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Winning In The Tech Era
There are several points to consider when evaluating
whether there is a downside to using travel technology,
and what precautions both advisors and travelers should
keep in mind when deploying it.
First, there is the sometimes-painful process of adapting
to major innovations For those long-time advisors who
are ‘old school,’ it can be challenging to acclimate to
the changing environment, and the tools needed to
support it Part of the goal of travel technology initiators,
like Cruise Planners, is to, whenever possible, not only
provide training on new tools, but also to provide real-
world business cases to help make the argument to
move forward with a new technology
Second, there are risks associated with something
that is so new that it has not had the chance to be
properly vetted CHATGPT, for example, has the power
to change the travel world in many positive and
meaningful ways However, without using it in a safe
and responsible way, there exists a risk of potentially
misrepresenting something or, even, offending a
potential customer by simply having bad information
This is, again, where organizations like Cruise Planners
intercede on behalf of travel advisors Their expert
teams take the time to review and assess the tools to
make sure that they fit into the advisors’ processes, and
that they do not hinder any business practices Once
thoroughly reviewed, they package the tech to best
assist the advisor community
Third, technology is only as good as the data it relies on
Therefore, biased or incomplete data will generate a
poor user interface When ChatGPT was released, for
instance, it only used historical data up to December
2021, and so it has little information about COVID
Furthermore, any changes to travel offerings – such
as hotel, attractions, or tour operator closures – would
not be reflected in recommendations suggested by
ChatGPT AI can even become corrupt if fed the wrong
IS THERE A DOWNSIDE TO
USING TRAVEL TECH?
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