TourConnect AI Named Finalist in 2026 Skift IDEA Awards
Recognition highlights how AI is changing the role of the DMC consultant — from repetitive itinerary production toward validation, personalisation and higher-value client work.
The Skift IDEA Awards stand as one of the travel industry’s most respected annual recognition programmes. Now in its eighth year, the awards celebrate design, creativity, innovation and real-world impact across the global travel ecosystem. In 2026, more than 490 entries were submitted from companies worldwide, reflecting the depth of talent and forward-thinking work shaping the sector. Finalists are selected after rigorous review by Skift’s editorial team and an independent panel of industry experts, with winners due to be announced on 26 August.
TourConnect AI Confirmed as Skift IDEA Awards 2026 Finalist
TourConnect AI is proud to announce that its flagship product, Itinerary Assist AI, has been named a finalist in the Travel Technology category under the Workforce Efficiency subcategory of the Skift IDEA Awards 2026.
DMCs have traditionally scaled by adding experienced consultants as enquiry volumes grew. That model works — until the cost and availability of experienced operational talent becomes a constraint.
AI introduces another option: increasing the workforce efficiency of existing teams by automating the repetitive work that sits between enquiry receipt and consultant decision-making.
Our evolution to date
Itinerary Assist AI is purpose-built for DMC workflows. Deeply integrated with your inbox, booking system and/or live inventory, it automates the creation and updating of high-quality itineraries from fragmented quote requests — whether emails, PDFs or spreadsheets. The product launched in beta in 2024, with automated product rules and expired rate automation introduced in 2025. By 2026 we have premium clients in APAC, Europe, Africa and the Americas and our AI Copilot has processed more than $100 million in itinerary value.
How Itinerary Assist AI Improves DMC Operations and Consultant Productivity
Itinerary Assist AI addresses one of the most persistent operational constraints in DMC operations: the labour-intensive process of turning complex, unstructured quote requests into accurate, fully priced first-draft itineraries. By interpreting agent emails and attachments, accessing the DMC’s own product catalogue, pricing rules and historical best-performing itineraries, the AI generates structured drafts in minutes rather than the previous 30–45 minutes (or longer). Clients report 40–60% time savings on initial itinerary builds, with 92% of service lines retained in final itineraries.
This efficiency frees consultants from repetitive data entry and context-switching between systems. As Andrew Lewis, Operations Manager at Across Australia, describes: “We fondly named our AI tool ‘Jeanie’. Before we implemented Jeanie, our consultants wasted hours every day simply data entering services… Jeanie now takes care of the majority of this task, allowing our consultants to dramatically improve their service to the agents.” Similar feedback comes from Pacific Destinations New Zealand and AC Group UK, where teams highlight both time savings and improved quality through continuous learning.
Redefining the Role of the DMC Consultant with AI
Beyond speed, the platform elevates the consultant role itself. Features such as conversational Chat editing and Expired Rate Automation allow consultants to refine itineraries naturally and identify personalisation or quality opportunities before sending. The result is a shift from headcount-driven scaling to talent-amplified operations: consultants spend more time on destination expertise, relationship building with travel agents, and delivering the hyper-customisation that differentiates premium experiences — capabilities once largely reserved for high-net-worth travellers now accessible across FIT bookings.
Curious what this could look like in your DMC?
The recognition from Skift is special for us, but more importantly for our clients and DMCs in general it represents a shift in how itinerary production can be structured. The opportunity is not to remove the consultant from the process, but to remove the repetitive production work that prevents experienced consultants from applying their expertise where it matters most.
If your team spends significant time turning agent emails and attachments into itineraries, we'd be happy to show you how Itinerary Assist AI works with a real DMC workflow — including the role of the consultant, the integration with whatever booking system or inventory store you use, and where the time savings are coming from with existing clients.
→ Request a 20-minute walkthrough
About the Skift IDEA Awards Travel Technology Category
The Travel Technology category at the Skift IDEA Awards highlights technology providers delivering innovative solutions that move the industry forward.
Recent standout winners and finalists in related subcategories have included highly regarded travel-tech companies such as TravelPerk (Workforce Efficiency, 2024) for its approach to enhancing rather than replacing employees, and Mews (Operational Streamlining, 2025) for its cloud-native hotel technology platform.
The Workforce Efficiency subcategory specifically recognises task-management solutions that optimise the human element of travel — precisely the focus of TourConnect AI’s entry.
