The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in travel and the uncertainty surrounding it are not up for question, but almost everything else is. Who will own the customer? Who will become the gatekeepers? Will supplier-direct or intermediary business win?
The reality is that no one knows yet how the landscape will look going forward, and the rapid pace of change is feeding into the uncertainty.
C.A. Clark, vice president of AI for Miles Partnership, and Marius Nigond, CEO of iWander, discussed some of the trends in a PhocusWire studio interview at The Phocuswright Conference in November.
“A week is a month, a month is a year when we’re talking about this sort of technology,” said Clark. “There are things that are myths and misunderstandings that are still pervasive, even though we’ve been at this for years now. So I think my biggest observation and it’s not just this conference, it’s all conferences is that it’s really hard to meet people where they are when we’re talking about AI. Because even though that’s what everyone’s saying that they’re doing, they’re all over the place.”
The discussion covered industry attitudes about AI and excitement around the potential to improve the search and booking experience, as well as concern about jobs and disruption to the ecosystem.
“I think there’s a lot of psychology in how the industry is reacting. It’s not really a technology problem; it’s a change management and psychology problem,” Clark said.
The pair also touched on hype versus reality and how to navigate the risk when it comes to AI in travel.
“I think it’s more underhyped than overhyped. It will change how people book, search, discover products everything,” said Nigond.
He also highlighted how Booking Holdings is giving its brands, including Agoda and Priceline, full autonomy on AI and described it as a “super smart” strategy in terms of spreading bets.
Additionally, Clark and Nigond shared some advice for travel companies in 2026 and thoughts on what the industry might look like in 2030
