#Factoftheweek
1 out of 3 travelers …
Are you planning a summer trip? How are you planning it? Would you consider using AI to help?
The 2025 Travel Industry Outlook by Deloitte suggests more travelers confess say plan to raise their holiday travel budgets vs the prior year. And among those, 40% say they would do so because “travel has become more important to me since the pandemic.”
Deloitte suggests there are four trends shifting travel to watch.
The first is, naturally, AI (artificial intelligence). A 2024 survey suggests more than 1 out of 3 travelers already rely on AI-generated recommendations for trip planning.
The second is mega micro merchandising, which is essentially the connected trip, where providers are looking to expand their offering and enable travelers to purchase the experiences and amenities they want the most.
The third is inbound versus outbound travel, meaning international travel is still returning slower after the pandemic.
Finally, the fourth is waiting to see what changes the new administration could make that could impact travel.
Still, we see travel is up, even if international travel is down, use of AI is up, and use of mega micro merchandising is up. Could this be the summer of travel planned by AI or the year we see connected travel truly take off?