TMG – “An important facet of the tourism industry is the interaction between people,” emphasized Thien Minh Group Chairman Tran Trong Kien, speaking about the tremendous impact that the development of artificial intelligence is having on the global labor market.
The development and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into all fields was one of the issues raised by Thien Minh Group (TMG) Chairman Tran Trong Kien on March 12 at a networking event with Mr. Darrell Wade, Co-founder and Chairman of Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest adventure travel group.
TMG is one of the leading travel groups in Vietnam today, owner of 16 brands in the tourism, hospitality, online and aviation industries. In 2005, TMG entered into a joint venture with Intrepid Travel to establish Intrepid Vietnam Travel Co., Ltd.
Speaking more about the impact of AI on the tourism industry, Mr. Tran Trong Kien affirmed that AI and robotics are changing very quickly and will continue to do so in the near future, and are being widely applied in industries including tourism.
“At TMG, we consider this one of the 6 most important trends to watch closely in the near future. Over the years, TMG has proven that if we know how to apply these technologies well, we can optimize distribution (with increases in direct delivery growth of 100% per year), operations (increasing employee work efficiency by 50% per year), enhance the customer experience, and increase the speed and quality of our response capability.
“Within the next 12 months, we believe we can personalize experiences even more, as well as automate more marketing, design, and back office tasks,” said the TMG Chairman.
Not only in tourism and technology, AI is significantly affecting the labor market on a global scale. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, nearly 40% of the world’s jobs will be impacted by AI.
However, despite the undeniable impact of AI, Mr. Tran Trong Kien pointed out that an important aspect of the tourism industry is human interaction.
“Clients will always want to savor local dishes cooked by chefs and enjoy traditional, human experiences. Stories told from the lips of local legends will always be better than short YouTube clips.
“Therefore, I believe that although there will be a lot of changes in terms of distribution or personalization, and optimized operations will be much easier to achieve in the future, the tourism industry will continue to need a lot of people, especially local workers, and that the economic sector will remain the world’s largest employer. Nearly 10% of the global workforce now works in the industry,” said the TMG Chairman.
This data is taken from the International Labour Organization (ILO). According to the organization’s estimates, more than 230 million workers – or about 7.2% of the global workforce – work in tourism. If including both direct and indirect jobs created through tourism-related activities, this percentage rises to about 1 in 10 jobs around the world.
Recent ILO reports also highlight the worrying impact of Covid-19 on the tourism sector, while emphasizing the need to put people at the center of reviving the sector and transitioning to a more sustainable future for workers in the tourism industry.
Source: Cafebiz
