Natalia Bayona: "All universities with degrees in tourism should offer training in technology and entrepreneurship."

If the impact of artificial intelligence is already an undeniable truth in almost all areas of life, it is no less so in the tourism sector, where AI-based tools are involved in every aspect of the purchasing and travel development process. According to a recent YouGov survey , 42% of travelers in established markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom included AI in their plans, either to search for new destinations (40%) or to find additional plans or activities to do at their destination (70%), using tools such as ChatGPT or Perplexity. And here comes the paradox: more than half of tourism companies recognize that having digital skills (and very specifically, AI skills) is essential for their businesses, but eight out of 10 lack the necessary knowledge to implement the technology.

So, what's happening in this sector, and how can this glaring digital skills gap be addressed? To find out, we spoke with Natalia Bayona, Executive Director of UN Tourism, at the organization's headquarters in Madrid.

Question: Technology is interesting, but the shortcomings in digital training are evident. What is the reason for this contradiction?

Answer: Digital education faces two fundamental challenges. The first is that, although it is a large sector that employs young people, 50% of those working in tourism don't even have a secondary education. And the second is that they don't perceive tourism as a long-term growth sector. That is, they choose to work as waiters, travel advisors, or even tour guides while completing their studies.

But there's also another very big challenge: entrepreneurship and promotion. Not so much to create companies, but rather to transform that startup into a scale-up, that is, to grow and sustain itself. Note that, if we look at unicorns (tech companies valued at more than a billion dollars), only 1% belong to tourism. First, because there are no careers, and second, because there's no approach to digital tools so that they're used daily and people understand them. Note that more than 60% are interested in developing the technology, but 81% lack the necessary knowledge; they don't understand the differences between a big data tool and an AI tool.

Q. What factors are responsible for why, today, digital education is the biggest pending issue in tourism?

A. We must keep in mind that technological developments move very quickly, which presents the challenge of ensuring that people know how to use the tools and don't see them as something distant, because if this happens, they won't use them. That's why it's important that all those who, for example, can code, are data scientists, or engineers who develop solutions with technology, can find in tourism not only quality salaries, but also formal employment opportunities.

I recently read a study that, since Africa is the youngest continent on the planet, young people with professional development linked to artificial intelligence are expected to earn salaries up to 30% higher than the rest. And I say this because it's clear that the [tourism] sector needs to democratize, massify, and bring all these digital tools closer so that people see them as something basic, in the same way they use a cell phone, television, or iPad.

Q. It's undeniable that AI tools are increasingly important for both travelers and tourism businesses.

A. That's right. Look, I'll give you some examples of how I, an AI user, use it: I'm fascinated by handicrafts, right? So I take a photo of any craft, and Google's artificial intelligence tool applies a filter and shows me where that craft comes from and even where I could buy it. Obviously, I'll have to verify that information later, but at least it's given me some very valuable information.

In this context, SMEs in the sector, travel agencies, and others need to professionalize their use of AI. Why? Well, to measure a destination's carrying capacity, for example; to create more personalized marketing campaigns; to understand, when a person arrives at a location, what they do, where they're headed, or what their preferences are, without having to ask the same questions every time a visitor checks into a hotel.

P. Or to be able to overcome language barriers.

A. Of course. I was recently in Azerbaijan, but I don't speak their language, and taxi drivers are certainly far from knowing Spanish either. So what I would do, for example, was use ChatGPT, speak in my voice, and ask him to translate it into Azerbaijani for me. I would then show it to the driver. He would do exactly the same thing, and translate it into Spanish for me. The language barrier, which still exists, has now disappeared simply with the help of a mobile phone.

That's why I say we need to professionalize the sector, because this can't be a coincidence, and depend on me using an artificial intelligence tool at a given moment. And this can be extended to other sectors. For example: last weekend I was at the zoo, which is also a tourist attraction, and they already give you two options: one, the zoo guide, a real person; but if that's not there, you can complement it with screens where an avatar appears, a girl who lives at the zoo and is clearly trained to tell you, for example, why and how the pandas came to the zoo. And Generation Z, which is very different from ours, is fascinated because it has a mix of both.

