00:00:07: Welcome to our latest episode of ITB Travel Hero Podcast.

00:00:11: I'm Dirk Rogel, member of the ITB Berlin Conventions Board of Experts and managing director at TravelCommerce.

00:00:17: Today we are trying answer what may be most important question facing our industry right now?

00:00:23: What is the current state of travel in summer twenty-six?

00:00:27: Summer is in full swing!

00:00:29: And so are the geopolitical challenges facing our industries.

00:00:33: How's travel business performing this summer?

00:00:36: We could use a crystal ball to answer this question or we could ask some of the very best expert on this field.

00:00:43: Fortunately, that's what we're doing!

00:00:46: Please join me in welcoming our guests.

00:00:49: Mitra Soros senior vice president, content focus right and focus wire.

00:00:53: welcome Mitra.

00:00:55: Thank you.

00:00:55: hi great to be here.

00:00:57: Olivier Pontif director of market intelligence and insights at Amadeus Welcome Olivier.

00:01:03: Hi

00:01:04: Pleasure to be here.

00:01:05: And last but not least, Carlos Centra Cruz Chief Marketing Officer of Cdata Appeal Company.

00:01:11: warm welcome Carlos!

00:01:12: Hello Derek thank you for having us.

00:01:14: It's

00:01:14: a pleasure to have all on board and yes so let's wrap it up in a nutshell what is the current state of global travel right now?

00:01:21: In summer twenty six?

00:01:23: Let start with you Mitra.

00:01:24: What your impression?

00:01:26: Yeah, so I will give my impression certainly.

00:01:28: I think probably Olivier and Carlos maybe have some more hard data to put into this but i would say that the story of summer characterizes resilient demand that is absorbing real shocks.

00:01:41: you know there's quite a lot happening around world global travel still growing but that easy rebound phase we saw coming out of the pandemic I think is over.

00:01:55: Travelers are not becoming less interested in travel, they're more selective and deliberate about where to spend their money or time when they feel comfortable doing

00:02:08: it.".

00:02:09: Amadeus has a lot of them.

00:02:10: Olivier, do you agree?

00:02:12: I'm

00:02:13: very much aligned with what Mithras just said.

00:02:16: if i was to sum this up one line that says that travel isn't booming everywhere but it's definitely refusing to stand still and actually its remained remarkably resilient despite the geopolitical tensions economic uncertainties shifting consumer confidence What we're seeing is not a road-based search, but a market that keeps adapting.

00:02:44: So travelers are prioritizing travel But they becoming as you've mentioned Mitra more selective about where to go how they spend and How far ahead the plan.

00:02:56: there are two keywords for me For twenty twenty six it's regional travel so for example Europeans traveling within Europe an adaptation.

00:03:05: so demand is moving, but it's definitely not disappearing.

00:03:09: So we take regional travel and adaptation into the nutshell?

00:03:13: Is there anything to add from your side?

00:03:16: Yeah I would have... Obviously i'm agreeing with what they're saying.

00:03:20: We are seeing once again how resilient is the travel demand globally And uh..we feel growth at a global scale.

00:03:28: But pointing out some of the visions for performing like Southern Europe is probably region showing the best performance, but also North America.

00:03:39: Counting on the World Cup in

00:03:42: U.S.,

00:03:42: Canada and Mexico which is obviously an event that narrates a lot of visitors right?

00:03:48: So thats my global trend!

00:03:50: And adding to Oliver's point about regional travel I would add domestic traveling in some countries as you know they're based in Spain so we

00:04:03: are deep into trends.

00:04:05: Well, listeners always like these rankings winners.

00:04:07: You mentioned a few Carlos.

00:04:09: do we also have losers here?

00:04:10: Can you see something of this?

00:04:12: yeah obviously according to the geopolitical situations We all know that Middle East is suffering a lot and statistically not only drastically but Obviously That's great disruption was happening for them A region that been investing betting a lot To grow and tourism and build better perception known destinations around the world.

00:04:37: This is obviously very sad for that reason, but also affecting negatively to Asia directly and especially West Asia and Southern Asia.

00:04:47: So this Asia let's say it's also having these negative effects on geopolitical disruptions.

00:04:54: Olivier do you have some same data?

00:04:56: Who are the winners or losers in your point of view?

00:04:59: I mean there is deterioration in the Middle East.

00:05:01: i don't think we need why the region has been negatively impacted.

00:05:10: I'd rather focus on the winners, what makes some destinations more effective than other in this fast-changing environment?

