Understanding Travel Trends Post-Pandemic

Artificial intelligence has topped “Word-of-the-Year” charts in 2023 (though, of course, it is two words!) with the phenomenal rise of Generative AI, but business leaders know it is much more than a buzzword.  AI is far from new in the travel industry and its applications will only speed up in 2024. We'll see rapid enhancements in its long-standing use - from algorithms guiding discounts and personalized recommendations on platforms, to security and fraud protection - in addition to Gen AI’s advancement from the warm-up bench to the playing field as leaders further embed this transformative technology in people's travel experiences. Future innovation will be informed by a growing understanding of how customers want to use this technology, with continued iteration to feed their needs. That said, realizing AI’s immense potential to improve the trip experience, and much more, requires addressing its challenges, particularly around reliability and responsible deployment. The industry has an opportunity to help define standards and best practices as well as collaborating with governments across the globe to set up regulatory frameworks that can stand the test of time and avoid fragmentation, understanding that regulatory frameworks stop at borders but electrons and optical signals do not. Across Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) I look forward to deepening our collaboration with industry partners and governments to further advance AI in a responsible manner that nevertheless enables innovation to flourish to the benefit of society. #BigIdeas2024 https://lnkd.in/gPBZ2GMz

I’ve visited 40+ countries, and one shift feels impossible to miss: Travel is no longer being planned around places. It’s being planned around outcomes. Not “Where should I go?” But “What do I want to feel, do, learn, or experience?” That is a much bigger shift than it looks. Because when travel becomes experience-led, the destination stops being the product. It becomes the setting. You can see it in the data: 63% of travelers are willing to pay more for room upgrades or special extras, 42% say AI helps save time planning, 37% use it for personalized recommendations, and 36% use it to find new destinations. At the same time, word of mouth remains the most influential travel research source at 36%, while user-generated video follows at 26%. That tells us something important: Travel discovery is becoming more personalized, but trust is still deeply human. People are using AI, reels, creator content, Reddit, and recommendations together, not separately. Amadeus calls this “Travel Mixology”, a multi-source planning behavior that blends machine speed with human authenticity. And on the experience side, the shift is just as clear. American Express found that 79% of Millennials and Gen Z are likely to seek out local workshops or destination-specific activities, 76% of global respondents say skills gained on a trip stay with them longer than material souvenirs, and 83% of Millennial and Gen Z travelers prioritize unique, authentic experiences over popular tourist attractions. So the real trend is not just “personalized travel.” It is the redefinition of travel value. Earlier, value meant, more landmarks, better hotels, tighter itineraries. Now, value increasingly means, better stories, local immersion, memorable skills, and trips that feel personally designed. 📍That is why smaller destinations can win. 📍That is why curated itineraries are growing. 📍That is why social discovery matters more. 📍And that is why AI will shape planning, but probably won’t replace human taste. My view: The next phase of travel will belong to brands, creators, and platforms that understand one thing well: People are not buying a destination. They are buying a version of themselves in that destination. What kind of travel do you think is growing faster now, destination-led or experience-led? #TravelTrends #TravelIndustry #ConsumerBehavior #ExperienceEconomy #TrendAnalysis #BusinessInsights #TravelPlanning #AI #DigitalConsumer #TourismTrends #ResearchInsights

Remember how laborious it used to be to find accommodation for a 🧳 holiday? We had to rely on experience, word of mouth, and travel catalogs. To find accommodation, we first had to pick up a catalogue from a local travel agent or order one from a destination or tour operator and then work our way through it page by page. This took a lot of time, the offers and amenities weren’t easily comparable, and we had to rely on information provided by the accommodation. There was also a risk of disappointment: “close to the beach” might mean a 20-minute walk. Now, however, the internet, and online travel platforms in particular, have massively improved the booking experience for travelers. Modern technologies offer wider choice for customers, giving you access to locations from across the world you otherwise might have missed. All this choice is supported by trusted payment options that give you peace of mind. You can explore thousands of independent reviews from fellow travelers, taking all the stress and unwanted surprise out of holiday bookings. You can easily compare the cost, services and quality of accommodation providers. Increased transparency leads to more competition among accommodations. Lower prices and increased quality mean you get greater value for money. Due to online travel platforms, daily hotel rates are cheaper on average with travelers saving billions every year. Online travel platforms make booking a holiday easy, trustworthy and affordable, meaning travelers can make the right choice for them and explore new places with confidence. #travel #hotels #hospitality