Q. How should the technological component be introduced into tourism-related careers?

A. The first thing is to include a vertical on technology and entrepreneurship within tourism programs, so that students know how to pursue entrepreneurship with this component in mind. It's logical that all universities around the world that offer tourism programs should have courses related to these disciplines so that they can bring students closer to real life, and so that when they graduate in hospitality and tourism, tourism and hotel management, or tourism marketing, they can apply them.

If after graduating I'm working in a mature destination like Venice or Barcelona, I need to understand the reality and problems of those places. If, for example, I have a hotel in a deserted part of Spain and I want to fill it; or if I'm the manager of a museum like the Prado or the Reina Sofía, how do I create different experiences for young people, seniors, or Generation Z? In what different ways do I use technology?

We need to foster entrepreneurial thinking, and to do so, we need to create cases where students understand today's problems, such as over-tourism and under-tourism; returning to the local; developing the authenticity of destinations; and the possibility of a war or natural disaster happening overnight.

Q. Is it important to have the collaboration of public administrations?

A. Without a doubt. I'll tell you a practical case: in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), we developed an alliance between the local government, the Cartagena de Indias Taxi Drivers Association, and UN Tourism to train taxi drivers in customer service. But how do we do this with professionals who work 24/7, don't rest, and don't even have time for a computer? Well, we did it by inventing courses with artificial intelligence that we provided to them via WhatsApp. So, as a taxi driver, your course arrives on your phone and you only need about 10 minutes a day. They're like little pills, and once you finish the eight modules, you walk away with your UN Tourism diploma.

More generally, it's worth mentioning that we're creating services for the vocational tourism sector: in addition to taxi drivers, tour guides, bellboys, waitresses... everything related to the hospitality industry. We're doing this in rural areas of Chile; in Spain, with the Mahou Foundation, in the hospitality industry; in Indonesia, so consulate staff know how to better market that destination as a tourist destination...

Q. Among the initiatives developed by UN Tourism is the Tourism Online Academy . What does it entail?

A. This project was born before COVID-19 with the aim of providing training to both people already working in tourism and those who want to. To achieve this, we work with the best universities in the world on a social impact initiative to currently offer more than 50 courses in five languages and even a virtual tutor. We've awarded more than 3,000 scholarships, and more than 50,000 students from 150 different countries have participated.

The academy offers courses on, for example, how to become a restaurant owner in tourism; how to become a hotelier; or how to use AI in tourism. Among all these training courses, there are MOOCs , and OCPS (a bit more advanced). Those who wish to do so can take these modules for free, and only pay €45 for the certificate if they're interested, which is, admittedly, very little for a diploma from a university of that caliber.

Q. What other initiatives have been developed within your organization to boost this digitalization process in the sector?

A. We can highlight two: the Digital Futures program, which we developed in the context of COVID with Mastercard; and the acceleration program. The first was designed to conduct an assessment that would allow us to understand the status of tourism SMEs in terms of digitalization. They accessed the tool, and based on that assessment, different tracks or paths were proposed: the cloud, for everything related to accounting and operations; digital marketing; and basic web tools. And then there was the physical mentoring component. We've done this in Tanzania, South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia...

The acceleration program came about through an agreement with Google for Startups and Plug & Play. We have startup competitions, and this year we're running an artificial intelligence competition. So, once we've evaluated the best technology-minded companies that have a real solution and a certain level of expertise, we offer them business acceleration: mentoring, training, visibility... A Colombian audio guide company, which had already developed the entire García Márquez route on a hands-on basis, was able to enter the Spanish market. Or companies founded in Holland that now offer bicycle tours and sustainable tourism in Morocco.