The year of 2025 was both exciting and challenging for the travel sector. Geopolitical uncertainty and upcoming regulatory changes regarding payments, e-invoicing and communication with the tax authorities in several countries have created big expectations for what can come in 2026 for travel and hospitality businesses. On the bright side, travelers are eager to use new technologies, and travel companies are more open to digitalizing their processes.
Discover the tech travel trends for 2026 and find out what travel professionals are expecting for the industry.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a standing trend for several years in many different business sectors. In travel, this technology has still not reached a general adoption rate, but 2026 may be the year that AI is finally adapted to the needs of the travel sector. That’s where several professionals from leading businesses in the industry have placed their bets.
Charles Tandonnet, from Travelsoft, and Luisa Camara, from Travelgate, told Voxel at the World Travel Market London 2025 that they believe AI will be used to add more value upon content and help with integrations with partners. In 2026, AI also will probably have a bigger impact on website assistance. According to Joseph Boadella from Juniper Travel Technology, the technology can be implemented in the booking journey and help generate dynamic packages.
Ultimately, AI is a powerful tool not only for the companies themselves but also for travelers. According to Amadeus, Generative AI will be one of the biggest travel tech trends for 2026 for savvy travelers. The ¨Travel Mixology¨ is the result of the combination of AI tools and other tech apps to craft journeys. Finally, Amadeus has also mentioned the influence of social media in ¨Innovation tourism¨ for next year, turning futuristic technology into viral trends.
Automation, centralization and distribution
Isabel Carranza, from Voxel, an Amadeus company, and Olga Borucu from Bedsopia, placed their bets that travel tech in 2026 will be all about automating processes and repetitive tasks. The digitalization of the back-office processes of travel and tourism companies is a long-awaited movement that will transform the industry.
Digitalization can create more efficiency in administrative tasks such as payments, invoicing and integration with partners. Moreover, it can also help in the centralization of client data in single platforms, as mentioned by Joao Freitas, from Host Hotel Systems. In the end, travel selling is all about distribution, so becoming more digital will also be the key for a more prosperous 2026, said Nicola Rizzardini, from Netstorming.
Check out the complete ¨Tech Travel trends for 2026¨ video here:
