Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a great boon to the global tourism industry, making back-end processes more efficient and enabling travel agencies and hotels to stay abreast of pricing and sectoral trends in real time.
But in recent weeks, evidence regarding the detrimental effect of AI on the environment has gone public, raising concerns among tech professionals, environmentalists, and tourism experts.
In which case, would it be too much to say that the technology that has been boosting travel metrics globally could be the same tech that ruins major destinations?
In this feature, we consider the pros and cons of AI in tourism, and how the industry can mitigate the environmental issues it causes.
How has AI benefited travel and tourism?
Much of the benefits that AI has had on the sector lies in improved operational efficiency.
Generative AI, in particular, has been a great help in recent years, and experts have pinpointed five key benefits that technology has had on the industry.
These are:
- Operational efficiency is at the top of the list, especially as companies are leveraging AI for back-end tasks like asset management and a variety of finance-centric tasks. In turn, this has improved productivity in the workplace whilst keeping down administrative and operational costs;
- Personalisation through the analysis of individual travellers’ travel history, online behaviour, as well as personal preferences has enabled OTAs and travel agencies to offer recommendations unique to each client;
- 24/7 service that ensures clients’s needs are met anytime and in real time. AI has led to the development of chatbots and virtual assistants which offer instant support, guiding travellers through the booking process, answering common questions, and helping manage cancellations without requiring human staff;
- Dynamic pricing through the evaluation of real-time market trends, as well as historical data and competitor pricing. Such forecasting has enabled both airlines and hotels to maximise revenues by offering customers the best possible deals; and
- Improvements to logistics and securities through optimised flight routes and anticipation of potential disruptions. AI also ensures that biometric check-in systems work, speeding up security inspections on either arrival or departure.
The downside
However, as beneficial as various forms of AI are to the industry, it can no longer be denied that running such technologies stands to ruin the environment in the long run.
On 3rd June of this year, the United Nations University published a report titled Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon, Water, and Land Footprints, wherein resource-intensive data centres were seen as a direct threat to the environment, something that could have lasting repercussions in countries where protected habitats are part of the tourism landscape.
The report abstract specifically states:
“AI is not only a digital technology, but also a material system with measurable environmental costs. (Our) central finding is that AI’s environmental costs depend not only on how much electricity is used, but also on where that electricity is generated and which energy sources power it. Every kilowatt-hour used by AI carries carbon, water, and land implications, and these footprints do not always move in the same direction: low-carbon electricity is not automatically low-water or low-land… The benefits of AI often flow across borders and sectors, while the environmental burdens of data center siting, electricity demand, water withdrawals, land use, mineral extraction, and e-waste can be concentrated in specific communities and regions.”
The British Council highlights the fact that data centres require billions of liters of water to cool their high-powered processors and prevent them from overheating.
This is a critical point: the United Nations reported in January of this year that the world has entered what it calls an era of water bankruptcy as global water systems have been irrevocably affected by environmental damage and may no longer be sufficient for humanity’s needs.
Experts explain that when tech giants build server farms in arid or developing regions, they directly compete with local communities and nearby resorts for freshwater.
With that said, AI-related water consumption could equal the annual domestic needs of 1.3 billion people by 2030.
This strain can lead to severe local water rationing, making it impossible for hotels to sustain swimming pools, golf courses, or basic guest sanitation.
Moreover, the massive power requirement for running AI data centres means it will become significantly harder and more expensive for airlines, cruise ships, and hotel chains to transition to the clean electricity networks they desperately need to meet their own net-zero sustainability goals.
It is also estimated the global land footprint required for AI data centres is expected to exceed 14,500 square kilometres by the end of the decade
As a result of this rapid expansion, natural landscapes will be marred and the survival of local wildlife put in jeopardy.
At this point of history, perhaps it is time for travel and tourism professionals to sit down and rethink the situation as it impacts not only the future of their industry, but of the world as a whole.
