Bookings are rising slowly but surely

Mitra Sorrells from Phocuswright spoke about the importance of digitalization for the travel industry.

Despite a gloomy consumer outlook the global travel market continues to grow, although not at the same rates as before. That was the message of Mitra Sorrells, Senior Vice President Content of the US market research institute Phocuswright, in her keynote speech on Monday at the opening press conference of ITB Berlin 2025. By contrast, there was a greater willingness to invest in travel startups in 2024, albeit at a lower level than in previous years, she said. With digitalisation increasing in all areas of life, AI is proving to be an important tool for the travel industry and consumers. However it still needs to adapt.

Tourism growth is outstripping that of global GDP, but at slower rates than before, Sorrells explained. Despite rising uncertainty about the global situation and fears of inflation, spending on travel is a top household priority. However, increases are also partly due to travel products costing more. Anyone who booked a trip over the past twelve months was also planning to do so for the coming year. From 2023 to 2024, spending increased by nine per cent. Growth rates of six and five per cent were likely in the years to come. “We forecast that overall booking figures will reach the two trillion dollar mark in 2026.”

Europe leads with online bookings

Customers are increasingly planning and booking their holidays online. According to surveys, Europe leads globally with 66 per cent, followed by North America and the Asia-Pacific region with 63 per cent each. In terms of the websites used, Facebook and Instagram are currently the most popular, but YouTube and Reddit are close behind due to increasing use by young customers. Sorrells described sustainable travel as a major challenge. Despite many respondents paying attention to it, they often had no real idea what the term meant.

AI: ideally suited to the tourism industry

According to Sorrells, AI is ideally suited to the tourism industry. So far, AI tools are being mainly used by younger customers. However, they would like the information to be more accurate and show real prices or travel products. What AI’s growth means for the industry’s marketing and sales staff, however, remains to be seen.