Asia-Pacific Travel Trends: Mobile Booking, Experiences and AI Assistants

The latest report from Phocuswright, a global travel industry research firm, says the Asia-Pacific travel market has fully entered the ‘digital-first’ era. Traditional travel agencies are rapidly declining as travelers get used to handling everything on their phones. As AI advances, platforms are introducing highly personalized recommendations, predictive search, and automated itinerary planning—transforming how we discover destinations and buy travel experiences.

The digital-first era: one phone does it all

The ‘offline model’—where grandparents used to visit a brick-and-mortar travel agency, consult an agent, and browse printed brochures—is rapidly fading. Today’s travelers are already used to arranging flights, accommodation, and itineraries right on their phones.

More importantly, as AI evolves, online platforms will offer highly personalized recommendations and precise predictive search, and may even automatically plan multi-day itineraries. For accommodation operators, whether the algorithm can see you will replace whether a travel-agency salesperson can see you as the new battleground for visibility.

Trend 1: Travelers are spending big on “cool experiences”

In today’s digitally advanced world, the ‘travel experience’ has reached new heights. Rather than seeing the sights from a tour bus, modern travelers would rather spend their budgets on distinctive tours and activities. Research finds that people in Asia-Pacific are almost twice as likely as those in Europe and the Americas to pay extra for ‘experiential itineraries.’

Apps like Klook have taken off, making it possible to book a day trip to dive in Okinawa or visit anime pilgrimage sites in Tokyo with a few taps. This makes planning solo and independent trips incredibly easy, and Klook is even preparing for a US IPO.

Experiences in Asia-Pacific currently fall into two camps: immersive “learning experiences” (such as heritage and culture tours), and visually striking “tech-meets-social-media” attractions—theme parks, drone light shows, digital museums, and even scenic bridges equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi. Social trends change rapidly; tourism operators who can’t predict the next big hit risk being forgotten by consumers.

Trend 2: Points alliances replace brand loyalty

Asked about travelers’ ‘loyalty’ to travel brands, experts put it bluntly: except for top-tier airlines and luxury hotels, today’s travelers are basically ‘not loyal at all.’ Their true loyalty is to their wallets and personal experiences.

Because people travel abroad at most once or twice a year, no one cares if a hotel only offers points in its own loyalty program. That’s why points ecosystems are popular—linking travel, mobile payments, online shopping, and telecom services.

Japan’s Rakuten is a classic example: points earned by shopping online for clothes or using a credit card can be redeemed directly toward hotel rooms on Rakuten Travel. This kind of cross-sector partnership—‘earn points in everyday life and redeem them on a trip abroad’—is the winning formula for attracting customers today.

Trend 3: The race for agentic AI

AI is developing at breakneck speed and in a somewhat chaotic state. One of the hottest trends in travel is ‘agentic AI’: AI that not only answers questions but also acts like a real digital assistant and gets things done for you.

Asia’s largest travel platform, Trip.com, is leading this race with its AI assistant TripGenie. It is not perfect yet, but is close to delivering an agentic-commerce experience where ‘you speak, it acts’—matching flights, hotels, and tickets for you and preparing the booking. Even Western travel giants Booking.com and Expedia have not made the process this seamless.

Despite the excitement around AI, many tourism operators are hesitant to invest heavily all at once. Technology is changing at a roller-coaster pace, and everyone knows a system developed at great expense this year could be obsolete when a new AI version arrives next year. So many companies are still watching, learning, and responding cautiously.

Key Takeaways

For accommodation operators, these three trends are a reminder that:

1. 1

   Product strength: Combine local experiences to increase average spend.

2. 2

   Marketing power: Join a points ecosystem to increase repeat business.

3. 3

   Tech readiness: Prepare for agentic AI so your property can be found and booked.

Navigating this transition—from system integrations to packaging experiences—is not easy. Whether you want to optimize operations, adjust your distribution channels, or discuss a partnership, H& welcomes a conversation. Let’s find the most effective new way to attract traffic together!