Scroll through TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube today, and it’s impossible to ignore how AI is reshaping the way people plan travel. Influencers and social media creators routinely showcase AI-curated itineraries, from luxury escapes in the Maldives to boutique ski retreats in the Alps. Algorithms sift through millions of posts, reviews, and destination guides to present suggestions that feel hyper-personalised. Platforms such as Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, Kayak, and innovative startups like Airial Travel, which transforms TikTok content into bookable itineraries, have built AI tools to streamline the discovery process.
The numbers underline this transformation. According to Booking.com Global AI Sentiment Report, 91% of travellers express excitement about AI in trip planning, yet only 6% fully trust it to make decisions independently. Similarly, Statista reports that 40% of global travellers now use AI-powered tools for trip inspiration or bookings, up sharply from single digits just a few years ago. McKinsey & Company notes that by 2024, ~35% of large travel firms referenced AI in their annual reports, a dramatic rise from just 4% in 2022, illustrating how rapidly the sector has embraced AI.
Edward Byrne, founder of Powder Byrne and Perfect Piste, tells BurdaLuxury, “Over the past few years, we have seen an exponential increase in how travellers use AI for inspiration and destination research. Two years ago, the numbers were in the low single digits; today, it’s anywhere from 15% to 45%, depending on the research you read.” His Perfect Piste platform is a prime example: it blends algorithmic analysis of skiing style, past destinations, and client aspirations with insider knowledge to produce itineraries that feel both effortless and deeply personalised. According to Grand View Research, the AI tourism market is expected to grow from US$3.37B in 2024 to US$13.87B by 2030, a CAGR of 26.7%, signalling increasing reliance on AI tools while highlighting the continued need for human interpretation.
Jason Stevens, CEO of Wayfairer Travel, highlights how AI allows agents to focus on what they do best: “At Wayfairer Travel, we’ve implemented AI-driven chatbots and dynamic pricing engines that feed into our booking workflows. The chatbots handle tier-one queries, freeing up our team to focus on complex itineraries. The pricing engine uses machine learning to identify patterns and ask: what’s the sweet spot for our clients, given market shifts and preferences? These tools help us be more efficient without compromising the human touch.” In other words, AI excels at analysing data and producing options at scale, but the human agent provides interpretation, context, and creativity – aspects AI cannot replicate.
Yet there is a delicate balance. As AI-generated options proliferate, travellers risk experiencing saturation. The rise of AI makes human agents even more vital. When the information landscape becomes crowded, they act as guides, interpreters, and curators – someone who ensures the recommendations don’t just exist but truly align with the client’s desires and values. AI is becoming indispensable for filtering, predicting, and optimising options, but human oversight ensures journeys remain emotionally and culturally meaningful.
The integration of AI also opens up new forms of inspiration. AI can surface hidden gems that might otherwise be overlooked, like a private olive oil tasting in Umbria or an exclusive winter festival in Hokkaido, matching these moments to individual preferences. Byrne says, “Luxury travellers increasingly expect AI to curate inspiration and filter out noise, offering options that feel tailor-made. This trend is why platforms like Perfect Piste exist – to combine AI-driven recommendations with the expertise of travel specialists who understand the nuances of each experience.”
Why Human Expertise Remains Irreplaceable
While AI can suggest options and optimise logistics, human agents remain irreplaceable in crafting bespoke journeys. The launch of Scott Dunn Private in Hong Kong underscores this reality. The invitation-only operator caters to the city’s 12,000 UHNW individuals, offering personalised itineraries paired with dedicated relationship managers.
AI may generate a shortlist of options – a private Pyramids tour with an archaeologist, a foraging session in Peru, or a remote African safari – but it is the operator’s judgement that integrates these elements into a coherent, culturally sensitive journey.
“While AI will prove useful in certain situations for travel agents, such as assisting in certain booking processes to make it more technologically efficient, what it cannot do is understand the deeply personal narrative that makes travel transformative,” Mike Harlow, general manager of Scott Dunn Asia, tells BurdaLuxury. “The real value of a travel operator like ourselves is to provide emotional intelligence and human connection, something AI cannot quite do. AI may be able to suggest a restaurant, but it cannot communicate the subtle cultural nuances nor can it tell you that the general manager of a specific luxury hotel has left, and service standards may not be up to pay anymore. Even more so, it won’t be able to pivot a journey based on a member’s unexpressed emotional needs, as it is only able to work with suitable prompts.”
