eine Umfrage der Post und der HWZ zeigt

TTR: KI ist derzeit in aller Munde. Seht ihr Künstliche Intelligenz als Fluch oder Segen? Wo kann uns die KI unterstützen und wo seht ihr ihre Grenzen?

Alexander Fritsch: Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) birgt ein enormes Potenzial und gleichzeitig Herausforderungen für die Tourismusbranche. Einerseits bietet sie erhebliche Vorteile durch die Automatisierung von Prozessen, die Verbesserung des Kundenservice und die Bereitstellung maßgeschneiderter Empfehlungen. Beispielsweise können Chatbots Kundenanfragen effizient bearbeiten und Buchungssysteme mittels vorausschauender Analysen dynamische Preisanpassungen vornehmen. KI kann auch helfen, Betriebsabläufe zu optimieren und somit Nachhaltigkeitsziele zu erreichen.

Auf der anderen Seite stehen Risiken wie die Ausgabe fehlerhafter Informationen und datenschutzrechtliche Bedenken. Es ist essentiell, dass Unternehmen ihre Mitarbeitenden im kompetenten Umgang mit KI sensibilisieren, um eine verantwortungsvolle Anwendung sicherzustellen.

Knowing which travel consumers are more likely to be influenced by social media could help travel marketers get in front of those users and encourage them to book.

Likes and shares on platforms are great but the all important conversion from a social media platform has so far evaded travel companies. 

A new report from Phocuswright revealed that two in three travelers under 55 say they converted due to social media content they looked at for a recent trip.