Hugo Pellegrin

📈 In 2024, ADN Tourisme's General Manager Antoine Angeard discussed the federation's ambitions for using AI in travel, highlighting how some tourism offices have quickly adopted the technology due to sufficient budgets and skills, while others lag behind. Budget cuts impact the ability to invest in AI, with the federation aiming to level the playing field. The focus is on internal productivity improvements, with cautious external deployment to maintain tourist trust. Data Tourisme operates under an open license, with potential adjustments like the ODBL for data re-use security being considered. Plans for further AI experimentation are slated for 2025.

🚀 Archer Aviation raised $301 million in a funding round with BlackRock, totaling a $3.9 billion market cap. Post-funding, the company aims to enhance its defense air capabilities. Recently, Archer received FAA certification for its electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft pilot school. They need one more FAA certification, Part 142, to launch U.S. air taxi services. Archer plans to begin commercial flying taxi services in 2026, cutting Manhattan to Newark airport commutes from 52 minutes by car to 9 minutes.

📢 Qatar Airways enhanced Sama, its virtual air hostess, with emotion-reading AI to personalize travel recommendations, a year after introducing the AI assistant. Sama, accessible via Qatar Airways QVerse platform and app, now customizes suggestions by interpreting travelers' emotions, showcased at the Web Summit Qatar 2025. This feature aims to significantly improve customer experience by understanding user reactions to destinations presented.

📈 On February 20, 2025, Christie’s held the first auction completely dedicated to AI-generated art, called Augmented Intelligence, at Rockefeller Center in New York. However, 6,397 artists signed an online petition condemning the use of copyright-protected works by AI without authorization. Story Protocol, a web3 entity, aims to introduce "programmable intellectual property" using blockchain technology, with rules and monetization codified in smart contracts. This innovation could potentially address intellectual property violations by AI and create a global and permanent "new library of Alexandria" for intellectual property.

🏖 Provence Tourisme developed the AI assistant MIA, targeting international users for the 2024 Olympic Games, particularly in Marseille for the sailing events. MIA, available in eight languages, facilitated content distribution and provided insights for future evolution in 2025. Experimentation revealed MIA accounted for 1.5% of the audience, with over 30% of 18-35 year-olds using AI tools like ChatGPT for searches. Provence Tourisme advises focusing on data quality, SEO optimization, territorial collaboration, and defining clear usage cases for AI adoption by tourism offices.

🚀 Volocopter, after filing for bankruptcy in December 2024, is poised to launch its flying taxi Volocity, through a partnership with Jet Systems Hélicoptères Services. Announced on February 18, 2025, the partnership will see the delivery of two Volocity aircraft upon certification by the EASA, with 75% of inspections already completed. The service aims to commence in Paris, then expand to South-West and South-East France, offering environmentally friendly mobility solutions.

💰 Genial's cofounder Erwan Simon discusses the company's ambitions after raising €1.8 million, aiming to launch a new generation of AI agents for clients like Charentes Tourisme, MyProvence, and France.fr. In 2024, the "sandbox year," the challenge for 2025 becomes adoption, with a focus on integrating AI into the tools employees use every day. By enhancing existing tools, user adoption could leap from 30% with ChatGPT to 80%. The platform facilitates over 500,000 interactions between users and AI in 2024, aiming to simplify human-machine collaboration. Autonomous AI agents capable of booking travel are a short-term reality, with technical capability in place and payment integration as the primary hurdle, influenced by European regulations. Optimism is emphasized despite 73% of French citizens fearing AI, as per an Ipsos poll.