Most EAs are underusing AI for travel. They’ll use it to “find a hotel”… …but not to run the entire logistics strategy. That’s the gap. AI isn’t just a search tool - it’s a planning engine if you use it properly. Here’s where it actually adds value: ✈️ Travel Planning & Logistics Use AI to: • Build detailed itineraries (not just flights + hotel, but door-to-door) • Compare options (time vs cost vs convenience - not just cheapest) • Create contingency plans (delays, cancellations, backup routes) • Draft full briefing packs for your executive But the difference is in how you prompt it. Most people get average output because they give average instructions. Prompts that actually work: ➡️ Itinerary building “Create a detailed executive travel itinerary for a CEO travelling from London to New York for 3 days. Include flights, transfer times, hotel check-in, meeting buffers, and downtime. Optimise for minimal fatigue.” ➡️ Option comparison “Compare 3 travel options from London to Paris balancing time, cost, and convenience. Rank them for a senior executive who values time over cost.” ➡️ Contingency planning “What are the top 5 risks for this travel plan and what backup options should be in place for each?” ➡️ Executive briefing pack “Create a one-page executive travel brief including itinerary summary, key contacts, meeting locations, travel times, and risks.” ➡️ Preference-based planning “Plan this trip based on the following preferences: avoids early flights, prefers premium economy, values minimal connections, and needs 1 hour buffer before meetings.” Reality check - AI will not: • Know your executive’s real preferences • Account for past travel frustrations • Understand how they actually operate under pressure If you blindly trust it, you’ll create polished plans that fail in real life. Your job is to layer in: Context. Judgement. Experience. That’s the difference between an EA who “uses AI”… and one who actually operates at a higher level because of it. If you’re still manually pulling this together from 5 different tabs, you’re wasting time but if you rely on AI without thinking, you’re creating risk. The sweet spot is in between. #ExecutiveAssistants #AI #Leadership #Travel

India's travel market is projected to cross $125 billion by 2027. At the same time: - More than 70% of travel discovery now starts online - AI powered trip planning is becoming mainstream globally - Travelers are spending more time researching than booking Which means travel is quietly becoming an intelligence problem. But most travel companies are still competing like it's 2015. Right now, India's travel ecosystem is dominated by platforms like MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip.com, Cleartrip and ixigo. And to their credit, they're already using AI. We're seeing personalized recommendations, dynamic pricing engines and AI customer support ixigo has invested heavily in AI driven fare prediction. MakeMyTrip is introducing conversational planning experiences. Global players like Booking.com and Expedia are building AI trip assistants that help users navigate millions of travel combinations. But most of these systems still optimize transactions, not decisions. And that's where the next opportunity is emerging. Because travel isn't actually difficult because of booking, it's difficult because of uncertainty. People don't know: 1. Which destination fits their budget this month 2. When prices are likely to rise 3. How weather affects the experience 4. Whether their itinerary is actually realistic 5. What to do when plans suddenly change That uncertainty creates friction long before a booking happens. And AI is finally becoming capable of solving it. 📌 Adaptive Trip Planning Today's itinerary generators create a plan. Tomorrow's systems will continuously redesign it. Flight delayed? Weather changes? Attraction closed? The itinerary updates automatically. The trip becomes dynamic instead of static. 📌 Budget Intelligence Most travelers start with a destination but many should start with a budget. AI can reverse the process - "Here is where ₹50,000 gets you the best experience this month." That is often a more useful decision than searching destinations manually. 📌 Hyper Personalized Travel Most recommendation engines still think in categories. But real travel intent is far more nuanced. Someone might want Remote work + beach, Adventure + luxury and Wellness + short travel time The platforms that understand intent instead of demographics will create stronger user loyalty. 📌 Real Time Travel Copilots This is the opportunity I find most interesting. Not planning Not booking But execution Imagine an AI layer that tracks disruptions, suggests alternatives, rebooks activities, adjusts schedules and optimizes spending during the trip Travel becomes an active system instead of a static purchase. And this is where newcomers should pay attention. Because competing with giants on inventory is almost impossible but competing on decision intelligence is not. So let’s talk if you want to know how you can implement these for your Traveltech brand.

