# Travelers Are Two Years Ahead of the Travel Industry on AI

**Publisher:** Sojern  
**Published:** 2026-08-19  
**Category:** Data intelligence & forecasting  
**Type:** Study  
**Access:** Free  
**Official source:** https://www.sojern.com/press-release/new-research-reveals-travellers-are-two-years-ahead-of-the-travel-industry-on-ai  
**Canonical:** https://tourismintel.ai/reports/new-research-travelers-are-two-years-ahead-of-the-travel-industry-on-ai

## At a glance
- 54% of travellers have used AI to plan trips; 75% intend to use it for future travel.
- Only 22% of DMOs offer AI trip-planning on websites; 26% have documented AI strategy.
- 69% of Millennials and 63% of Gen Z use AI as often as social media for trip planning.
- 72% of DMO leaders believe failure to adopt AI within two years risks destination irrelevance.
- 40% of travellers discovered destinations via AI; 29% changed plans based on AI recommendations.

## What the report covers
Mindtrip, Sabre, Sojern and MMGY Travel Intelligence surveyed 1,006 US adults and 103 DMO leaders in April 2026 to examine the gap between traveller AI adoption and destination marketing organisation readiness. The study measures current AI usage patterns, traveller expectations and DMO preparedness across destination discovery, planning and booking stages.

## Key findings
More than half of surveyed US travellers have already used AI for trip planning, with 75% intending to continue. Adoption is significantly higher among younger demographics: 69% of Millennials and 63% of Gen Z report using AI assistants as frequently as social media for travel planning, indicating AI has become embedded in younger traveller workflows.

Travellers deploy AI across multiple practical planning tasks beyond initial inspiration. The survey finds 42% use it for researching itineraries, 32% for comparing flights and hotels, 60% for researching attractions and restaurants, 56% for comparing prices, and 43% for building and organising itineraries. This diversity reveals AI's role in transactional decision-making.

DMO adoption significantly lags traveller behaviour. Only 22% of destination marketing organisations offer AI trip-planning on websites and 26% have documented AI strategy. The misalignment is acute: only 20% of DMO leaders rank itinerary building as high-value despite travellers already using AI frequently for this purpose.

Travellers expect and prefer AI-powered experiences. According to the study, 63% would use an AI trip planner on a destination website, while 25% are less likely to visit destination sites without AI features. More than one-third are already comfortable with AI in booking processes, with comfort rising significantly when human support is available.

## Key numbers
| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Travellers who have used AI to plan travel | 54% | Observed; survey of 1,006 US adults, April 2026 |
| Travellers intending to use AI for future trips | 75% | Observed; same survey |
| DMOs offering AI trip-planning capabilities on websites | 22% | Observed; survey of 103 DMO leaders, April 2026 |
| DMOs with documented AI strategy | 26% | Observed; same DMO survey |
| Millennials using AI as often as social media for trip planning | 69% | Observed; subset of traveller survey |
| Gen Z using AI as often as social media for trip planning | 63% | Observed; subset of traveller survey |
| DMO leaders who believe failure to adopt AI within two years risks irrelevance | 72% | Observed; DMO leader survey, April 2026 |
| Travellers who would use AI trip planner on destination website | 63% | Observed; traveller survey |

## Why it matters
**DMOs & destinations** — Travellers expect AI-driven tools yet 78% of DMOs lack these capabilities. With 72% of DMO leaders perceiving AI adoption as critical to relevance within two years, destinations investing now gain competitive advantage in capturing traveller attention and influencing purchase decisions. Inaction risks exclusion from AI-powered discovery channels.

**Hotels & hospitality** — Over one-third of travellers are comfortable with AI in booking processes when human support is available. Hotels must integrate AI-driven features—itinerary building, price comparison, recommendations—into their digital presence to meet evolving traveller expectations and remain competitive against AI-native distribution channels.

**Travel tech & distribution** — Platforms connecting inspiration, planning and booking through AI will capture higher traveller engagement and transaction value. Travel tech providers offering only legacy tools risk displacement by AI-native competitors. Agentic experiences across discovery-to-booking journeys represent the primary growth opportunity.

## Methodology and limits
The study surveyed 1,006 US adults aged 18+ who took overnight leisure trips in the past 12 months or plan to within the next 12 months, alongside 103 DMO leaders and practitioners. Research was conducted in April 2026 by Mindtrip, Sabre, Sojern and MMGY Travel Intelligence. The brief is based on the publicly available press release; the full report with detailed findings and destination readiness framework is available separately.

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© Sojern for the original report. This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel (https://tourismintel.ai). Read the original: https://www.sojern.com/press-release/new-research-reveals-travellers-are-two-years-ahead-of-the-travel-industry-on-ai