Travel Agency Automates with Gemini AI

Reiwa Travel, founded by Takaya Shinozuka, launched its overseas travel booking app "NEWT" in 2022, in the midst of the pandemic. The company has focused on resolving issues in the travel experience such as complex booking and preparation processes. The company has seen significant growth, with its total booking volume breaking records for eight consecutive quarters since its service launched. In a comparison of the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 with the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, Reiwa Travel achieved a growth of 308%. To date, the company has booked 45,000 tours across 67 areas. To accelerate its investment in the "travel x AI" field, Reiwa Travel is launching "NEW TML Labs". The goal is to create a new travel booking experience using generative AI for travel search, an AI travel concierge, and dynamic pricing. The company recently raised approximately $34 million, bringing its total funding to around $49 million. This new funding will be used for bolder investments in technology to fundamentally change travel using cutting-edge tech. Part of this strategy includes a capital and business alliance with AI startup PKSHA Technology to collaborate on dialogue AI. This move by Reiwa Travel is part of a larger trend in the Japanese tourism industry to adopt generative AI. For instance, JR EAST is using Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro for its "JR East Travel Concierge" service to assist inbound travelers with personalized itineraries and information. The broader travel and hospitality industry is undergoing a major transformation fueled by AI, as consumer expectations shift towards personalized and seamless digital experiences. Industry leaders recognize this urgency, with predictions that nearly 87% will have AI assistants integrated into the customer journey by 2027.