There are still those who think that to intercept the future you need a ticket to Silicon Valley or, more simply, a train to Milan. A convenient idea, but increasingly far from reality. True innovation is born where there is vision, skills, and the courage to systematize them. And BTM Italia is a concrete demonstration of this. The tourism fair in Bari is now among the first in Italy to have adopted a true conversational search within the exhibitor catalog: not just a simple text field, but an intelligent system capable of understanding the user's intent and providing natural, relevant, immediate responses. A chatbot that interacts, interprets, and truly works. A step forward that also becomes symbolic, as highlighted by Luca Vescovi, one of the protagonists of the event and an authoritative voice on the topic of artificial intelligence applied to tourism.
“Do you remember the beginning of the Internet era? You lowered rates to fill the last empty rooms, while your competitor, with a full hotel, sold at higher prices. It wasn't luck: they understood before that the world was shifting online. Today we are exactly at the same point, only that the revolution is called Generative Artificial Intelligence”, explains Vescovi. A revolution that concerns not only technology but especially the method. The role of the expert today is no longer just technical but cultural: translating AI into concrete, usable tools capable of generating real value for tourism businesses. “There are already hundreds of structures successfully using AI. The problem is not whether it will work, but who will be left behind. The customer is already there”, he emphasizes. The data, after all, speaks clearly. In three years, ChatGPT has reached 800 million users, a milestone that took thirteen years for the Internet. If until two years ago, 22% of people stated they did not want to use AI to plan trips, today that percentage has dropped to 11%. Nine out of ten travelers are ready to be guided by an algorithm in their accommodation choices. The point, then, is not to “play” with artificial intelligence, but to integrate it into processes. This is where intelligent automation of advertising budgets comes into play, one of the central themes of Vescovi's speech at BTM. “With AI systematized, advertising campaigns interact with the management system and the booking engine. If you are full on August 15th, the system turns off the advertising. If you have availability in the low season, it reallocates the budget there. It’s not magic, it’s efficiency”. A paradigm shift that directly impacts margins and frees up time, resources, and people. Also on the hospitality front. “Responding at 11:47 PM to an email asking if there is parking is not human contact, it’s slavery. AI serves to eliminate repetitive tasks and allow staff to do the only thing that really matters: welcome the guest”. Systems capable of responding to emails and phone calls in dozens of languages, 24 hours a day, do not replace the human factor but enhance it. This is the direction indicated by tools like OpenRosetta.ai, at the center of the demonstration that Vescovi will hold at BTM.
The appointment is set for Wednesday, February 25th, at 4:40 PM, in the Hospitality Room, or at the stand of 36B of JAMPAA. An opportunity to see up close how artificial intelligence is already changing Italian tourism. Without the need to go through Milan.
