Booking.com has announced the launch of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Trip Planner in New Zealand. The new technology provides a conversational experience to assist travellers with creating unique, personalised itineraries. Via the Booking.com Mobile App, users are now gifted a fresh approach to travel planning, marking this as a pioneering shift in the role AI plays in the tourism industry.

Recent research commissioned by Booking.com suggested almost a third (28%) of Kiwi travellers will likely utilise AI to plan international travel by 2024. With the introduction of the recently unveiled AI Trip Planner, future domestic and international travel bookings stand to become smoother, individualised, and more accessible to a wider demographic.

This new 'virtual assistant' is designed to work in real-time. Capable of assisting with general or more specific aspects of travel planning, the AI technology can provide personalised travel inspiration, offer a curated list of relevant accommodations, or even create intricate itineraries for various cities, regions or countries. It offers travellers the ability to ask questions and refine their search across various platforms, thereby providing a myriad of options within seconds.

This global platform has taken advanced measures to develop the AI experience into one that tailors travel suggestions more than ever before. Stepping beyond the conventional modes of travel planning, the AI Trip Planner provides travellers with visual lists of destinations and properties, comprehensive with pricing and links for detail. This development serves to seamlessly connect recently suggested options with the traveller's current Booking.com mobile app.

"Our primary aim at Booking.com has always been to leverage technology to make travel easier," asserted Todd Lacey, Regional Manager of Booking.com in Oceania. "Developments with generative AI are accelerating the work we've been doing for years with machine learning to enhance and improve every aspect of the customer experience on our platform."

Lacey specifically highlighted how AI technology is optimising the way content is displayed to customers and how it is providing relevancy in their travel journey. In addition, Rob Francis, CTO of Booking.com, expressed his enthusiasm about how the AI Trip Planner has paved new avenues for one-to-one customer conversations and interactions. He said, "It's just the beginning, but we have lots of runway here to explore in order to innovate and connect the travel experience further on Booking.com, all in a safe, ethical and inclusive way."

New Zealand and Australia are the initial markets in Asia Pacific for the AI Trip Planner launch, following its successful releases in the US and UK last year. To use the new travel planning tool, travellers in New Zealand must currently have their language settings set to English on the Booking.com app. As the use of AI technology steadily grows in various facets of society, Booking.com's innovative AI technology stands as a landmark advancement in the realm of travel planning.