PRESS RELEASE
Artificial intelligence and tourism: food and wine businesses are preparing, and Gen Z is ready
Data analysed by Roberta Garibaldi, President of the Italian Food & Wine Tourism Association, show that travellers increasingly expect generative AI to help them optimise trips, improve sustainability and reduce environmental impact. Potential applications already being discussed range from the digital sommelier to the robot waiter.
Food and wine tourism is approaching a turning point in generative artificial intelligence. The technology is expected to have important applications not only for internal business functions such as marketing and management, but also in the experience offered to visitors. The same expectations are emerging from travellers themselves.
Despite the current debate, actual use of generative AI is still limited. Around 10.1% of respondents already use AI-based chatbots to request assistance or information on products and services in general, and 9.1% use them specifically for tourism-related matters. Unsurprisingly, the highest shares are found among the youngest group: among 18-24 year-olds, the figures rise to 18.4% and 12% respectively. Geographically, Southern Italy and the islands are leading, while the North-West lags behind.
Expectations about AI are especially high when it comes to improving travel routes and reducing environmental impact during trips (35.9%), with the South peaking at almost 40%, and to identifying the most sustainable food and wine tourism experiences via chatbots (34.5%). This is followed by interest in simplifying bookings (32.7%) and, more broadly, in the personalisation of experiences, one of the most promising fields for generative AI.
The research also sheds light on how tourists assess the social balance of costs and benefits. Almost half of the sample (47.9%) believes that AI development carries more risks than real advantages for people. This view is particularly strong among those over 35, while it drops below 37% among 18-24 year-olds. Thirty point five per cent take a neutral stance, and only 21.5% strongly disagree with the idea that disadvantages could outweigh benefits.
The biggest concern is the possible dehumanisation caused by heavy use of AI, followed by the fear of job cuts. Yet the fact that “I do not trust it” ranks third suggests that part of this scepticism may soften in the short to medium term as familiarity and practical use increase. On the positive side, travellers associate AI with faster processes and with the broader idea of innovation and progress.
“On the supply side, food and wine tourism, like much of the wider tourism economy, looks at these changes with curiosity but also with fear, often because businesses do not yet fully understand the tools’ potential. This is particularly true in the agri-food world, where digitalisation levels are often lower and the relationship with the territory, sensory immersion and human interaction makes technology appear like an antagonist rather than a support,” says Roberta Garibaldi.
At the same time, the growing accessibility of these tools is pushing businesses to explore them. Today, generative AI is finding applications in precision agriculture, where it supports data collection for better decisions and lower environmental impact, and in hospitality functions such as marketing, communication and sales, from content creation to menu drafts, event communications and reputation management.
New space is opening in customer relations, especially for multilingual digital communication, customer support, booking management and the personalisation of tastings and experiences. The future points to chatbots, avatars, virtual sommeliers and even robot waiters, some of which are already being tested in food and beverage businesses. In B2B contexts, AI will strengthen marketing intelligence by making data easier to interrogate and by improving the effectiveness of communication and sales tools.
According to Garibaldi, if this process is properly governed, it will help clarify where AI should be used and where the unique, irreplaceable role of human skills remains central. That requires knowledge of the tools, experience, creativity and a clear strategy to define what to offer and how to measure performance.
The training dimension is therefore decisive. Starting from 5 June, a new series of Dialogues on Food & Wine Tourism – Special on Artificial Intelligence becomes available as free webinars, created by Roberta Garibaldi with support from digital strategy expert Giulia Eremita. In parallel, a four-hour training module on generative AI tools, from text to image generation, assistants, face and voice cloning, translations, dubbing and lip sync, is included in the new edition of the Food & Wine Tourism Management Course.
