---
title: "Will AI Replace Travel Agents? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates travel agents' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+0.2% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-travel-agents"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Travel Agents? (2026)

**Short answer:** AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places travel agents in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +0.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 5,900 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 21/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +0.2% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 5,900 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $50,160 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high (this job) | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Performing for or working directly with the public: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Face-to-face discussions: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Dealing with the public: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Processing information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Working with computers: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Time spent sitting: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Getting information: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Record and maintain information on clients, vendors, and travel packages.
- Compute cost of travel and accommodations, using calculator, computer, carrier tariff books, and hotel rate books, or quote package tour's costs.
- Collect payment for transportation and accommodations from customer.
- Print or request transportation carrier tickets, using computer printer system or system link to travel carrier.
- Converse with customer to determine destination, mode of transportation, travel dates, financial considerations, and accommodations required.
- Plan, describe, arrange, and sell itinerary tour packages and promotional travel incentives offered by various travel carriers.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than travel agents

- [Travel Guide](https://nuecareer.com/careers/travel-guide): BLS exposure High, median $38,120
- [First-Line Supervisor of Retail Sales Workers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-line-supervisor-of-retail-sales-workers): BLS exposure High, median $48,520; [Will AI replace first-line supervisors of retail sales workers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-first-line-supervisors-of-retail-sales-workers)
- [Tour Guide and Escort](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tour-guide-and-escort): BLS exposure High, median $38,120
- [Model](https://nuecareer.com/careers/model): BLS exposure High, median $48,470

## FAQ

**Will AI replace travel agents?**

AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +0.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 5,900 openings a year.

**How exposed are travel agents to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Travel Agents are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a travel agent's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, working with computers and time spent sitting. The parts that hold up best are performing for or working directly with the public, face-to-face discussions and dealing with the public. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a travel agent a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, travel agents score 21 out of 100, higher than 12% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $50,160 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to travel agents are less exposed to AI?**

Travel Guide (high exposure, $38,120 median), First-Line Supervisor of Retail Sales Workers (high exposure, $48,520 median), Tour Guide and Escort (high exposure, $38,120 median), Model (high exposure, $48,470 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than travel agents, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/travel-agent.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology