By Rodrigo Esponda Cascajares | Managing Director - Mon, 06/30/2025 - 07:30

Artificial intelligence is rapidly redefining the travel industry, reshaping how travelers discover, plan, and experience destinations. For Los Cabos, a pioneering approach to a digitally empowered ecosystem demonstrates how AI can both enhance efficiency and preserve the emotional connection that defines hospitality.

Recent market data underscores AI’s formidable rise: The global AI-in-tourism space was valued at US$3.37 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach nearly US$13.9 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 26.7% (Grand View Research, 2025). AI use cases span to:

McKinsey highlights that generative AI and machine learning are enabling travel companies to reimagine customer journeys, service offerings, and internal operations (The Promise in Travel in the Age of AI, 2023).

FITURCA — the Los Cabos Tourism Board — has launched an award-winning digital platform that integrates tools, immersive technologies, and accessibility features across Web, mobile, and VR experiences. Highlights include:

These innovations put Los Cabos at the forefront of a digital-first travel experience, benefiting both travel advisers with specific tools and resources as well as travelers (Visit Los Cabos, 2025).

AI shines in optimizing functional tasks and scales personalization, but human elements remain irreplaceable:

Yet, as a MarketWatch investigation highlighted, AI can still underperform compared to human agents, especially in capturing granular preferences, creating emotional connection, or sourcing the best deals. The consensus: AI should augment, not replace, expert human insight (Market Watch, 2025).

There is an emphasized consensus in the travel industry that AI will not replace the human essence and personal connection of tourism, but it can automate routine tasks, enhance service consistency, and enable personalized, eco-conscious experiences.

For Los Cabos, the future lies in a hybrid model: AI-powered tools for data-driven personalization, empathy-driven human service, and immersive storytelling, delivered through a digitally inclusive ecosystem.

References:

Grand View Research. (n.d.). From https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/artificial-intelligence-ai-tourism-market-report

Grand View Research. (2025). From https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/artificial-intelligence-ai-tourism-market-report

Visit Los Cabos. (2025). From www.visitloscabos.travel

The Promise in Travel in the Age of AI. (2023). From https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel/our-insights/the-promise-of-travel-in-the-age-of-ai?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Market Watch. (2025). From https://www.marketwatch.com/story/i-asked-ai-google-flights-and-a-travel-agent-to-find-me-the-cheapest-flight-heres-who-won-68753dda?utm_source=chatgpt.com

When machine meets wanderlust: The role AI plays in tourism. (2025). From Kantar: https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/research-services/the-role-ai-plays-in-tourism-pf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Hillsdon, M. (2025, June 4). www.reuters.com . From https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/how-travel-is-getting-smart-more-sustainable-with-ai-2025-06-04/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

The Times. (2025). From The Times: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/technology-uk/article/travel-agents-chatty-ai-call-handlers-take-off-vsjn0sx8q