TDM Interviews Ramya Dilipkumar, Asia-Pacific (APAC) Operations Manager at Riskline
As artificial intelligence becomes embedded across the travel journey, its role is moving well beyond itinerary planning and personalised recommendations. For Asia-Pacific’s rapidly expanding and increasingly independent traveller base, AI is also emerging as a tool for navigating a more complex risk environment — one shaped by geopolitical tensions, extreme weather, transport disruption and frequently changing entry requirements.
The opportunity for travel companies lies in turning vast volumes of real-time information into intelligence that is relevant to an individual traveller, without adding to the noise. Yet speed alone is not enough. In fast-moving situations, the accuracy, context and credibility of AI-generated information remain critical, reinforcing the need for human analysts to verify data and translate it into actionable advice.
In this Q&A with Travel Daily Media (TDM), Ramya Dilipkumar, Asia-Pacific (APAC) Operations Manager at Riskline, discusses how travellers across Asia are using AI, the growing role of real-time risk intelligence in travel platforms and super apps, and why the next generation of travel technology will need to combine AI-driven personalisation with human judgement. She also examines how this combination could help travellers venture further with greater confidence while giving travel companies new ways to support clients before and during a trip.
Travel Daily Media (TDM): Asia has become one of the world’s fastest-growing outbound travel markets. How are travellers across Asia using AI when planning international trips?
Ramya Dilipkumar (RD): Travellers across Asia are increasingly using AI as a planning assistant for international trips. They are using it to research destinations, build personalised itineraries, compare options, find restaurants and attractions, get recommendations based on their individual preferences and understand transport and logistical requirements. AI is making it easier to bring all of that information together before a traveller even books their trip.
We are also seeing AI becoming more embedded into the wider digital travel experience, from travel platforms to apps that can provide personalised recommendations and real-time information. The key shift is that travellers increasingly expect information to be immediate, relevant and tailored to them, rather than having to search across multiple different sources themselves.
TDM: Geopolitical tensions, extreme weather and airline disruptions have become recurring challenges across Asia. How can AI help travellers and travel companies navigate these risks without creating unnecessary anxiety or information overload?
RD: With everything that is going on in APAC, including geopolitical tensions, extreme weather events and airline disruptions, safety and the potential for unforeseen travel disruptions at short notice are increasingly important considerations for travellers. They want to know how safe and accessible their destinations are and whether airline, rail or maritime disruptions could affect their journey.
AI tools can help by analysing large amounts of information from credible global and local sources in real time, identifying emerging patterns and potential disruptions earlier, as well as helping travellers and travel companies make sense of rapidly changing situations.
These tools can also help filter and tailor alerts based on a traveller’s profile, location and situation. However, travel companies still need human expertise to verify the information from AI tools to assess the accuracy of the data, the context around it and the extent to which an event could disrupt travellers’ plans. Travel companies can use AI to filter and customise the kind of information their clients need to prevent information overload.
TDM: Many Asian travellers are increasingly choosing independent and experiential travel over traditional group tours. How can AI-powered risk intelligence make personalised and adventure-led travel safer while preserving flexibility?
RD: Travellers and travel risk managers increasingly want access to information that helps them anticipate potential disruption rather than simply react once something has already happened. Analysis based on historical and current events, including geopolitical tensions, conflicts, unrest and weather developments, as well as information on transport options, transit routes and emergency services in a destination, can help make adventure-led travel safer while still allowing travellers to remain flexible.
Where AI can help is in gathering and processing large amounts of data on these factors and identifying patterns or potential scenarios in which adventure-led travel could be disrupted or become unsafe. Travel risk intelligence can then be tailored to provide real-time information, such as push notifications, on the current situation on the ground, transport options, alternative routes and safety guidance. But this information needs to be vetted and critically analysed using human expertise and judgment to assess the likelihood and impact of an event. Risk intelligence can also be personalised according to a traveller’s itinerary, location, activities and individual needs, helping them make informed decisions without unnecessarily restricting their plans. AI can also support travellers when plans change by helping identify alternative transport or accommodation options based on their preferences.
TDM: Online travel agencies and super apps dominate travel bookings across Asia. How do you see AI-driven real-time risk intelligence becoming integrated into these platforms, and what opportunities does this create for the region’s travel industry?
RD: Today, travellers increasingly want to manage all aspects of their trip on one platform, from flights and hotel bookings to local transport, attraction passes and travel insurance. We may increasingly see travel risk intelligence reports being incorporated into super apps where a traveller can get local travel safety tips, preferred modes of transport, healthcare and emergency services numbers and push notifications on local and regional developments, based on a person’s travel itinerary, gender and preferences. AI can help with collecting, processing and prioritising real-time data on rapidly evolving events and credible travel risk intelligence reports from reputable providers that produce accurate intelligence for these platforms. There are great opportunities for the travel industry to evolve with AI and human intelligence complementing each other and enhancing traveller safety and the support provided to clients.
TDM: Governments across Asia frequently update visa rules, health requirements and travel advisories. How can AI help travellers keep pace with rapidly changing regulations while ensuring the information remains accurate and trustworthy?
RD: In Asia, governments and airlines use official websites and, in many cases, social and messaging platforms such as Facebook, X, WhatsApp, Weibo and Telegram to disseminate information on evolving visa rules, health requirements and travel advisories. AI can help monitor, process and prioritise information from official government and airline websites and their social and messaging platforms, as well as reputable local media outlets in the local language, in real time, to identify and process relevant updates quickly. But this information should still be verified by humans before being communicated to travellers.
TDM: With AI-generated travel advice becoming more common, what role should human analysts continue to play in verifying information, particularly during fast-moving events such as natural disasters, political unrest or major transport disruptions in Asia?
RD: AI can be very helpful in quickly collecting large amounts of data in real time on rapidly evolving events such as natural disasters, political unrest or major transport disruptions by scanning multiple open sources and identifying patterns and emerging risks. But the credibility of all of this information still needs to be assessed and verified by human experts, as misinformation can spread quickly through unverified sources and social media. AI cannot always reliably distinguish credible information from misinformation or manipulated content. So any advice that an AI tool suggests based on the information it gathers also needs to be verified and further developed with the human analysis and insights that a qualified travel manager or intelligence analyst can provide to turn it into credible and actionable intelligence.
TDM: Looking ahead, what will distinguish the next generation of travel technology in Asia? Will success depend less on recommending where people should travel and more on helping them travel safely, confidently and with real-time situational awareness?
RD: Travel technologies in Asia in the near future are likely to become more focused on helping people travel safely, confidently and with real-time situational awareness, as travellers are now opting for more unconventional and off-the-beaten-track destinations for their leisure travel and even picking new destinations for business meetings. Destinations that are usually considered safe can also sometimes experience unforeseen disruptions due to extreme weather, transport disruption or regional geopolitical developments. The success of travel platforms will increasingly depend on the level of personalisation and flexible travel options (right from modes of transport to suggestions on alternative destinations) made available to a traveller, combined with credible and actionable intelligence with real-time data on rapidly evolving events.
Read the interview in Travel Daily News.
Image credit: Travel Daily News
