AI Itineraries for Tourplan - is speed or accuracy more important?
Building great itineraries has never been more crucial for Inbound Tour Operators. FIT travellers have more access to travel options and planning tools online, so their expectations are higher than ever. Travel agents, in turn, are increasingly rewarding ITOs and DMCs that can quickly turn around thoughtful and personalised itineraries that will create a wow moment for the traveller.
For the past five years, TourConnect AI has been at the forefront of AI solutions for travel businesses, offering consultancy and proprietary Agentic and Generative AI products. During that time, we’ve learnt a great deal about the needs of DMCs, travel agents and the traveller when it comes to FIT itineraries.
Unlocking AI Itineraries for Tourplan
Itinerary Assist AI is one of four unique AI products that we offer. Very simply, it enables AI itineraries for Tourplan (a market leading reservation software). Partnering with Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and Inbound Tour Operators (ITOs) from the UK to New Zealand, Itinerary Assist AI has had a significant impact, replacing processes which had been in place for 10+ years.
The main goal of Itinerary Assist AI is to simplify travel planning and booking. By minimizing friction throughout the entire travel journey—from discovery and planning to booking and trip optimization—it helps DMCs provide personalized experiences at scale.
What should DMCs focus on first?
DMCs often tell us they’re losing business because they can’t get quotes out fast enough to their travel agent partners. Too often, the time invested by the DMC staff member is wasted - the carefully crafted itinerary with seamless transfers goes no further and the DMC is out of pocket. Downstream, there may be increased pressure on DMC staff to turn the itinerary around quicker next time, elevating the risk of errors creeping in as well as less unique itineraries.
“Inbound Tour Operators want to improve speed and at least retain quality. We focused on speeding up the itinerary build and used a copilot approach to ensure the quality of the final quote is at least equal to their old process.”
Michael Herrmann, Managing Director at TourConnect AI
On average, reservation agents using Itinerary Assist AI create, review, and send an itinerary to Tourplan in just 3 minutes and 29 seconds (All Clients, March 2025). This is a remarkable improvement compared to those using a manual process, where the average itinerary build time was estimated by clients to be 45 minutes.
How accurate are AI itineraries?
We have taken a Copilot approach to ensure that the final quote sent to the travel agent is at least the same quality. The Itinerary Assist AI interface keeps the DMC reservation agent in control. Quick edits of service lines and ease of adding new rules for services are two important features of this Copilot approach.
FIT itineraries are always heavy on detail, which creates a lot of opportunities for human error when creating trips manually. Context shifting amplifies the chance of errors, with reservation agents taking a lot of information from email and entering it into a booking system.
The accuracy and quality requirements for FIT itineraries are the same for AI created itineraries and manual itineraries. They must have accurate travel agent details, PAX details, travel dates and many other unique data points including the various activities and accommodation lines for the travelling group.
Based on data from February 2025 across all clients, Itinerary Assist AI accurately extracts and populates 92% of fields into the first draft Tourplan itinerary. This is based on detailed FIT itineraries that are typically more than a week long, so a lot of fields. We’re working hard to bring this closer to 100% in coming months.
An Inbound Tour Operator agent at the top of their game will add value in many ways for the company and the traveller. They will ensure the optimum accommodation rates are selected and if a preferred hotel or activity isn’t available, then an even better provider will be offered to create a wow moment for the traveller. Read more about how our AI handles Dynamic Rates here.
Breaking the "Time, Quality, and Money" Equation
We’ve all heard the business truism: “Time, quality, and money – you can only choose two.” For many in the travel industry, this trade-off has been an inescapable reality. However, Itinerary Assist AI is redefining this equation for B2B tourism businesses.
By leveraging proprietary AI capabilities and a deep integration with Tourplan, our team built Itinerary Assist AI over a number of years. It is uniquely able to deliver high-quality, customised itineraries in a fraction of the time it currently takes DMCs. We are relentlessly pursuing new core features that will add even more value to DMCs, travel agents and the end traveller.
A recap of how it works
Itinerary Assist AI combines smart automation with seamless integration into your Tourplan system. It is also available to be paired with any other reservation system.
Automated Itinerary Generation: The AI reads quote requests from agents and matches requested services with products in your Tourplan system.
Custom Rules: Pricing, availability, and location-based rules ensure itineraries meet both client and business needs.
Smart Updates: Modify and finalize itineraries effortlessly as travel dates and client requirements evolve.
Accurate Drafting: Draft and review itineraries quickly to ensure they are error-free and ready for final confirmation.
Benefits of Itinerary Assist AI for Tourplan Users
Time Savings: Respond to quote requests in minutes, enabling faster turnaround times.
Improved Conversion Rates: Impress agents and clients with quick, high-quality itineraries.
Error Reduction: Minimize manual data entry errors, ensuring more accurate bookings.
Scalable Operations: Grow your business without the need to increase staff.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Deliver tailored itineraries that exceed client expectations.
Unlock the Future of Itinerary Creation
If you’re a DMC, Itinerary Assist AI will remove manual bottlenecks, enabling your team to respond to quote requests accurately and quickly. Itinerary Assist AI can work with any Booking System.
Are you ready to transform your operations with Itinerary Assist AI? Contact us today for an Exploratory meeting.