00:05:17: And even though some of the big destinations are among the winners... ...I think those winners aren't necessarily the big destination.

00:05:26: they're the most adaptable.

00:05:29: and for me there's three key elements that stand out.

00:05:31: The first one is that the destinations benefiting from the strongest air connectivity are particularly well positioned.

00:05:39: I'm just back for a trip to the Dominican Republic, it's typically our destination which has very strong interest in international air connectivity and when we look at the evolution of bookings its really going up.

00:05:52: It's one of top performers actually The Top Performer In the Caribbean For the coming months And both demand & supply Are linked.

00:06:02: so was the first point connectivity.

00:06:04: The second point is that second tier destinations which are able to offer authenticity and value, also well positioned because a lot of travelers all looking for new type of experiences.

00:06:16: so if we stay in the Caribbean We could mention Dominica For example Which has an incredible success story even though it's relatively small destination compared with its neighbors And closer from us.

00:06:29: I'm based here just like Carlos.

00:06:32: We could mention Poland, for example which is growing very strongly both in terms of air supply and connectivity at which offers destinations with experiences that are a bit more off the beaten track from most travelers.

00:06:45: And third point is that premium and high-end travel continue to show strong resilience so those travel businesses they're focusing behind on their market are in a good position.

00:06:56: So I think what the travelers really want increasing me, it's confidence and simplicity so not just attractive prices.

00:07:03: they want to be sure that when they plan their trip this trip is going to happen and then have experience looking for them

00:07:10: Confidence and simplicity.

00:07:11: let us stay on signs of recovery.

00:07:13: What do we need to bring this industry into good shape again?

00:07:18: What evidence do you see as the travel demand is recovering despite the recent political and economic uncertainties.

00:07:25: Yeah,

00:07:25: you know what I look at.

00:07:26: we've just most recently done our consumer research in Europe then UK France Germany and travel incidents remains high.

00:07:35: we found for respondents eighty five percent of the U.K.

00:07:39: eighty two percent in france and seventy eight percent germany Saying that they are planning to travel.

00:07:45: it also remains the highest rated discretionary spend category in all three markets.

00:07:52: so about forty two.

00:07:54: fifty-three percent of our respondents said.

00:07:57: That while every day costs may cause them to travel less we know there's a lot of economic pressures people facing and yet i'm not half told us what they're more likely to save though that they can travel rather than spend on other goods and services.

00:08:13: so the recovery signal i think is that travelers are not ignoring some of this uncertainty but they are protecting travel as a thing about their budgets.

00:08:24: And has we said kind just making some more selective choices.

00:08:30: safety interest it's famous word today in this podcast.

00:08:33: what else is to secure recoveries?

00:08:36: anything or guys cut?

00:08:37: do you see more things important sing always have been price.

00:08:41: But you mentioned it first is vital.

00:08:43: and perception I mean one of the indicators we monitor for all markets globally, how they perceive different destinations around the globe?

00:08:52: And this is not just about what's happening in those destinations but also whole day perceived because those market are exposed to an environment or media etc.

00:09:02: etc...and that perception may be very different from destination to the same situation.

00:09:10: That's why it is so important that kind of research methodologies where we listen, they market spontaneously and interpret their interactions rather than basically asking which obviously complementary but helps a lot understand these let us say quick shifts in terms of perception are definitely shifting.

00:09:32: demand trends with only width conflicts but also with let's say extreme weather conditions and any kind of event that can redistribute the demand.

00:09:47: If I could add up to this, price gets attention but trust actually get booking.

00:09:54: so price remains important.

00:09:56: it is not the only thing people take into account especially in an uncertain economy.

00:10:02: Trust is really key.

00:10:03: Travelers, they want confidence that their trip will happen smoothly.

00:10:08: so flexibility, reliability convenience are definitely part of the value equation.

00:10:15: They're not just asking how much?

00:10:17: They're saying How safe it's.

00:10:20: my decision and what we were seeing across the board was that travel intent is still there.

00:10:24: People won't be able to travel but they should be sure this trip clicks place And constantly reassess their options based on global events prices practical considerations etc.

00:10:36: yeah i would just add to that we recently did some research on behalf of the protect group and we actually put some numbers to it in found out.

00:10:45: About seventy percent of the respondents said they will have a clear preference for higher priced ticket with free cancellation versus a non refundable tickets.

00:10:56: so I think you know the messaging is, Flexibility is no longer just a customer service feature, it's really becoming a conversion tool.

00:11:05: So its about finding the balance between trust and price probably?

