Travelers are increasingly turning to technology to ease stress and remove friction from their trips, according to new global research from Amadeus. The findings, released in the company’s “Connected Journeys: How Technology Will Transform Travel in the Next Decade” study, show strong enthusiasm for AI-driven tools and biometric solutions alongside growing traveler expectations for accuracy and personalization.
The survey of 9,500 global travelers across China, France, India, Singapore, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. found that Generative AI usage in travel planning is up 64 percent compared to last year. Key benefits cited include time savings (42 percent), personalized recommendations (37 percent), and discovering new destinations (36 percent). More than a third (35 percent) of respondents said AI made them feel more confident in their travel decisions.
Interest in in-trip AI support is also strong: 64 percent of travelers said they would pay for an AI travel assistant, with 17 percent willing to spend up to five percent of their trip cost for such services. Still, limitations persist. A quarter (25 percent) of respondents said they encountered outdated or inaccurate AI-generated information, and another 25 percent felt the technology failed to capture their personal preferences.
“The rapid rise in Generative AI usage shows that travelers are eager for smarter, more personalized experiences. But the data also reveals a clear message: expectations are high, and the industry must work together to meet them,” Decius Valmorbida, president of travel at Amadeus, said in a statement.
“Travelers are embracing AI with enthusiasm, but they’re also demanding more. In Hospitality, we see this as a call to action: to deliver technology that not only responds to traveler needs but anticipates them,” Francisco Pérez-Lozao Rüter, president of hospitality at Amadeus, added in a statement. “From booking the perfect stay to navigating the trip itself, hyper personalization and real-time accuracy are no longer optional, they are expected.”
The study also highlights traveler openness to new airport and baggage solutions. Nearly seven in 10 (69 percent) respondents favored biometric gateways to streamline document checks, while two-thirds (66 percent) expressed interest in remote baggage check-in from home to reduce pre-trip stress. Additional technologies already alleviating anxiety include real-time travel updates (29 percent), digital wallets for secure document storage (27 percent), smart baggage tracking (26 percent), and integrated “super apps” for travel management (26 percent).
Despite enthusiasm for innovation, Amadeus noted that 90 percent of respondents admitted to some level of anxiety when traveling by air, ranging from security checks (27 percent) to packing (26 percent) and the flight itself (24 percent). Still, their top aspirations remain tied to quality experiences: spending time with loved ones (27 percent), discovering food and drink (25 percent), and creating lasting memories (24 percent).
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