Business travel is about to be completely reshaped by AI. We’re not just talking about AI booking a flight or a hotel, because that’s the simplest part of the transformation. The real shift is going to happen across everything else that surrounds the business travel journey, like the planning, preparation, on-trip decisions, performance and reporting. Business travel is complex, expensive and highly regulated, and that’s exactly why I think AI will have its biggest impact here first. Here’s where I think we’re going to see the biggest shifts: → AI will manage business travel before the trip begins: Instead of spending hours searching and coordinating, business travellers will have AI agents that pre-emptively adjust itineraries based on schedules, align flights and hotels with global teams, pre-approve trips based on budget thresholds, flag policy exceptions automatically and secure approvals without the need for people to go back and forth. Booking becomes the final step instead of the first one. → AI will optimise business travel around performance, not logistics: For executives, founders and teams who move around a lot, AI will become the full performance coach - from personalised sleep, nutrition and recovery protocols to flight recommendations based on circadian rhythm and hotels ranked by productivity and noise levels. Business travel has always been built around logistics, but AI will rebuild it around human performance. → AI will become a full-service travel manager during the trip: We’re heading towards AI agents that are capable of rebooking instantly during disruptions, filing expenses automatically in the background, tracking duty of care obligations like safety, risk and location, splitting costs for group travel and coordinating meetings, transport and hotel services without input. This removes friction for business travellers and massively reduces operational overhead for employers. → AI will transform the on-ground business travel experience: Once people arrive at their destinations, AI will build dynamic itineraries based on energy levels and meetings, anticipate needs, suggest ‘nearby recommendations’ for gaps in between meetings and connect travellers to local experiences that are aligned with business goals. Business travel will become adaptive, personal and context-aware at every moment. AI isn’t going to replace business travel entirely, but it will make it higher-value, lower-friction and significantly more productive. If you’re a travel leader, I’d love to get your input on this. Which part of the AI shift do you think will have the biggest impact on business travel? 

Over the past five months traveling around the Mediterranean, I’ve spent a lot of time talking with people who describe themselves as conscious travelers. One thing surprised me. Even within this group, travel search is changing. Fewer people now start by typing keywords like “family-friendly experiences in Greece” into Google. Instead, they start by typing something like this into ChatGPT: “Design a 10-day trip to Greece for a family of five with two daughters, ages 13 and 15. Focus on experiences that combine nature, culture, and art. Avoid tourist traps.” This shift came up repeatedly at ITB Berlin as well. Research from Phocuswright shows that 49% of US travelers and 67% of Millennials used AI for travel planning this year alone. So travel brands are no longer just competing to rank on Google. They’re competing to be recommended by AI. And here’s the interesting part: AI doesn’t recommend the biggest brand. It recommends the clearest one. Which makes clarity about who your experiences are for more important than ever. That means moving beyond broad target audiences like “Adults ages 30–55.” Instead, speak to specific travelers (aka your ideal customers) wherever your brand shows up. On your website, in itinerary descriptions, even in your social media captions. For example: → Creative workshops and activities for families with young kids → Cultural itineraries for digital nomads balancing work and exploration → Nature retreats for couples looking to unplug and reset The clearer you are about who your trips are designed for, the easier it becomes for AI tools to match you with travelers already looking for exactly that. 👉🏾 I’m curious, have you tried planning a trip with AI? What did it suggest? 👀

