Artificial intelligence provokes many passions, in all professional domains. Mainly because news argue that many professions will be obsolete and replaced. This, in a certain way, causes alarm among employees, in any area. Tourism is not exempt from confronting this reality. Use of alternative and autonomous ways, devices and instruments that interact with human beings, lead the latter to perform in new ways. ¿Will future tourism organisations think of replacing employees with machines that will support tourists? ¿Will tourists accept being served by a machine instead of a human being? It does not seem so to us. Tourism needs soft skills, and is highly soft skills dependent. So organisations must be careful about these new options. Gradually many devices will appear, but we must be aware that they cannot substitute the decision criteria and empathy from a collaborative host. Mainly in opportunity indications and emergency procedures, and the improvisation, touristic response characteristic to any touristic organization.
Thus, soft skills such as creativity, curiosity, compassion, critical thinking, and cooperation, will all be needed in every step of the tourism process. Use of technological tools will have to make us more human, more efficient. We must work with more knowledge and quality. Tourists will connect with helpful chatbots that offer them a conversation, an opportunity to express their interests and a chance to ask them their questions.
Team members will learn faster and better in personalized training schemes, to get full knowledge over their abilities and a vision of their true capabilities and interests. Using touristic critical soft skills, organisations prepare a more automated future. These advances of technology are unavoidable, but if the staff uses their skills, their capabilities don’t have to become outdated, outmoded, or obsolete. Focusing on the growth of critical thinking, for example, organizations can meet the needs of their human workforce, to interact quicker and more intensively with it. Building up tourist curiosity, by asking questions, exploring unexplored concepts and connecting with new people and ideas, clients will grow up.
Expand the cooperation meeting other managers, collaborators, and clients around the world using virtual tools and platforms while simultaneously deepening these connections, will bring tourists closer to you in the workplace. Thus, touristic organizations of the future don`t need to be feeble against advances of artificial intelligence. On the contrary, they will be ultimately more capable of better managing their own destiny!
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