00:11:09: Sorry I was just to add that what we are finding according to the standing data on tourists so far is that overall budget they are allocating for traveling is more or less same than last year.

00:11:23: but how they split that budget is changing right since airfares are growing.

00:11:30: In general, other segments in the tourism industry may be affected with less expenditure and that means F&B restaurants, the beverages maybe also hospitality pointing out their preference for short-term rentals on more let's say convenient accommodation especially for families where there is obviously an important difference between staying at a hotel.

00:11:57: Important point Carlos indeed, but we should take some minutes to talk about surprisingly about AI which is becoming an essential topic of our industry for the last two years.

00:12:08: As you all know it's changing the industry rapidly in all parts of the travel life cycle and since the final ITB as a last ITB March what have you seen?

00:12:20: In clear shifts in travel behavior how people search decide book or react.

00:12:26: Are they using an AI more intensive as we thought already in March?

00:12:31: We try starting with you, maybe.

00:12:32: Yeah for sure every time we conduct one of our consumer surveys were seeing the numbers increase and then we expect that to continue.

00:12:39: I think what we're now really trying to look at is yes AI usage is up as a planning companion for travel but less so still.

00:12:54: That's what we're gonna really be watching in the coming months is more consumers being willing to really trust a I and more opportunities.

00:13:02: To actually use it for booking and payments.

00:13:05: you know as we.

00:13:05: no all of that is really just starting to bubble up across the industry.

00:13:10: another interesting thing i think- that ties into some of what we're talking about is, the industry... We do hear quite a bit of talk about AI for trip planning and for booking.

00:13:21: What's happening in that space?

00:13:22: But really, the consumers that we've surveyed tell us that what they are using it for quite a little bit is an indestination piece.

00:13:30: They want to recommendation on what to do or see where to go.

00:13:34: so I think there's still opportunity here to serve this need.

00:13:39: What your opinion on AI?

00:13:40: Rob, do you remember what Mitra just mentioned?

00:13:43: Mitra focused on the consumer.

00:13:45: I'd like to say a few words about the supply side of business because this is where AI really changes game.

00:13:52: We've implemented a number of solutions that help travel professionals leverage the power of AI to function better and be more productive

00:14:00: etc.,

00:14:01: we're actually seeing a difference.

00:14:02: so how does it look when it comes to travel analytics ?

00:14:06: It's just enabling people get access to data that is already a definitive but using natural language.

00:14:14: So I am not data analyst, I'm not statistician.

00:14:19: can i still get answers to the key questions?

00:14:22: That will make my work on a day-to-day basis much more efficient.

00:14:26: The answer is yes!

00:14:27: I think it's one of the game changers for us AI.

00:14:30: It's like a layer of intelligence we have put on top all over our solution.

00:14:35: We call that Amidim smacks Talking about the business segment, so a business travel meeting and so forth.

00:14:45: We haven't talked about it yet.

00:14:46: I think here there are also some massive productivity gains to be made.

00:14:50: So now when TIFFs request you can automatically generate an RFP that takes all the parameters into account The availability of the meeting rooms etc... To maximize the inventory That this hotel has we call that Meeting Broker.

00:15:09: All of those new solutions are actually helping supply, the supply side at the market

00:15:15: convert

00:15:16: travel intent and potential business into actual business.

00:15:20: So ultimately it drives them

00:15:22: out.

00:15:22: So Datapil is already AI company.

00:15:25: lots of these data are generated but what do you see from the customer's site?

00:15:30: How we use the Trophy I developing?

00:15:32: Well, I'm very much aligned with PoliceWD as well since most of the developments on AI are sold for PTC.

00:15:39: For travelers and also line-up with me traveling how they use it in order to inspire themselves during their state or trip which is a great opportunity for destinations who we work with so that you can better recommend, redistribute etc.

00:15:57: But my point from this perspective working with LeapDestination is that they shouldn't pay that much attention to the technology itself, which is AI.

00:16:08: It's an anti-AI, authentic AI since this is already a commodity so it isn't matter of paying too many taxes.

00:16:16: you don't have to worry about that.

00:16:17: You'll have to worried.

00:16:19: how can get most of all these?

00:16:21: and for that we need relevant data To feed those engines.

00:16:26: So I had feeling in German probably better than me on Indians But I feel like everybody is talking about the engines, but nobody's talking about petrol or gas to feed those engines which are key in order for a relevant outcome.

00:16:44: So we really need to pay attention on contextual data that can drive our engine to get us where it needs to go and make better decisions

00:16:56: Like lead all belongs together isn't it me to you just come from focus right european event into one memory or on finding.

