ATV is hosting AI training sessions on ChatGPT and Midjourney

Berlin/Cologne/Unterhaching, July 26, 2023 (w&p) – Artificial intelligence is currently on everyone’s lips and is set to bring lasting change to the world of tourism. The Action Alliance for Tourism Diversity (ATV) took this as an opportunity to provide its member associations and their companies with insights, through two webinars, into what AI is already capable of today and how it can be used for both everyday and less routine work tasks. More than 600 participants from all industry segments logged in, which the alliance views as a tremendous success and as proof of how important the topic is for the industry.

Günter Exel, a digital expert at Realizing Progress, introduced the participants to the wide range of applications for ChatGPT. Among other things, he explained how the chatbot can be effectively used for content creation and what opportunities plugins and the new Code Interpreter offer for data analysis—such as when evaluating customer feedback. “ChatGPT has long since become a powerful toolkit that no company should be without. The high level of interest shows that more and more employees in the tourism industry are exploring the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence,” said Exel.

In the second webinar, Alexander Mirschel, an AI expert and consultant at Realizing Progress, guided participants through the world of image generators—with a particular focus on Midjourney. Mirschel covered key fundamentals for beginners as well as in-depth tips for advanced users, such as how to create consistent characters for marketing campaigns. Several discussion sessions with participants also addressed ethical and legal considerations regarding the use of AI-generated images.

Mirschel also emphasized the importance of addressing artificial intelligence early on within one’s own organization and building in-house expertise to avoid being overwhelmed by the pace of developments: “We are currently experiencing rapid technological change. This makes it all the more important to instill a basic understanding, a sense of curiosity, and the need to engage with this change across our industry.”

Michael Buller, Chairman of the Verband Internet Reisevertrieb e.V. (VIR) and spokesperson for the ATV, is pleased with the strong response from the industry: “Artificial intelligence offers the tourism sector many opportunities to efficiently address key issues such as sustainability and the shortage of skilled workers. The high number of participants in our webinars shows that the message has gotten through: Only those who understand change can actively help shape it.”

The participants had high praise for the initiative—including Michelle Schwefel, Executive Director of the German Vacation Home Association (DFV): “AI will also bring about major changes in the vacation home industry. We were happy to seize the opportunity, together with our colleagues from the Tourism Diversity Action Alliance and Realizing Progress, to give our members the chance to take a look at two of the most important AI applications currently available. The webinars were very well received and have left us wanting more.”

Sébastien Beyer, Managing Director of the International Association of Parcel Carriers (VPR), expressed a similarly positive view: “As an association, one of our key priorities is to provide our members with first-hand information on current trends and technical developments. Thanks to practical application examples demonstrating the effective and efficient use of AI tools, both webinars impressed with their high value and generated a very positive response from our members.”

The press release is available for download here in PDF format.