I Heard an Interesting Podcast the Other Day… 🎧

The other day, I listened to an episode of the Travel Hero Podcast from ITB Berlin — and it really got me thinking.

The topic? AI in travel.

Now, AI is everywhere at the moment — in news headlines, in business talks, and yes, in travel too. What I liked about this conversation with Yanis Simayakis from Google and Dirk Rogel was how practical it felt.

Instead of big buzzwords, they talked about how AI is actually being used:

• to help people plan trips more easily,

• to make customer service faster (without losing the human touch),

• and even to make travel more sustainable by reducing things like contrails from airplanes or optimising city traffic.

Listening to them, I realised: AI is not some far-off future. It’s already here — and we can either ignore it or start playing with it.

For me, it’s about curiosity. I want to see how these tools can make planning group trips smoother, help guests discover hidden gems, or simply save time on repetitive tasks.

So yes — I’m excited. Not because I love technology for technology’s sake, but because good tech frees us up to focus on what matters most: creating great travel experiences.

If you work in travel, maybe ask yourself:

How could AI make your work easier — or your guests’ experience better?

Inspired by ITB Berlin – Travel Hero Podcast (Episode on AI & Travel Innovation).