Actress and social activist Somy Ali reflects on how travel is changing in the age of technology, social media and artificial intelligence. With UN Tourism’s 2026 theme focusing on digital agendas and AI reshaping travel, she believes technology may make journeys easier, but it cannot replace the human connection that makes a destination meaningful.
“A machine can book a ticket. It cannot teach you how to stand in a place without using it,” she says, stressing that responsible travel begins with understanding the people and culture of a destination.
Having worked in Bombay and built a life in Florida, she still has one iconic destination on her travel wish list: the Taj Mahal. “I want to see the Taj Mahal – Shah Jahan’s love for Mumtaz, set in marble,” she shares.
While the Taj Mahal remains a dream, Jaipur already holds a special place in her memories. “I already carry Jaipur with me – the pink light, the small shops, the silver jewelry I still love,” she says.
For her, the essence of a destination goes beyond monuments and tourist attractions. “All of it, but people first. A landmark is why you buy the ticket. The people are why the place is still a place,” she explains. Recalling her experiences in Jaipur, she says she remembers discovering small shops and silver jewellery more than simply ticking off a list of forts and landmarks. “Rings, thin chains, bracelets and bangles. Made by someone sitting right there. That is culture you can hold.”
She also believes tourism can benefit local communities, but only when travellers consciously ensure that their spending reaches the people who live and work in those places. “It helps when the money stays with the family that cooked the meal, the guide who lives there, the silversmith in a small Jaipur shop – not only the big hotel,” she says.
At the same time, she points out that unchecked tourism can have the opposite effect. “It hurts when a neighborhood becomes a set, prices rise, and the street pays for our holiday,” she says, adding that responsible tourism requires visitors to be mindful of their impact.
Her advice to travellers is straightforward: “Pay fairly. Ask before you take a picture of someone. Don’t treat a holy site like a playground. Don’t leave your mess. Learn a few words. Remember you are in someone else’s home.”
Drawing a parallel with her long-standing advocacy for treating women with dignity, she adds, “I have spent years asking people to treat women as human beings, not as things. A traveller has the same job with a city.”
Social media, according to her, has also transformed the way people experience destinations, bringing both opportunities and challenges. “A small guest house or a jewelry stall can be found without a big company,” she says, acknowledging the positive side of digital platforms. But she also feels that travellers can become too focused on recreating images they have already seen online.
“Too many of us go somewhere to copy a picture we already saw. We look at the phone more than the place. We photograph the dome and skip the love story under it,” she says.
While she acknowledges that AI can make travel planning more convenient, she believes there are some experiences technology cannot replicate. “A machine can pick a hotel. It cannot tell you which silver shop is a person’s livelihood. It cannot feel Shah Jahan’s love for Mumtaz,” she says.
When asked whether she would choose an iconic destination or an unexplored local gem, her answer is both. “The Taj Mahal first. I have wanted that for a long time – to stand where that love was made visible,” she says. But after the iconic monument, she would return to the kind of intimate experience she associates with Jaipur. “The famous place is the door. The small shop is why you came.”
For more sustainable tourism, she believes travellers need to change one simple habit: rushing. “Stop rushing. See fewer places. Stay longer. Buy from the small shop, not only the airport counter,” she says.
She believes treating cities like items on a checklist can ultimately damage the very places people travel to experience. “We treat cities like a list to finish. That is how places get worn out,” she adds.
