Technology could cost jobs, summit hears
Advances in technology could wipe out half the 47 million additional travel and tourism jobs expected to be generated in Asia by 2023, according to a senior Deloitte executive.
Alan MacCharles, lead partner commercial strategy and resources, told the World Travel and Tourism Summit in Seoul that automation will replace the need for millions of humans over the next decade.
He was speaking following a suggestion that people will soon be using mobile devises to check in to hotels, a development that would make front desk staff obsolete.
“There has been all this talk about creating 47 million extra jobs and that there is not enough staff to fill those roles but you’ll innovate half of those jobs out,” MacCharles said. “We’ve already spoken about eliminating front desk staff.”
WTTC president and chief executive David Scowsill later refuted the suggestion, arguing that while technology will evolve “it won’t put a dent in that [47 million] number”.
“The reality of someone picking up their phone, checking in with it and opening the door, we’re still a long way from that,” he said.
Other advancements were discussed, with Expedia chief commercial officer Dhiren Fonseca predicting the creation of technology that knows when your flight has landed, tells you where and when the bus is leaving from the airport and notifies the hotel of your impending arrival.
“There is so much more than we can imagine,” he said.
But technology has its pitfalls, he warned, with 95% of hotel bookings on mobile devises on Expedia coming inside 48 hours of stay.
Such a timeframe could have severe staffing problems for large hotels who “will have no idea whether they will be full or empty” until the last minute.
“It is complicating life from a revenue perspective dramatically and it’s not going to get any easier,” Fonseca said.
Meanwhile, Abacus president and chief executive Robert Bailey predicted the “phenomenal” amount of data collected will lead to far greater personalisation for travellers.
“How we customise services will be the next big talking point,” he said.
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