AI decides who stays

Why AI will not replace travel agencies - but will determine their future

The discussion about artificial intelligence in travel sales is often reduced to one simple question: Will AI replace humans?

The short answer is no.
However, the more crucial question is a different one: Which travel agencies will still be competitive in the future?

In an interview with the tourism trade magazine TRVL Counter, Salim Sahi, CEO of HoloLogix.AI, talks to editor-in-chief Jean-Marc Göttert about precisely this change and the role of AI in travel sales.

AI as a support, not a replacement

During the interview, it becomes clear that travel advice remains a business based on trust and personal experience.

At the same time, customer expectations are changing noticeably. Fast response times, high availability and consistent service quality are increasingly expected.

In this context, Sahi describes AI not as a replacement, but as a tool that takes over operational tasks and relieves employees.

These include in particular

• standardized requests
• making appointments
• initial provision of information

This shifts the focus more towards the actual consulting service.

Scaling as a decisive factor

A key topic in the interview is the limited scalability of traditional travel agency structures.

Capacities are directly linked to staff and opening hours. In phases of high demand, this inevitably leads to bottlenecks.

This is where Sahi sees one of the greatest levers for the use of AI: systems can process inquiries in parallel and are available regardless of fixed times.

This makes it possible to expand services without having to expand the organization to the same extent.

At the same time, there is a clear economic effect: travel agencies can process more inquiries without proportionally increasing their cost structure. This is precisely the decisive lever for scaling and profitability.

With this in mind, HoloLogix.AI is developing specialized voice AI solutions for travel sales that automate precisely these processes while ensuring the quality of customer interaction.

The real change in the market

In conversation with Göttert, it becomes clear that the market is already visibly changing.

While some travel agencies are adapting their processes and making targeted use of AI, others are sticking to their existing structures. These differences are having an increasing impact on competitiveness and customer loyalty.

This is also the background to the central statement of the interview:

"AI will not replace the travel consultant - but the travel agencies that don't use it will."

Original publication in the TRVL Counter

The full interview with all the details is published in the current issue of TRVL Counter Digital:

https://cms.trvlcounter.de/media/TC-DIGITAL-2026/TRVL_Counter_Digital_2903-2026.pdf

The interview shows: The use of AI is less a technical issue than a strategic one.

For travel agencies, it's about how they can further develop their processes and respond to changing customer requirements.

Development is already underway. The decisive factor will be how quickly and consistently they react to it.