“In the next few years, it’s likely that we will see a rise in hybrid models where AI may take on logistical responsibilities freeing up human capabilities to focus on the human, transformative aspects of travel,” says Harlow.
Moreover, human expertise adds resilience in unpredictable situations. Whether it’s a last-minute airline strike, political unrest, or a sudden weather change, AI can suggest alternatives, but human agents are indispensable for making context-aware, empathetic decisions.
“While AI has the potential to unlock incredible opportunities for niche and personalised travel, there is no actual way to replace human understanding and empathy,” explains Harlow. “It may be useful to help identify specific travel interests, but the micro-moments that can make or break a travel experience go far beyond algorithmic matching, as it’s all about emotional resonance and not just data points.”
Hyper-Personalised and Nice Travel Experiences
Hyper-personalisation is arguably AI’s most transformative contribution. Human insight also preserves the emotional dimension of travel. Byrne explains, “AI has the potential to transform personalisation from something reactive into something intuitive. As the technology matures, it will anticipate a traveller’s needs before they are even expressed, similar to how social algorithms now predict our tastes and interests.”
By analysing massive datasets, AI anticipates micro-preferences and tailors journeys that feel uniquely individual. Steven tells BurdaLuxury, “AI enables deeper segmentation, real-time optimisation, and hyper-personalisation. We can match clients to specific interests, from sustainable expeditions to ultra-luxury retreats, and adapt itineraries dynamically.”
In niche markets like luxury skiing, AI’s predictive power is invaluable. Byrne’s Perfect Piste platform analyses skiing style, past trips, and client aspirations to create highly personalised itineraries. “It is designed to learn from your interactions, your ski preference, your past trips, and your aspirations and then curate ski experiences that are both bespoke and effortless. But importantly, it does not replace specialists’ knowledge; it enhances the ability to deliver a deeply human, emotionally intelligent experience that’s unique to each user,” he says.
Julie Church of Seas4Life, a luxury travel company of ocean experts, adds a psychological dimension: “We have found that AI monitors travellers’ moods and psychology, showing us not only where people are booking but where they would dream of going,” she tells us.
Emotional Intelligence and Wellness Travel
AI is increasingly shaping travel experiences that go beyond logistics, particularly in wellness, transforming what it means to personalise a journey. Mel Suntal, Founder and CEO of Axonall, an AI-powered luxury travel platform, explains, “Wellness retreats will soon get rid of the generic treatment programmes. We can use non-invasive tools to track your stress hormones, metabolic rates, and sleep-cycle patterns in real-time and design treatments that are applicable to you – not from the menu. Here, we are talking about bespoke diets, the timing of your massages, the soundscape in your suite, or the specific restorative activity you need in that hour.”
This level of precision highlights a fundamental shift: AI is not replacing human expertise but providing data that enables humans to deliver more meaningful, nuanced experiences. Church emphasises this point: “Travellers are expecting more transparency when arranging trips, instead of just brochures and not only can AI provide this, but it can make pre-planning, booking, and after-care travel seamless while learning to read the voices and energy levels of guests to curate experiences that fit the tone.”
Church also notes AI’s contribution to sustainability: “AI can predict how sustainability preferences will shift and can help predict how many travellers will pay for regenerative impact or low-carbon journeys. As an impact-focussed travel company, Seas4Life can use this tool to expand our conversation storytelling for more ‘hands-on’ travel.” Here, AI functions as both a predictive and operational tool, identifying opportunities for eco-conscious programming while human agents maintain storytelling, engagement, and emotional resonance.
The integration of AI in wellness and sustainable travel reflects a broader trend where data enables more intuitive, anticipatory service. Operators can now design itineraries that respond in real time to a traveller’s physiological and psychological needs, which in turn enhances emotional satisfaction and long-term brand loyalty.
AI also enhances operational efficiency across multiple levels of the travel business. Byrne explains, “At Powder Byrne, we have built AI not just to understand our clients better, but to optimise how we deliver our hallmark five-star in-resort services and programmes.” For example, they are leveraging AI tools to manage recruitment, training and deployment of resort staff, the drivers, ski guides, childcare teams, and managers, so that they can match the right people with the right clients and destinations. “It is a level of service orchestration that improves both client satisfaction and team retention,” he says.
