by Jack Lillis
Travel and tourism trails most other industries when it comes to AI-ready talent, according to data from LinkedIn and BCG. Just 2.9% of the sector’s workforce holds AI skills, placing it ahead of only consumer goods (2.1%) and far behind telco media tech, where the figure stands at 21.3%. The gap narrows somewhat on skill depth: travel and tourism employees with AI capabilities average 3.8 skills each, closer to the 4.7 recorded in telco media tech and financial institutions. Where the sector does show momentum is in hiring. AI skills growth in travel and tourism runs at 4.7%, outpacing telco media tech (3.7%) and energy (2.1%), though still behind insurance, which leads at 7.9%. Two industries are moving in the opposite direction entirely: industrial goods and consumer goods both posted negative growth rates, at -2.1% and -2.4% respectively. For travel and tourism, the picture is one of a late starter picking up speed, with a small but expanding pool of AI-skilled workers entering an industry where adoption pressure is rising fast.
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