The subject may seem technical. It is not. With the creation of an AI club by the Travel Companies, the French tourism industry is entering a new phase: that of organization.
Until now, many agencies, tour operators, and travel industry players have been testing artificial intelligence on their own. A quick fix here, a tool there, a few internal automations, sometimes a lot of enthusiasm… but rarely a clear framework. This is precisely what this AI club aims to change.
Summary
AI Club: Why Travel Companies are structuring the topic
According to the specialized press, the French Travel Companies Association (Entreprises du Voyage) is setting up an AI club to support its members in the practical use of artificial intelligence.
The initiative is led by the EdV digital commission, with Marie Allantaz, Nicolas de Dianous and Frédéric Pilloud. The club brings together a dozen travel operators, including representatives of networks, distributors and specialists in the sector.
The observation is simple, and it sums up the current situation very well: "Deployment is partial, uneven and poorly regulated. Most employees use it without a clear legal framework.".
This is precisely where the subject becomes strategic. AI is no longer a gadget used by a few curious individuals. It is becoming integrated into emails, content production, customer support, accounting, human resources, software development, and sales relationships.
The real challenge: avoiding AI tinkering
The AI club of Travel Companies is working in particular on a guide enabling companies to write their own AI charter.
The idea is not to provide a fixed document, but a basis that each company can customize according to its uses, risks, data and internal organization.
For tourism professionals, this is a crucial point. An agency does not handle the same data as a distribution group, a DMC, or a tour operator. Customer information, quotes, identity documents, commercial exchanges, and supplier contracts require a high level of vigilance.
The risk, therefore, is not AI itself. The risk lies in the unregulated use of AI.
GDPR, AI Act, sensitive data: the framework is becoming indispensable
The legal question plays a central role in this initiative.
Companies must avoid sharing sensitive data on public tools, limit the risks of errors or hallucinations, and provide traceability for generated content, whether it be texts, images or internal documents.
Nicolas de Dianous also recommends having the AI charter validated by a lawyer specializing in digital law, particularly for compliance with the AI Act, but also for ethical and CSR issues.
This is a point that tourism leaders can no longer ignore. As the tools become more powerful, the responsibilities become heavier.
Digitrips shows what AI can already change
The Digitrips example illustrates very well the transition from experimentation to industrialization.
The group, which specializes in distribution, manages approximately €500 million in annual business volume and 1.8 million bookings. At this scale, automation is no longer a convenience: it's an operational lever.
Frédéric Pilloud aptly summarized the human challenge: "The important thing is to get your teams involved in the process," insists Frédéric Pilloud. "At Digitrips, we hold meetings every two weeks to gather feedback on the teams' needs."
At Digitrips, several departments are already using AI tools: customer support, IT, finance, accounting and human resources.
The group has even personified its internal AI agents. Otto Phil automates the filing of customer emails. Lia Maipakeu cleans and formats content. Oriane Tation automates the distribution of communications. Aude Dui Tricia plays the role of internal auditor responsible for monitoring the work of the other AIs.
The key phrase is this: "We have developed our AI agents, personified."
A time saving that can already be measured
Digitrips also uses Claude Code within its development teams. The reported gain is significant: 25% time saved.
This figure should be interpreted with caution, as it depends on usage, teams, and internal processes. However, it confirms a fundamental trend: when properly integrated, AI can improve productivity without necessarily replacing humans.
In tourism, this is probably the right approach. AI won't replace advice, customer relations, or on-the-ground expertise. However, it can handle some of the repetitive tasks that slow down teams.
What this changes for agencies and tour operators
For travel agencies, the AI club is arriving at the right time.
Teams are already using these tools, sometimes without saying so. They can use them to rewrite emails, generate route ideas, prepare materials, summarize documents, or speed up certain customer responses.
But without a charter, without training, and without rules, each employee applies their own method. That's where mistakes happen.
A common framework helps to clarify what is allowed, what is prohibited, what must be reviewed, what must be tracked, and what must never be sent to an external tool.
Why this AI club can become a sector accelerator
The value of an AI club is not limited to the drafting of a charter.
It can also become a place for sharing among professionals: which tools really work, which uses provide concrete feedback, which risks appear on the ground, which professions are most affected.
In an industry made up of large groups, SMEs, networks and independents, this pooling of resources is invaluable.
Smaller players don't always have the resources to structure AI governance on their own. A framework supported by the EdV (Environmental Development Groups) can allow them to move forward more quickly, without starting from scratch.
The real question is no longer “should we use AI?”
This question is already outdated.
Tourism professionals are using AI, sometimes without formalizing it. The real issue is now much more concrete: how to use it correctly, legally, effectively, and without jeopardizing the business?
The AI Club of Travel Companies is responding to this urgent need. It's not selling an abstract revolution. It's providing a method.
And in tourism, that's often what's most lacking.
In short
- The French Travel Companies Association (Entreprises du Voyage) is creating an AI club to support its members
- The goal is to structure the uses of artificial intelligence in tourism companies
- An AI charter guide is being prepared to help leaders define internal practices
- Data protection, traceability, and compliance with the AI Act are becoming priorities
- Digitrips already illustrates concrete uses with internal AI agents
- The challenge is no longer to test AI, but to organize it seriously
Sources
https://www.entreprisesduvoyage.org/
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/regulatory-framework-ai
https://www.lechotouristique.com/article/les-entreprises-du-voyage-creent-un-club-ia-pour-les-adherents
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