Experts to 'Al-Siyasa': Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence Enhance Tourism Efficiency
The hospitality and hotel sector in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey remains strong, while travelers have become more informed and selective
Dubai – Mohammed Abdullah:
Husam Khrisat, General Manager of The Palm Anantara Dubai; Husam Nabil, General Manager of Millenium Palm Jumeirah; Khaled Amer, Vice President for Commercial Affairs at Millennium and Copthorne Hotels for the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey; and Shady Ramly, Vice President for Financial Affairs at J.A. Resorts and Hotels, affirmed that the performance of the hospitality and hotel sector in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey remains generally strong, despite varying performance across different markets. They stated, “We continue to witness significant investments across the region in tourism, infrastructure, aviation, and the development of new destinations. We believe that the key trends in the coming phase will be personalization, wellness, experience-based travel, and growing demand for authentic local experiences, alongside broader adoption of technology and artificial intelligence. Competition will also continue to intensify, meaning hotels will need a very clear identity and a genuine reason for guests to choose them.”
With increasing competition among destinations and hotels, and given the key factors influencing today’s travelers’ decisions when selecting a hotel or tourist destination, they emphasized that travelers are now more informed and selective. While price and location remain important factors, guests are increasingly looking at the overall value of the experience and want to know what distinguishes a hotel or destination from others. They added that service, food experiences, wellness, privacy, family facilities, and unique experiences all influence the decision, along with reviews, social media, and digital content. They noted that in the luxury hospitality segment specifically, a beautiful room is now taken for granted; what truly makes the difference is making the guest feel that the entire experience is exceptional and worth the price paid.
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Regarding the extent to which digital transformation and artificial intelligence contribute to enhancing the guest experience and improving hotel operational efficiency, and their expectations for the expansion of their use in the coming years, they confirmed that digital transformation and AI already have a significant impact, helping hotels understand guest preferences, personalize communication, and improve the booking and stay experience.
At the operational level, they can support areas such as demand forecasting, revenue management, marketing, guest communication, and resource planning. They expect their use to expand, but hospitality will always remain a people-centric industry. They consider the best use of technology to be making workforces more efficient, thereby freeing up more time to create meaningful connections and experiences with guests.
With rising operational costs and changing consumer behavior, and how hotels can balance maintaining service quality with improving efficiency and profitability, they argued that hotels must become more efficient without diminishing the value of the guest experience. They pointed out that technology, improved demand forecasting, smart human resource management, energy management, and waste reduction can all help control costs.
At the same time, hotels must be clear about the experiences that truly matter to guests and focus their investments there. The goal is not merely to cut costs, but to work smarter while maintaining service quality and the overall guest experience.
