World Tourism Day: Digital Infrastructure, AI and Redesigning Travel

... and what it means for travel distributors.

Every year, World Tourism Day shines a spotlight on the issues shaping the future of our industry. For 2026, the theme is, as ever, particularly relevant for travel businesses navigating a rapidly evolving landscape: “the digital agenda and artificial intelligence to redesign tourism.”

Each year’s theme adds to the wider goal of World Tourism Day, to raise awareness of tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value, with a specific theme on top of this overarching aim. This year might, at first glance, sound like another conversation about just chatbots and AI-powered trip planners; but the reality is more far-reaching.

This year’s theme focuses on how digital technologies, artificial intelligence, digital identity, smart destinations, sustainability and digital access for tourism businesses can help create a more connected, inclusive, and efficient travel ecosystem. It is a conversation about the digital optimisation of travel's infrastructure, with the use of AI.

Travel's Continued Growth Creates New Challenges

The question isn't simply why tourism needs redesigning. Instead, it's about how the industry can evolve to support the significant and sustained growth seen of this industry, while improving efficiency across aglobal ecosystem.

Recent figures from UN Tourism, international tourist arrivals reached 1.52 billion last year, rising 4% year-over-year and setting a new record for recent years, and is set to remain resilient for the years to come. Similarly, destination spend predicted to reach $3 trillion by 2035 and international tourism volumes are also set to grow by 60%+ by 2035 compared to last year's data, according to forecasting from Oxford Economics.

Add to this that the economic impact of travel is as strong as ever, with the WTTC recording that US$11.6 trillion was added to the global economy in 2025, an estimated 360+ million jobs supported by the industry, with forecasts suggesting this will only increase in 2026 and beyond.

These figures demonstrate the resilience of global travel demand. However, they also highlight a growing challenge.

As booking volumes continue to increase, the industry's fragmented technology landscape, disconnected data environments and operational complexities become more difficult to manage.

So when it comes to digital transformation and the role of AI, the conversation is no longer solely about generating additional bookings. Increasingly, the focus is on building greater value into every traveller interaction and booking.

From improving sustainability measurement and enabling seamless traveller experiences to streamlining decision-making and supporting more relevant marketing efforts, AI has the potential to optimise many of the systems underpinning modern tourism.

So, for travel distributors – we can consider:

• How travellers are using AI now

• Where the right travel partners are providing AI-powered improvements to the booking journey

• How much trust AI has in tourism and how this might impact where travel goes next...

How are travellers using AI to travel plan?

AI adoption is not a question anymore: artificial intelligence is a part of life, and certainly a part of the travel journey, from inspiration to the in-destination experience and beyond, as a result.

Recent Phocuswright research found that 56% of travellers used AI for planning, booking, or in-destination assistance on at least one trip in the previous 12 months, up from 43% in the second half of 2025 and 33% in the first half of 2025.

Even more significantly, travellers are increasingly willing to let AI play a direct role in their travel-booking decisions:

• 43% for planning, booking or in-destination help.

• 56% used AI on at least one trip in the previous twelve months, as of 2026.

• 44% would book directly inside an AI platform.

• 40% would let an agentic assistant handle flights and hotel bookings.

Whether seeking destination inspiration, comparing accommodation options or obtaining real-time assistance while travelling, customers are becoming more comfortable with AI acting as part of their decision-making process.

For travellers, the benefits are obvious. AI can reduce research time, surface relevant recommendations more quickly and help uncover experiences and destinations that may otherwise remain undiscovered.

How are travel businesses using AI? 

While traveller adoption may be grabbing headlines, some of the most significant changes are happening behind the scenes.

According to Phocuswright, 61% of travel businesses are already experimenting with or scaling agentic AI systems, while 62% expect technology budgets to increase during 2026. More than half are also exploring interoperability standards that allow AI systems to communicate and work across multiple platforms.

From future uses to everyday operations

To streamline the booking in a way that is meaningful for today’s, and tomorrow’s travellers—reducing friction, not adding it—this requires something a bit less glamourous: data quality.

The vision that arises with ‘AI to redesign travel’ relies on clean, connected and reliable data infrastructure—something that many travel businesses claim is the largest blocker for them.

What World Tourism Day means for travel businesses

The biggest takeaway from this year's theme is that AI is not replacing existing expertise, but rather helping to redesign the systems that support travel. 

For travel businesses, that means embracing tools that improve efficiency, connectivity and decision-making while continuing to deliver the highly relevant, personalised travel experiences that travellers increasingly expect.

Three key areas where AI can help redesign travel and what they mean for today's travel distributors:

1. AI redesigns the traveller experience – in practice, this translates into the need for high-quality inventory, content and pricing data that enables accurate cross-system comparisons, improved personalisation and more effective distribution.

2. Connected travel – accurate rates, availability and travel content must be delivered seamlessly and in real time. Achieving this requires global connectivity and scalable travel infrastructure, bringing buyers and suppliers together through connected ecosystems such as Hotelbeds and the wider HBX Group network.

3. Smarter tourism – moving beyond viewing travel bookings as transactions and instead creating greater value through relevant recommendations, intelligent product merchandising and data-driven decisions, while considering sustainability and the long-term impact of tourism on destinations.

    

Beyond World Tourism Day, the conversation should not focus solely on the latest AI tool or travel planner, but rather on how travel businesses fit into the larger, interconnected effort to create a more intelligent, reliable and connected travel ecosystem built on high-quality data, transparency and trust.

For travel distributors specifically, this means being equipped to deliver greater value with every booking, navigating the rise of agentic AI and working alongside emerging technologies to help travellers discover, book and enjoy better travel experiences.

Partnering with Hotelbeds facilitiates this way of working, and hones your competitive edge as travel distributors in this evolving industry: 

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