Interesting set of survey results on travel and robotics. However, like many things in life; things in moderation have more stayong poor v. going overboard. And, robots are not exception to this. It is inate for humans to have and need human interaction especially in personable service space.
LONDON, March 9, 2016 /NEWS.GNOM.ES/ — A survey of more than 6,000 travellers in Asia, Europe, North America and South America reveals nearly 80% of respondents expect robots to play a big part in their lives by 2020, with three quarters believing they will make their lives significantly better. Almost two thirds of respondents would be comfortable with robots being used in the travel industry. (Logo: http://photos.NEWS.GNOM.ES.com/prnh/20160303/340128LOGO )
Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO), a global media commerce company, conducted the research as part of its Future of Travel project exploring consumer acceptance of robots in the travel and tourism industry. Richard Singer, Travelzoo’s European President, will make a keynote speech on the findings at this year’s ITB Berlin – Europe’s largest travel trade show. On March 11, Mr. Singer will share the stage with Toshiba’s Chihira Kanae – one of the world’s most human-looking robots, who will make her European debut at the event.
According to the survey, international travellers are largely comfortable with robots playing a role in their holiday, though some nations appear more cautious than others. German and French respondents were the most averse, while Chinese and Brazilians were the most positive about how robotics and artificial intelligence could enhance a holiday or travel in general – 92% of Chinese were comfortable with the idea.