Trip.com Highlights the Pivotal Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Reshaping the Travel Industry

Trip.com Group took centre stage at ITB Asia in Singapore, highlighting the pivotal role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in reshaping the travel industry. James Liang, Co-founder and Chairman of Trip.com Group, delivered a keynote, emphasising the Group's commitment to elevating customer experiences through AI-driven innovation.

TripGenie leads AI-powered travel ecosystem    

Trip.com Group's AI travel assistant, TripGenie, stands out as a transformative innovation tailored to crafting itineraries and enhancing travel bookings within the all-in-one Trip.com Group app. Since its launch earlier this year and subsequent July upgrade, TripGenie has produced remarkable results.

Notable achievements include doubling the order conversion rate and improving user retention rates, resulting in enhanced user engagement and overall service effectiveness.

TripGenie's recommendation capability for complex queries, combined with highly accurate compressive search, allows a user to find what they are looking for quickly and with great accuracy, providing a superior experience for Trip.com users.

Furthermore, TripGenie has redefined the user experience by excelling in travel and itinerary planning, including multi-destination planning, a soon-to-deploy feature. TripGenie provides quick inspiration for the uninspired traveller, creating personalised editable itineraries in under a minute. Advanced itinerary themes cater to various travel types, combining text and voice commands for a seamless user experience. Aside from English, users may also access these commands in traditional and simplified Chinese, Cantonese, Korean, and Japanese.  

Trip.com Group envisions TripGenie at the forefront of the AI travel evolution. With plans to roll out itinerary sharing features and increased personalisation options such as upvoting and liking, TripGenie will enhance collaborative travel planning for a more personalised experience.

James Liang, Co-founder and Chairman of Trip.com Group, said, "Our AI expertise empowers the travel industry by transforming the way travellers plan and book their trips. With AI-tailored travel solutions like TripGenie, we enhance engagement, accuracy, and personalisation in the travel experience. I think the name, "TripGenie" is quite suitable for our mission, for our goal is to help the customer plan the perfect trip like a genie. In this new era of travel, we are optimistic, forging ahead to enrich their travel experiences with AI and pursue the perfect trip for a better world."

AI-enhanced travel insights and customer service   

Boon Sian Chai, Managing Director and Vice President of International Markets at Trip.com Group, detailed the Group's AI ecosystem, including its algorithmic, AI-powered lists like "Trip.Trends," "Trip.Best," and "Trip.Deals". These lists offer curated information based on user preferences and real-time data, encouraging a vibrant travel ecosystem where Trip.Best boosts partner bookings and Trip Moments facilitates user-generated content.

Mr Chai said, "We build strong communities on our all-in-one app to deepen our travel experiences and appetite for travel between partners and travellers. Trip.Best, which is our AI-curated recommendation travel list, inspires our traveller community to browse and book their favourite properties, in turn boosting traffic by 20% and bookings by 10% for over 1,500 hotel partners. Our Trip Moments platform brings together travellers who share their experiences, recommendations, and reviews, creating a rich source of travel stories. Engaged by 35% of our app users, this platform attracts and retains travellers well, and influences 22% of them to book a travel-related product within a month."

The Group's extensive proprietary database, enriched by human feedback, are supported by a global team of experts who curate travel content, ensuring authenticity and immersion in travel experiences in our all-in-one app.

Besides this, Mr Chai explained that AI technology also played a significant role in improving customer service within the travel sector. Trip.com Group has achieved remarkable self-service rates, where AI chatbots handle numerous inquiries via text and voice with over 85% semantic recognition accuracy. This streamlined approach results in impressive self-service resolution rates of 78% for airline tickets and 68% for hotels.

The success of our AI integration saves the time and energy of customers and service agents, thereby accelerating case solving efficiency. Empowered by AI, customer service teams can focus on more complex cases and provide a better overall experience for customers.

AI-powered journeys amid growing travel demand 

Jane Sun, Trip.com Group CEO, said, "As the appetite for travel continues to grow, the future of AI in travel is expected to focus on efficient and highly personalised solutions tailored to individual travellers' needs. This vision not only signifies the next phase of the travel industry but also underscores the profound impact of AI in making travel more convenient, personalised, and memorable for everyone. Together with our partners, Trip.com Group stands ready to support and shape the future of travel with AI."

Trip.com Group's AI push follows a thriving travel market, with international travel restrictions lifted and domestic and regional tourism experiencing a substantial surge. According to data by Trip.com Group, during China's Golden Week, outbound travel volume surged by over 800% compared to the previous year, while domestic tourism grew by nearly 200% this year.