The Future of Work in Travel: Read the Grid, Choose Your Role, Orchestrate the Win

When it comes to the conversation around AI, there seems to be a common refrain: a machine is coming for your job. That isn’t directed only to travel advisors. It is directed to everyone, to all humans.  

I say, let it.  

Let machines handle more of the tedious and transactional so you can spend more time on the parts of travel only humans do best. That is not about resisting AI. It is about choosing your highest work and designing your business so technology amplifies it. 

The Landscape, In Plain English 

Two forces make a trip simple or hard. One is technical, one is human. 

• Complexity is the number of moving pieces to manage—the where, what, when, and how of an itinerary. 

• Emotion is the meaning behind the trip—the trust required, the relationships involved, the why.  

When you map trips on a 2 by 2 with Complexity on one axis and Emotion on the other, you get four zones: 

1. Transaction Zone 
Low complexity, low emotion. Think quick, commoditized trips where AI and supplier tools can already produce passable answers. As AI advances, time and cost here compress first.  

2. Optimization Zone 
High complexity, lower emotion. Group logistics, student trips, and large components. Systems and processes matter most. As logistics automation improves, this zone also starts to compress.  

3. Empathy Zone 
Lower complexity, high emotion. The client values reassurance and care more than the mechanics. A 25th anniversary at an all-inclusive is a good example. The win here is presence, not more keystrokes.  

4. Vision Zone 
High complexity, high emotion. Signature, bespoke journeys with deep personal meaning. A multi-generation retirement celebration that may never happen again. Here, trust, intimacy, and originality dominate.  

Every trip lives somewhere on this grid. As AI scales, value migrates up and to the right, toward Empathy and Vision, where human emotion matters most. That is where the advisor’s advantage grows.  

A Quick Reality Check 

Clients can already type a few sentences into an AI tool and get a plausible plan in seconds. When fully priced, bookable AI itineraries arrive—and they will—it will not eliminate all advisors, but it will harm the ones who do not lean into the right roles and the right kinds of travel.  

Answers get cheap. What stays scarce is trust, intimacy, and orchestration.  

Zones in the 2x2 Matrix 

Use the matrix to decide what you sell, how you sell, and where you invest your time. 

• If you are in Transaction, let AI and supplier tools do 95 percent of the work and keep margins tight and volume efficient. Do not anchor your business here long term. 

• If you are in Optimization, standardize and automate the handoffs. Build runbooks, templates, and event-driven workflows that prevent dropped balls. You win on operational excellence.  

• If you are in Empathy, compete on presence and proactive reassurance. Create rituals for check-ins, celebrations, and recovery when plans change. Make clients feel seen.  

• If you are in Vision, you are a storyteller and composer. Your signature is the sequence of moments and the meaning you attach to them. You design the emotional arc, not just the route.  

The goal is not to abandon Transaction and Optimization. It is to rely on automation there and invest your personal energy where emotion drives value. In business terms, choose your quadrant, then choose the systems and behaviors that fit.  

The 7 Human Roles, Aligned to the Grid 

You will not play all seven roles equally. Pick a primary role that fits your strengths, then add one or two supporting roles that match your segment and quadrant. Success comes from deeper humanity with the tools, not against them.  

• A Connector builds belonging and momentum, perfect for Empathy and Vision. Host micro gatherings that spark stories and referrals.  

• A Curator reduces noise and raises confidence, ideal bridge from Transaction to Empathy. Offer two picks and a pass, with a personal why.  

• A Designer crafts the emotional arc, the essence of Vision. Sequence calm to thrill to capstone.  

• A Strategist decides where to play and how to win. Picks segment, builds team, sets cadence, especially important in Optimization and Vision agencies.  

• An Orchestrator coordinates people, AI, and partners so promises become outcomes. Own the operating system. Event driven, human in the loop at the moments that matter.  

• A Caregiver is the human presence that solves human problems. You cannot automate caring. Competes strongest in Empathy and Vision.  

• An Educator develops knowledge and experience that create confidence. Translate trade-offs into wisdom that speeds decisions.  

What To Do Next 

1. Choose your primary role and publish a one paragraph promise that reflects it. Make it obvious which quadrant you serve best.  

2. Design one event-driven workflow from trigger to reassurance. For example, final payment posted or ticketing complete. Decide where the human step lives. Measure time to reassurance.  

3. Adopt a “two picks and a pass” standard in proposals. Attach a personal why to each option. Watch acceptance rates increase and revision cycles drop.  

4. Shift your calendar toward empathy and vision work. Automate Transaction and Optimization handoffs, then spend your best hours on context, taste, and care. Value is migrating up and right. Meet it there.  

The future is not man versus machine. It is human on purpose, with machines. Read the grid. Choose your role. Orchestrate the win. 

Best Success,

Jason 

P.S. If you want more of my AI takes inside and outside the travel industry, follow me on X/Twitter @jw_block.