Predictive AI enables luxury operators to optimise resources, anticipate demand spikes, and reduce inefficiencies while maintaining bespoke service levels. This is particularly crucial in niche markets like ski tourism or wellness retreats, where timing, staffing, and personalised experiences must be tightly coordinated.
Ethics, Oversight, and the Human-AI Partnership
As AI becomes integral to travel planning, ethical oversight and human judgement are essential. Stevens stresses, “Over-reliance on AI can lead to uniformity and loss of the human spark. Privacy is another key issue: AI thrives on data, so we have strict governance around client information, transparency on data-usage and buy-in from the client. And finally, ethical use of AI matters, we monitor bias in algorithms and ensure our tools align with our values of authenticity and trust.”
Harlow is also concerned about the potential loss of human expertise. “There’s a real danger that over-reliance on AI could erode the nuanced, culturally intelligent approach that makes travel truly meaningful,” he says. “An algorithm might suggest a destination, but it can’t understand the subtle cultural nuances, read between the lines of a member’s unexpressed desires, or adapt in real-time to unexpected opportunities.”
Suntal emphasises the challenge of designing emotionally intelligent AI: “The question we constantly ask ourselves is: How can AI respond to emotion without exploiting it? Emotion isn’t a fixed dataset; it’s fluid and contextual. It changes with culture, time, and even the smallest human variables. Teaching an AI to interpret emotional cues without bias, stereotyping, or oversimplification is an extraordinarily complex task. Yet the benefits are immense.”
Church adds, “Overall, while AI may replace a travel agency’s part of travel in time, it will not replace a travel company. The key is… to harness AI to analyse data externally and internally for efficiency and effectiveness. This can result in the use of more transformational language for increased guest satisfaction.”
The Hybrid Future: AI and Humans Working Together
Across the industry, experts agree the future of travel lies in a hybrid model of human-AI collaboration. Stevens summarises, “In five to ten years, travel agents won’t disappear, they’ll evolve. AI will handle repetitive tasks and data crunching, so agents can focus on strategy, creativity, and personalised service. At Wayfairer Travel, our agents will become experience curators rather than order-takers.”
Suntal adds, “AI evolves faster than most organisations can adapt. What’s new today is not necessarily new tomorrow. So, don’t follow the trend. Too many brands rush to add AI, simply because it sounds innovative. Before anything else, ask yourself: What problem are you truly trying to solve with AI? Understand your data, your guests, and your desired outcome before you commit.”
Church highlights the transformational potential: “Travel is moving from ‘transactional to transformational’, i.e., from guests asking ‘Where can I go?’ to ‘Who can I become through this journey?’ AI is beginning to act as a ‘co-guide’ by sharing information pre, during, and post the trip… After the trip, AI is tracking a traveller’s findings to make suggestions on future travel, meaning the journey is becoming a continuous state as opposed to just a destination.”
The hybrid model is particularly powerful in luxury and experiential travel, where data-driven recommendations are enriched by human empathy, cultural knowledge, and creative storytelling. AI provides scalability and precision; humans provide emotional resonance, judgement, and the contextual interpretation of data.
“We see AI as a powerful tool that, when used thoughtfully, can enhance our ability to create extraordinary experiences,” says Harlow. “The key is maintaining a human-first approach – using AI to support, not replace, the deeply personal art of travel curation.”
BurdaLuxury’s Lens
The rise of AI in travel is not futuristic – it is here, shaping discovery, curation, and execution. Platforms – new and old – continue to demonstrate AI’s ability to personalise, optimise, and predict trends, from wellness and regenerative travel to luxury ski experiences.
Yet all experts emphasise one principle: human expertise is irreplaceable. AI insights require human interpretation to create journeys that resonate emotionally, culturally, and psychologically. The smartest luxury experiences will emerge from collaboration – where AI powers insight and humans craft narrative, ensuring every journey is both effortless and unforgettable.
AI in travel will be used as a tool that elevates human creativity and intuition. In the new era of travel, technology and human expertise form a symbiotic partnership that defines luxury, emotional engagement, and lasting impact.
