Developed in partnership with TOURISE and Globant, the Initiative translates the recommendations of the white paper Tourism’s AI Takeover: Reinventing Travel through Agentic Tourism into a practical industry application. The protocol establishes how AI agents communicate across platforms and sectors, enabling intelligent, frictionless, and sustainable travel experiences. For travel trade professionals, it signals a significant step toward standardizing AI adoption across destinations, airlines, airports, and service providers.
The Initiative launches with a broad coalition of founding members representing aviation, infrastructure, technology, and destination leadership. These include Globant, Red Sea Global, HUMAIN, Riyadh Air, King Salman International Airport, the World Travel & Tourism Council, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce, Hollibob, and Trip.com. This cross-sector partnership ensures that the protocol remains technically reliable, open, and adaptable to diverse market needs.
His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia, emphasized the Kingdom’s role in advancing global travel innovation. “We are proud to see the Agentic Tourism Initiative take flight from the Kingdom, reflecting our commitment to shaping the future of global travel through innovation and collaboration. This protocol represents a bold step toward harmonizing technology with the human spirit of exploration. By anchoring AI in empathy and cultural intelligence, we are not only enhancing the traveler’s experience, we are empowering destinations to grow sustainably, inclusively, and with purpose,” he said.
Central to the Initiative is the principle “Digitize the expected. Humanize the unexpected.” Rather than replacing human service, agentic AI is intended to augment creativity, empathy, and local expertise. The protocol aims to support destinations in delivering more consistent, accessible, and sustainable travel experiences, while giving operators a common digital language to build new services and streamline their offering.
Martín Migoya, CEO and Co-Founder of Globant, highlighted the long-term strategic value of the Initiative. “We are witnessing the dawn of a new era for tourism, where technology and human ingenuity converge to create experiences that are not only smarter, but also deeply personal and truly memorable. The Agentic Tourism Initiative is more than a technical milestone; it is a strategic leap toward shaping how AI is used in travel. By building a shared protocol, we are ensuring that this transformation is inclusive, secure, and beneficial for all,” he said.
For the tourism and hospitality sector, the launch of the Agentic Tourism Initiative signals the emergence of a shared global AI standard – one that prioritizes interoperability, sustainability, and human-centric service. As destinations and operators increase their adoption of AI systems, the Agentic Protocol is positioned to become a foundational element of intelligent travel over the coming decade.
Tags: Ahmed Al Khateeb, Saudi Arabia, Martín Migoya, Globant,TOURISE
