Artificial intelligence is moving beyond chatbots and personalised recommendations to become part of the infrastructure underpinning the global travel industry, according to discussions at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2026 in Dubai.
The Future Stage opened with a keynote by Dr Marwan Alzarouni, CEO, AI at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, who examined AI’s growing influence on travel discovery, data, connectivity and governance.
As travellers increasingly turned to AI platforms to research destinations and plan trips, Alzarouni highlighted the need for tourism information to be accurate, current and accessible to AI-powered platforms, making digital discoverability increasingly important for destinations.
He also stressed the need to move beyond individual AI applications towards greater integration across destinations, airlines, hotels, government and technology partners. As AI becomes more embedded in planning, operations and distribution, its value will depend increasingly on how effectively these systems work together.
The discussion reflected a broader shift in the industry’s approach to AI, from customer-facing applications towards improving connectivity, efficiency and decision-making across the wider travel ecosystem.
The discussion formed part of ATM 2026’s wider theme, Travel 2040: Driving New Frontiers Through Innovation and Technology, examining how technology, changing traveller behaviour and industry collaboration were shaping the next phase of global tourism.
Image caption: Dr Marwan Alzarouni, CEO, AI, Dubai DET
