Inspired instruction

Travel Counsellor Marie Rowe baulks a little at the suggestion of using AI “for the day-to-day stuff”. “I still believe I am better at content and research than ChatGPT," she says. "I enjoy that aspect of my job – I don’t want to get into habits that diminish my critical faculties."

But that in no way means Rowe is resisting AI altogether. On the contrary, she is the agent behind some of the most innovative uses of AI we’ve come across at TTG. Firstly, she built a custom GPT to act as a digital crisis decision maker.

“Basically, I trained it with a copy of the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs), company terms and conditions, and the Atol regulations, and taught it how to keep up to date with every airline’s policy changes, as well as the Foreign Office advice for each country.”

Rowe says this tool made it “seriously easy” to consolidate the facts and get the answer for how to handle each booking scenario. “All I had to do was indicate the scenario or upload the itinerary and ask the custom GPT to breakdown the options and implications of each booking.”

Rowe says she will now develop this even further to make it usable “in all kinds of global scenarios”. “I feel super confident knowing I can be prepared like this in the future,” she explains.

Additionally, Rowe built a custom GPT that works as a mandatory fees generator. She uploads itineraries to it, and the tool calculates mandatory local fees and taxes for her travel quotes in accordance with the CMA's pricing guidelines.

Marketing magic

“I use Open AI hundreds of times a day," says Hays Travel Personal Travel Consultant Simon Morgan, who previously ran South Wales miniple Tailor Made Travel. "From a marketing perspective, if someone took it away from me now, it would be like losing my right arm."

Morgan insists using AI is saving him “hundreds of hours per week” through speeding up both his marketing and sales processes. “I constantly have it [ChatGPT] rewriting copy to suit a selected audience – youngsters, golfers, retirees, etc.

"We’ve fed it our logos, and even our tongue in cheek way of speaking to the client, so it generates content in line with that. So within 30 seconds, I can select a cruise, paste it into ChatGPT and be looking at ‘Tips and Tricks from Cat and Simon’ – what to do onboard, what to see in the ports, etc. It’s saving me hundreds of hours per week.”

Morgan also utilises a function he calls “Autopost”, a sophisticated suite of tools that automatically takes offers from selected suppliers' Facebook pages and WhatsApp feeds.

When a deal lands from a supplier, Morgan’s technology will pull those offers down, rewrite them, create artwork for them, and draft a post ready for Morgan to approve.

Meanwhile, Josh Cotton, owner of TTG Top 50 Top Travel Agency – Yorkshire, Cotton Travel, says that while the agency was cautious about using AI at first, it now “absolutely embraces it as a tool that can enhance what we do”, although Cotton emphasises the agency “certainly doesn’t rely on it”.

“For us, personal experience, destination knowledge and genuine customer relationships remain at the heart of everything," he continues. "Where AI has proven valuable is in helping us work more efficiently."

Cotton also uses AI to help with marketing. “It can help refine messaging, generate ideas and improve the way we present information to customers,” he explains. “Ultimately, it helps us communicate more effectively, but the content is still guided by our knowledge and experience.”

Cotton adds it's encouraging to see tour operators embracing AI. “Features that allow agents to input specific customer requirements and quickly generate a shortlist of suitable products can be a real time-saving tool, allowing us to spend more time focusing on customer service and less time on admin,” he adds. 

Sounding board success

Experience It Now travel consultant Darren Downs has had remarkable success booking solo travellers after asking ChatGPT how he should go about it.

Returning to travel recently after running a training consultancy immersed him in emerging technology and AI, Downs made a conscious decision “not to just fall back into old habits”, but to build a clear plan for how he positions himself in a very competitive market.

“For me, AI is like a trainee," he says. "I’m still the one asking the questions and making the decisions – the better I guide it, the better the results I get."

Using AI, Downs explored where demand was growing, what types of holidays were trending, and who the likely audience was.

Through ongoing questioning and refinement, a clear opportunity emerged around escorted touring, particularly in destinations such as Thailand and Cambodia.

“I then used AI to explore itineraries, refine options, and narrow this down to UK suppliers aligned with my business,” Downs reveals. “What that gave me was a ready-to-go product that I could confidently take to market with a defined audience.

“That single campaign resulted in 12 confirmed bookings, generating thousands in commission and demonstrating the real commercial value of combining AI with experience.”

Itinerary inspiration

Beyond marketing, Morgan also utilises ChatGPT for help with itinerary planning. “If someone calls me and says they want to do Route 66, I ask them core questions like their age group and where they want to start and finish.

"Then, equipped with their details too, I feed that information into ChatGPT and in 30 seconds it will spit out a beautiful itinerary. Then I can ask it to price the itinerary, which gives me an approximate cost, so I can understand whether the client is on the right track with their budget.”

Cotton says he too uses AI to help structure itineraries.

Notes of caution

All of the agents TTG spoke to encouraged caution, though. “Personally, I think AI is simply part of the evolution of business,” says Cotton. “The key is understanding where it adds value and where human expertise remains irreplaceable.

“We must remember customers can use AI themselves, so we must also not lose the industry expertise and personal touches… generic recommendations can lead to generic service levels.”

Cotton adds his clients appear happy with the context in which the agency uses AI. “We see AI as an assistant, not a replacement,” he says. “The businesses that learn how to embrace technology whilst staying true to their strengths are the ones that will continue to thrive in an evolving market.”

“We never use AI as a search engine for customer recommendations or holiday advice,” Cotton adds. “Our expertise remains the driving force behind every holiday we sell.”

Downs and Cotton flag that AI is not always accurate in its findings. “If you rely on it without question, you can quickly be led in the wrong direction,” says Downs.

“I always validate what it gives me through traditional research and my own knowledge. In my view, the biggest mistake agents can make is trusting AI without challenging it.”

He continues: “You have to stay in control. AI should support your thinking, not do it for you.”

Cotton says: “We have also been cautious to not rely on the information, as AI can be wrong depending on where it pulls the information from. We still use the FCDO religiously for all entry and travel requirements, for example.”

Morgan adds: “Images you generate with AI can begin to look 'samey'; you’ve got you've got to give it clear, concise instructions. The more you communicate with it, the more you get out of it.”

Reflections

Ultimately, it’s clear AI can be used successfully by agents comfortable enough to give it a try. Downs summarises: “For me, AI has helped me return to the travel industry with clarity, structure and a clear way to stand out.

“It allows me to spend more time doing what I love – building relationships and putting the excitement back into travel – while working smarter in the background. As I often say, AI can save you hours of research, but it won’t replace experience, that’s still where the real value lies. Used properly, it becomes a tool that enhances what we do rather than replaces it. In fact, AI doesn’t take away the human touch, it gives you more time to deliver it.

“There’s also still a mindset challenge across the industry, where some see technology as a threat. From my experience, it is quite the opposite. It is a tool that, when used correctly, can give agents a real advantage.”