APAC is excited about AI in travel: Booking.com

Booking.com's first Global AI Sentiment Report, drawing insights from over 37,000 consumers across 33 markets globally to explore how people are using, trusting, and responding to AI in everyday life and travel, has revealed a nuanced picture about Asia-Pacific (APAC) consumers.

According to the research, 95% express excitement about AI, 82% are familiar with the technology, and 93% want to use AI in their future travel plans. Zooming out of APAC, there are significant regional differences–while some embrace AI’s potential, others approach it with caution, underscoring the need for responsible implementation that balances opportunity with consumer trust. These new insights and perspectives will help shape the next chapter of AI in travel and beyond, Booking.com said.

The research identified five clear category clusters among APAC consumers, reflecting diverse AI sentiment: 41% identify as AI Enthusiasts, intrigued by AI’s potential, while 15% are AI Advocates, actively championing its benefits and responsible adoption. This enthusiasm is grounded in the belief that AI will make life easier (78%), save time and effort (57%), enhance productivity (49%), and expand learning opportunities (53%). 

However, this excitement coexists with significant caution. About 8% classify themselves as AI Cautious, wary of AI’s development or use, and 6% as AI Skeptics. Notably, one in four respondents (16%) identify as AI Detractors, signalling a meaningful segment resistant to AI adoption.

Across regions, consumer sentiment toward AI varies widely. LATAM leads in enthusiasm (98%) and understanding (89%), while APAC shows strong adoption in daily life, especially in education and transport (41%). In contrast, NORAM and EME remain more cautious, with distrust in AI-generated information highest in these regions (32% and 29% respectively). LATAM stands for Latin America, EME for Europe and Middle East, and NORAM for North America.

Source: Booking.com. Regional breakdowns for the survey around what respondents think about AI, their familiarity about AI, and what they distrust. 

Despite widespread use—98% use AI-powered search and 83% engage with generative tools—trust remains limited. Only 8% fully trust AI, and just 16% are comfortable with it making decisions independently. Most prefer AI as a supportive tool rather than an autonomous decision-maker.

Travel is a key area of AI adoption. Three quarters of global travellers have used AI in planning or during trips, with APAC consumers particularly open to autonomous trip planning (67%). AI is most often used for researching destinations, translation, and navigating transport systems, with growing trust in AI assistants over influencers or peers. There’s also rising demand for AI to support responsible travel, from avoiding crowds to highlighting community-benefiting experiences.

“Generative AI represents one of the most significant technological shifts of our era, opening up new possibilities across industries, including travel. At Booking.com, we’ve been at the forefront of AI innovation for a decade, integrating machine learning and AI to enhance the customer journey at every touchpoint, simplify complexity, inspire curiosity and empower people to shape journeys that feel truly personal. 

"As travellers across APAC look for deeper meaning and connection in every trip, whilst planning their travels with ease, AI is helping to unlock more intuitive and imaginative travel experiences than ever before,” said Laura Houldsworth, MD for Asia Pacific at Booking.com.

“But as we enter this next phase, our responsibility goes beyond technology. Building trust, ensuring transparency, and prioritising safety are critical as we guide travellers, and our industry, into the future.”

Source: Booking.com. A panel discussion about The Promise of AI in Travel during the APAC Trust Summit 2025 in Singapore involved, from left: Laura Houldsworth, MD of Asia Pacific, Booking.com as moderator; Marnie Wilking, Chief Security Officer, Booking.com, who spoke on embedding safety, security, and transparency in every AI interaction; Cheryl Guzman Ng, Senior VP for Marketing & Strategic Partnerships, Alpha JWC Ventures, sharing how startups can scale responsibly with AI; Mary Li, Founder & CEO, Atlas, who detailed how AI can deliver personalised, discovery-led commerce; Kung Teong Wah, GM, Parkroyal Collection Pickering Singapore, discussing elevating guest experiences through sustainable AI innovation; and Jordan Tan, CTO, Singapore Tourism Board, who touched on fostering responsible AI innovation in travel through public-private collaboration.

The report was launched in the region during Booking.com's APAC Trust Summit 2025 in Singapore, during which Houldsworth shared in her keynote how AI’s role in travel is just as much about trust as it is about transformation. Marnie Wilking, Chief Security Officer at Booking.com, followed on with an address emphasising that trust can’t be assumed — it must be earned and re-earned at every step of the customer journey. She shared how Booking.com is using AI proactively to protect users across the travel journey, ensuring security and transparency in every interaction.

Adrienne Enggist, Senior Director of Product, Marketplace at Booking.com, also shared during the event that AI is embedded into the Booking.com platform — from enhancing search to reducing friction — to deliver more personalised, intuitive experiences for travellers. She said: “We’re not using AI to replace human decision-making, but to remove friction and help travellers get to what they really want, faster.”

As part of a vision to make travel more intuitive and human-centric, the company introduced the AI Trip Planner (AITP), which is live in the region in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The tool is designed to help users explore, plan and book their next trip in a natural, conversational way.

● Partially powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT API and Booking.com’s proprietary machine learning models, the AITP delivers destination ideas, curated property suggestions, and tailored itineraries—within seconds. 

● Users can ask general travel questions or specific queries like “Where’s a good beach destination for October that’s kid-friendly?” 

● Results include visual lists of properties, live pricing, and deep-links to book—allowing seamless switching between chat and the app’s booking interface.

Booking.com has also rolled out several new generative AI-powered features to streamline the travel search experience: 

● Smart filters: Travellers can type what they’re looking for in their own words. AI presents them with the most relevant options by automatically applying the most relevant filters. 

● Property Q&A: Instantly answers user’s questions using information pulled from listings, reviews and photos. 

● Review summaries (beta): Condenses hundreds of guest reviews into concise, meaningful takeaways. These features went live on mobile in Singapore in November 2024, with global rollouts planned as Booking.com expands its AI suite. 

AI also powers the backbone of Booking.com’s Connected Trip experience, across stays, flights, attractions, transport and more. Internal systems use machine learning to continually optimise performance—from content translation and fraud detection to customer support and pricing strategies. To safeguard user trust, the company has developed custom moderation layers for its AI tools, designed to:

● Filter out personal data and non-travel-related content, 

● Keep conversations focused, safe and appropriate, redirecting unrelated queries and blocking inappropriate content, and 

● Adhere to GDPR and international AI ethics frameworks 

All interactions with the AI Trip Planner are subject to clear Terms of Use, and users are encouraged not to share personal data. Chat history is limited to 30 days (three conversations) and is never used to personalise other aspects of the Booking.com experience. Any data retained is stored securely and may be used only to improve the product through anonymised insights. 

Booking.com maintains round-the-clock security operations to monitor for suspicious activity and ensure a safe environment for all users. 

The AI Trip Planner is only the beginning. Booking.com’s long-term ambition is to incorporate generative AI into every step of a journey from end-to-end. At its core, Booking.com believes AI should enhance, and not replace the human elements of travel, so that every step feels seamless, simple and inspired.