The world tourism day was celebrated in El Salvador last week on September 27. AI took the centerstage as this year's theme was how AI could help transform the tourism industry.
On several occasions officers and leaders at the UN have emphasized the importance of technology serving humanity. AI has already demonstrated it's capability to outperform humans in several tasks. The debate at the event therefore revolved around how AI could best serve the travel industry and enable growth—focussing more on the positive aspects of technology.
A few suggestions stood out. First was how destinations can take advantage of increasing AI usage and help people recommend less crowded locations that can manage the flow and prevent over tourism. The other was how AI could become fairer and offer suggestions to tourists in a way that allows small businesses to remain competitive.
The underlying question,the subtext of the discussion was very simple but decisive. Who will set the rules in the AI age? UN being a diplomatic forum offered genuinely good suggestions that sounded inclusive and seemed to address some of the concerns that independent businesses might have had.
But objectively examing the AI revolution and comparing it with technological revolutions with the past it is a bit difficult to accept that the transition will be “fair”. Even without AI disruption many of the most popular destinations around the world depend upon the digital infrastructure created by a handful of countries. A few booking platforms and global distribution systems already manage majority of the tourist check ins.
Many of these booking platforms have themselves accused big tech companies like google — esepcially it's search and map products — taking away booking business from them. Online platforms like Airbnb have faced intense criticism from traditional hotels on the unfair advantage they got while turning apartments into holiday homes.
In each one of these cases disruptor has walked away with immense profits while gaining state support leaving tradional business completely unsupported. This trend is not unique to travel industry. Many other industries and small businesses in various segments have had to pay the ultimate price as they were replaced by a new more efficient tech. This is a well documented fact.
As for setting the rules a simillar set of questions can be asked. How many rules of the global order have the member states in the developing nations set so far? How many of them were involved in AI development? How many of them can have their own AI infrastructure?
The truth is that most developing nations are struggling to meet basic necessities. Travel is a valuable source of income for them but even then they are not fully electrified or connected with internet. I think it's a bit too far fetched to believe that they will have any sort of decision making influence.
It is important to note that while the UN is advocating for fairer AI ,the world bank,which is a specialised agency of the UN is claiming that and I quote it's chief Ajay Banga that
“ Data Centers Aren't for Emerging Markets” [1]. Now the problem with this is that while the statement is logically coherent at first glance the conclusion that it reaches is not quite sound. Of course the developing nations can't build their own digital infrastructure but helping them adopt AI or digital technologies is not doing them a favor. I'd argue it's sinking them deeper in technological debt.
Developed countries are just treating them as a market for finished products made in the developed nations.
If this kind of economic policy rings a bell it's because this is the colonists play book. This is exactly how colonists justified their expansionist policy. They were just ‘helping’ the nations develop and become modernised. The really sad part is that people like Ajay Banga who have grown up in a former colony and know about the humiliation of a colonial rule are now driving this neocolonist agenda.
The accusations against the UN that it is doing the bidding of powerful tech companies are not baseless. Through world Bank it has already declared that data centers in developing nations are not a good bet. Now the UN is insisting that workforce be trained on AI and the developing nations can take their word that they will ensure fairness. How many times have we heard this before? How many more times do we need to hear it? Coincidentally UN ,including the world bank also had declared that nuclear technologies can't be an effective source of power. Now their decision has been deemed as flawed by prominent leaders on world stage, like President von der Leyen , as they have recognised that nuclear technologies are essential for a green transition. UN has been wrong on so many occasions that it's becoming difficult for most to take their advice.
The travel industry is slightly different because it is highly service oriented. That makes it human centric. AI can and most probably will disrupt the digital aspect of the travel industry but the effect will be localised to services like booking which most developing nations are dependent on anyway. So it doesn't change the playing field too much.
However it is good that developing nations are talking the issue of tech sovereignty seriously. I think that it would be far more beneficial for the nations to ensure that ancillary services that power travel are captured. They need to have a voice in aviation,fuel and transportation sectors. More than a voice. They must be active participants in helping to build these industries. This is what will enable them to have a fair and just economic system. Digital technologies are heavily concentrated and rely on network effects that may take decades to reconfigure.
They should negotiate as hard as possible on market access but have alternatives ready so that it's possible to walk out if the deal is unfair. Data sovereignty is important. So having local data centers that power travel services should be on the table.
Technologically infrastructure around energy and transportation could be built. Especially as the ecosystem is in flux with transition to green energy. Nations in the ME have managed to do that in the last 50 years. LATAM and Africa might be able to pull it off too if they play their cards well.
Ultimately it is the infrastructure on ground that powers travel. You don't need foreign arrivals to build wealth in travel. Internal movement of people is valuable as well. Small innovations even on basic technologies like wind powered sail boats would be enourmously helpful in differentiation and diversification.
For me it has been an incredible honor to connect with bright minds in the travel sector. I look forward to continuing my interactions with them as they build the future of the industry which has the potential to be truly transformative.
End of statement.
REFERENCES
1 World Bank's Banga Says Data Centers Aren't for Emerging Markets
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-23/world-bank-s-banga-says-data-centers-aren-t-for-emerging-markets
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