kabarsula ‘Some businesses won’t be here in five years’: Travel industry pioneer’s AI warning bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Tourism businesses that fail to embrace artificial intelligence could disappear within five years, Viator founder Rod Cuthbert has warned, describing AI as the industry’s biggest disruption since the arrival of the internet.

Speaking at the Australian Tourism Export Council’s (ATEC) Meeting Place 2026 in Hobart on Thursday (29 October), Cuthbert warned that AI would fundamentally reshape the global tourism distribution system, challenging established business models and forcing operators to rethink their place in the market.

“If business leaders aren’t prepared to embrace this change, I question whether some of those businesses will still be here in five years’ time,” he said.

Cuthbert compared the rise of AI to the arrival of the internet three decades ago, when many tourism businesses underestimated how dramatically technology would transform the way consumers researched and booked travel.

“Thirty years ago, I spoke at an AFTA conference about the arrival of the internet and what it might mean for tourism businesses,” he said.

“Some recognised the opportunity and worked out how to adapt and profit from the change, but others thought of it simply as a way to put their brochures online.”

He said the idea of consumers booking flights without a travel agent once seemed almost impossible, yet online booking has since become an everyday part of the travel experience.

“Since then we’ve seen Google, online travel agents, smartphones, social media and consumer reviews transform the travel landscape and today AI represents another fundamental shift as significant as the arrival of the internet itself.”

Tourism distribution faces major shake-up

Cuthbert warned that businesses operating between tourism suppliers and consumers would face particular pressure as AI transforms how travel products are discovered, packaged and sold.

“If you’re operating between the tourism supplier and the end customer, you need to be able to justify your position in that distribution channel,” he said.

However, he stressed that AI also presented significant opportunities for operators willing to adapt, particularly through stronger collaboration with industry partners.

“AI offers enormous opportunities to improve business efficiency, but the real opportunity, particularly in export tourism, is how businesses use it to collaborate with their industry partners.”

He encouraged tourism businesses to use AI to make their expertise, products and commercial relationships more accessible to distribution partners, helping demonstrate their ongoing value.

Cuthbert said the challenge extended beyond technology, requiring a fundamental shift in leadership and business culture.

“This is a fundamental fork in the road for our industry, and businesses that fail to recognise the significance of this shift risk being left behind,” he said.