The evolving high street defies AI doom-mongering

Every week brings another warning: AI is coming for our jobs. Entire industries, we’re told, will be swept away by automation. By that logic, traditional high street travel agencies and tour operators should already be extinct. But step into Guildford today and you’ll see the opposite: our first Celestyal Travel retail store has just opened its doors.

The lesson? Predictions of the high street’s demise are greatly exaggerated. And this isn’t wishful thinking – the evidence is there. 

Agents adapted when online booking arrived. They adapted during the pandemic. And they will adapt again as AI reshapes the way we work. Why? Because technology can make a booking easier, but it can’t replace trust. It can’t look you in the eye and reassure you when a flight is cancelled, borders close or a volcano erupts.

Travel is not just a transaction. It’s an aspiration. Sitting down with a travel expert to map out a cruise or a once-in-a-lifetime trip is part of the experience. That human connection – the mix of advice, accountability and imagination – can’t be easily replicated by technology.

That’s why demand for agents is rising, not falling. Customers want expertise. They want a voice at the end of the phone – or across the desk – who knows them, and who will pick up when the unexpected happens. 

Our new store offers consumer retail, a call centre and an agent training hub under one roof, hosting workshops, product training and networking sessions for our trade partners. It’s a space designed to empower the trade and keep the human side of travel at the heart of what we do. 

We even offer a cup of freshly brewed illy coffee, a nod to our onboard barista hot-spot Café Nation, with each and every cruise and travel chat, with the aim of building knowledge or even a bespoke tailormade travel package, suited to all travel aspirations and budgets.

AI will change many things and has done so in our business – there’s no doubt that when done right it can benefit the industry and the trade, creating a blend of in-person expertise and productivity. We are seeing huge benefits in efficiency from our own teams at Celestyal, from delving into vast reams of industry insights, building time management systems in our diaries, and yet-to-launch customer enhancements we are working on in the background. Think back-office systems, itinerary content and automation of time-consuming tasks. This is what enables our agents and tour operation to focus on what really matters – providing personalised support and building relationships.

The high street isn’t going away. It’s evolving. In a world increasingly dominated by technology, it’s the personal connections that will continue to make a lasting and necessary difference, and AI which will give us the time back to deliver these.