Travel marketing faces an AI-led rewrite of trip planning

Travel has never been bigger — a record US$11.6 trillion contribution to global GDP in 2025 — yet the way trips are planned is being rewritten: nearly a quarter of travellers now use generative AI for trip planning, three times as many as in 2022. Media money remains concentrated: over 60% of US travel digital budgets sit in search, even as new travel media networks emerge. Winning brands are not simply buying more media; they are rebuilding the marketing operating model, governing search, digital and travel media networks as one, and holding every partner to measurable value. VA helps travel leaders orchestrate that ecosystem, optimise the media budget and prove ROI.