Tech companies are building travel capabilities on their own terms. Amazon's Alexa Plus can now order pizza—and the company suggested that trip booking is next, using the same agentic commerce architecture. Meta launched prescription Ray-Bans, which are capable of live translation, effectively putting an always-on interpreter on the faces of travelers who need corrective lenses. That's a lot of people.
In other news, Airbnb is thinking about flights again, its chief business officer said, reviving pre-Covid expansion plans. The company is working with major LLM providers behind the scenes as Chesky pushes to make Airbnb "AI native." At Skift's India Intelligence Summit, the takeaway was blunt: the country's travel boom is real, but friction is costing it a $6 billion tourism deficit.
AMPERITY + SKIFT
To understand how prepared the industry is to close that readiness gap, Skift and Amperity surveyed more than 350 senior travel leaders across airlines, hotels, and technology sectors. The findings reveal an industry that recognizes the opportunity but remains early in transforming customer data into true competitive advantage.
EDITOR’S PICKS
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
Travel used to start with search. Now it’s starting with AI.
In this clip from the Skift Travel Podcast, Sarah Kopit and Seth Borko explain how AI is changing travel discovery and why travelers may soon see fewer options, not more.
It’s a shift that could reshape how airlines, hotels, and destinations compete for attention.
SKIFT RESEARCH
How are public travel tech companies performing around the world? The Skift Travel 200 pulls the data you need to know to understand the market. Paid subscribers get full access here.
