While the reasons for travel remain consistent, travelers’ expectations are shifting; they are starting to embrace personalization and technologies that create a more seamless experience. What’s more, AI and biometrics are directly playing a role in updating travel journeys for a variety of customers. During a media briefing in New York City, Amadeus shared findings from its newest research report, Connected Journeys: How Technology Will Transform Travel in the Next Decade, revealing a shifting technology environment. LODGING was on the scene to get the details.
Although the U.S. travel environment has been uncertain in 2025, Decius Valmorbida, president of travel, Amadeus, described it as “the biggest travel market in the world” in a conversation with Mitra Sorrells, senior vice president, content, Phocuswright. “It has been the engine of growth for the past decade in terms of travel, and it has been … very untypical in that in the last six months, we have seen the U.S. travel market not growing as we have been growing for all these years. Domestically, [we have seen] growth of only 1 percent. We see signs of that demand picking up and things getting better.” Premium leisure is the segment with demand on the rise, according to Valmorbida.
Valmorbida also noted that the industry is at an inflection point of change. Technology impacting that change includes large language models (LLMs) helping travelers plan trips, biometrics that associate a traveler with their documentation while at the airport, and small language models (SLMs) that are attached to devices and use AI on a smaller scale for a specific job. All these options could break the silos presented by the current technology in the industry and take hospitality technology to the next level for travelers seeking more seamless experiences.
“It’s about the travel industry building a customer-centered approach,” Valmorbida added. “Essentially, today, the travel industry has been developing silos—everyone looking at their own way of dealing with the customer—and the customer is expecting that one-stop shop.”
Paco Pérez-Lozao Rüter, president, hospitality, Amadeus, also discussed the silos throughout the travel industry with Sorrells. He mentioned, “The industry today works in silos. Each airport is almost a tech silo. Each airline is a tech silo. Each hotel brand, even within the brand, has tech silos because the hotel uses a PMS, and the other ones use a central [reservation] system.” Over time and with growing hospitality technology, these silos will break down further and create that seamless travel experience.
Amadeus connects 1,300 partners, from airlines to hotel brands, to their ecosystem, which is a massive amount of complexity, according to Pérez-Lozao Rüter. The company is focused on moving on-premises systems into the cloud while moving away from the idea of “room types,” instead using guest data and personalization to offer a more holistic hotel experience that differentiates hotel properties across different channels.
Neil Rogan, head of corporate external communications and digital marketing, Amadeus, shared insights from the company’s Connected Journeys survey as well as a personal anecdote about traveling to New York City 20 years ago versus today. The experience now is entirely different; he’s “using AI, I’m using biometrics, and I’m using Uber…. When you think about it like that, the world has changed so much from how you travel and not why you travel.”
Survey Results
For the research, Amadeus surveyed and received responses from 9,500 adults in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Singapore, India, and China. U.S.-based findings include that social media now serves as the primary way travelers find ideas for their trips in the United States, with 34 percent of travelers planning trips by using social media.
Generative AI is now consulted by 18 percent of travelers for research, behind word-of-mouth and YouTube. When using AI for travel ideas, “Baby Boomers are leading the way … those from the ages of 60 to 78 have increased 60 percent in the last 12 months,” Rogan added.
Additionally, 36 percent of respondents noted that AI suggested a new travel destination, and 37 percent said they received “highly personalized recommendations,” according to Amadeus’ research. However, only one-third of respondents believed AI saved them time during planning their trips, and 27 percent of respondents said AI had given back inaccurate or outdated information. “Quite interesting is the adoption of AI,” Rogan said. “We’re not using it as a reliable source—yet. People are still going to social media, to travel agencies, and this is where the opportunity sits in the industry.”
Also, Rogan shared his surprise that 90 percent of people traveling by air globally said they experience anxiety at some point during the travel experience. Because of this, travelers are open to technological solutions that make the experience more seamless, including using remote baggage check-in or biometric gateways. In addition, to decrease anxiety, 26 percent of travelers said having an app that combines all their travel information—flights, hotels, and more—would help ease anxiety while traveling.
However, the reasons they travel remain the same with or without technology in play: 27 percent to spend time with loved ones, 25 percent for great food and drinks, 24 percent for a chance to create good memories, 24 percent for great weather, and 20 percent for local cultural experiences. This shows that while innovation transforms the logistics of travel, it will not alter its essence. No matter how advanced technology becomes, people will always want a human touch in their experiences, a chance to explore and connect with others, and a way to create lasting memories.