ChatGPT can now book your entire trip. While you sleep. OpenAI just launched agent mode for travel planning. Here's what it actually does: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: - Compares flights across multiple sites - Fills passenger forms automatically - Navigates checkout (stops before payment) - Adjusts dates based on your calendar - Works with Booking.com, Expedia, major platforms Not just links and suggestions. It actually clicks through the booking process. 𝗜𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲: Book boutique hotels? It remembers. Hate red-eyes? Filters them out. Prefer aisle seats? Defaults to that. Stay under $150/night? Sets that limit. No more re-entering preferences every search. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵: → Only for Pro/Plus/Team subscribers → Not available in Europe yet (regulations pending) → You approve every action → Can't handle complex multi-country trips → Won't replace human agents for visa/permit help 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿: ✓ Weekend getaways ✓ Business trips with clear schedules ✓ Standard hotel bookings ✓ Comparing 20 options in seconds 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁: ✗ Cultural immersion planning ✗ Complex visa requirements ✗ Multi-stop adventures ✗ Local insider knowledge 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁: Travel agents won't disappear. They'll stop doing data entry. More time for: • Crafting unique experiences • Navigating complex regulations • Building cultural connections • Providing destination expertise Less time comparing 47 similar hotels. 𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲: This isn't about AI replacing travel planning. It's about removing the tedious parts. The 3 hours comparing flights? The 20 tabs of hotel reviews? The form-filling nightmare? Gone. You still decide where to go. What matters to you. What experiences you want. ChatGPT just handles the boring logistics. Launched July 17, 2025. Rolling out globally (except EU for now). The future of travel planning: Humans for the soul of the trip. AI for the spreadsheet part. Have you tried agent mode yet? Found this helpful? Follow Arturo Ferreira

Generative AI Revolutionizes Summer Travel Planning, New Oliver Wyman Report Says Generative AI is reshaping how consumers plan vacations, according to Oliver Wyman's latest report, "Why Generative AI Is a Game Changer for Leisure Travel." Key Insights Growing Adoption: 41% of Americans and Canadians now use generative AI for trip planning, up from 34% in August 2023. Potential Market Shift: Online travel agencies (OTAs) could increase their US market share by up to 17 percentage points by 2029, potentially earning an additional $2 billion in commissions. Consumer Satisfaction: 82% of travelers using generative AI plan to use it again. The tools are particularly popular among those under 45, with a notable 31% of users aged 45 and older. Enhanced Bookings: Over 90% of users who booked AI-generated plans also booked specific activities (44%) and dining options (43%). Loyalty Boost: 45% of elite loyalty members and 54% of cruise travelers have used generative AI for trip planning. Challenges for Travel Brands "Consumers are avoiding information overload and saving time with generative AI, but travel brands are missing out by not developing these tools," said Lawrence Burka, principal at Oliver Wyman. This delay in adoption represents a missed opportunity for enhancing customer loyalty and driving direct bookings. Survey Details The survey included nearly 2,100 US and Canadian consumers who booked leisure travel since early 2023 or cruises since 2022. #TravelTech #GenerativeAI #SummerTravel #InnovationInTourism

Why Most Travel Planning Apps Feel Like Work And How AI Should Fix It 🛫 We just analyzed 𝟯𝟬+ 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀. The pattern was painful: users spend 𝟯+ 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 planning a trip that should take 20 minutes. Not because travel is complicated. Because apps make it unnecessarily hard. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 Traditional travel apps throw everything at you—flights, hotels, activities, weather, local tips—all scattered across different screens. Users toggle between 8 tabs trying to piece together a coherent plan. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗜-𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 We built a travel dashboard that doesn't just aggregate data—it synthesizes intelligence. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 ⌙ Contextual AI Recommendations Suggests activities based on weather, your interests, local events, and crowd patterns. Not generic lists - personalized intelligence. ⌙ Unified Planning Dashboard Everything in one view: flights, accommodations, itinerary, budget tracking, local insights. No context-switching. ⌙ Smart Budget Optimization AI shows you: "Shift your flight by 2 hours, save $340. Stay one extra day, unlock better hotel rates." Actionable, not theoretical. ⌙ Visual Itinerary Builder Drag-drop planning with real-time travel time calculations. See your day laid out spatially, not as a list. ⌙ Predictive Insights "This museum gets crowded after 11am. Book dinner reservations now—Friday nights fill up 3 days ahead." 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱  • 68% reduction in planning time  • 3.4x higher trip satisfaction scores  • 52% more activities booked per trip 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 AI in travel shouldn't replace human curiosity - it should remove friction so curiosity can flourish. The best travel apps don't decide for you. They illuminate options you didn't know existed. What surprised us: Users didn't want "𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁" AI-generated itineraries. They wanted intelligent suggestions they could customize. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 + 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 = 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗨𝗫. At Orbix Studio – UI/UX & Product Design Agency, we believe AI should amplify human agency, not replace it. Building travel tech? Let's talk about how AI can enhance (not automate) human experiences. What's your biggest pain point planning trips? 👇 #TravelTech #AI #DashboardDesign #UX #ProductDesign #TravelPlanning #AIDesign