00:17:03: i have we don't ever killer application so far but we have two.

00:17:07: Keep our data and order.

00:17:08: do u agree something to add on

00:17:10: now?

00:17:11: exactly that's true i mean i. i do feel like everybody is starting to talk about the point.

00:17:16: gotta get your date of readable.

00:17:18: you've got a good cleaned up.

00:17:19: you've gotta get ready to be you know, captured by these agentic systems.

00:17:23: So I think we're only going to be hearing more about that for sure and i think in the coming months and then next year will start seeing movement there as agente commerce really starts turn into action.

00:17:37: Olivier it's a wrap up already.

00:17:39: if you are advising a travel CEO today and they do this kind of job what would your top priority advice at some moment?

00:17:48: That would be don't just collect the data, act on it.

00:17:53: I think this is really key.

00:17:54: so my priority will be building the ability to spot changes in travel behavior, spot these quickly and then respond faster than the competitors because we know now that markets are changing very fast too quickly for the annual planning cycles.

00:18:13: So the speed of decision-making strategic asset, and it's not just having access to the right data that makes a difference.

00:18:21: It is having the right organization within your company to be able to act upon this data

00:18:28: equity.".

00:18:29: And maybe another thing you take into account isn't all growth comes from new travelers but sometimes better targeting.

00:18:39: I think this is something that all CEOs should have in mind.

00:18:42: How can you leverage the power of segmentation, the power data?

00:18:47: Not necessarily to get more new clients but getting most of them.

00:18:54: Guys, let's look a little bit into the future at the final.

00:18:56: I would love to continue this conversation on ITB Berlin Convention in March next year.

00:19:02: What kind of topics and what headlines do you expect to be dominating?

00:19:06: ITB-II in Berlin.

00:19:09: Carlos we start with him.

00:19:10: I'd say something very obvious but it is hope And its research from Middle East Asia for that time will hopefully be at point.

00:19:21: those lesions leave the conversations.

00:19:24: Mitran, how about you?

00:19:26: What's a major topic in

00:19:28: Berlin

00:19:29: next to

00:19:29: me?".

00:19:29: Well as we know at an event like ITB there is never just one headline right... There are many of them.

00:19:33: so I would certainly agree with Carlos and add that.

00:19:38: Maybe this is more hope on my side than what people will hear talking about more related to digital identity.

00:19:45: We knew the EU Digital ID wallet was really coming to bear At least from my perspective, and when I look at the stories that we have been getting inbound it focus wire.

00:19:57: We're hearing very little from suppliers on how they are really preparing to accept an recognized digital ID And this ties directly into the concerns were hearing from consumers about trust?

00:20:10: An about their data and all of that.

00:20:12: so i hope That the industry itself will start a take more action around digital idea.

00:20:17: we'll be talking about that at ITB.

00:20:20: And just one final thing, I think we have to say the climate issues and what we've seen recently happening in Europe can't be ignored.

00:20:27: It may be a sign it's a reminder of EU IDs coming from America.

00:20:32: thanks for this Mitra!

00:20:35: Indeed i agree you should work harder on this.

00:20:37: Olivier?

00:20:38: What is your big headline?

00:20:39: Well,

00:20:40: I think we're very hopeful in this podcast.

00:20:43: So i'll be very hopeful

00:20:44: as well.

00:20:45: the key topic would be a from mass tourism to smart tourism.

00:20:49: so I hope that the conversation will be less about whether people are traveling and more about how destinations airlines and hotels use AI and data who attract better visitors improve experiences And make more informed decisions.

00:21:08: Also on ITB-TwentySeven, the audience will love destination rankings but I fully agree also with you.

00:21:14: Big thank to all of you!

00:21:15: Thanks for your expertise and thanks for joining us in this conversation.

00:21:19: And I mean it true that we would like to have a conversation back at ITB TwentySeven – hope to see you there soon!

00:21:26: Let's see what is the truth?

00:21:28: and what's the further development in our industry.

00:21:30: I think it was a perfect summarize about status on summer twenty-sixth, let us continue with this.

00:21:36: thank you so much METROSORIALS!

00:21:38: Thank You Carlos Sandra Cruz and thank you Olymia Kutty!

00:21:42: So that is current state of travel industry in Summer Twenty-sixths.

00:21:46: we are looking forward to see what will be happening since ITB Berlin twenty seven Looking forward to see you there again in person and stay tuned on ITB Travel Hero Podcast so far.