We had the privilege of hosting a cross-industry panel with experts from Panache Cruises, The Thinking Traveller, Accord Marketing, and Newmarket Holidays. Across sales, marketing, and CX, the conversation made one thing clear: traveller behaviour is changing faster than most brands are adapting. Below is a concise recap of the insights that matter most.
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When search behaviour changes, entire industries shift. We saw it when consumers moved from travel agents to Google. We saw it again with the rise of OTAs and review platforms. Now we're seeing a third major shift. One that is already reshaping how customers think, compare, validate and book.‍

LLMs are becoming the first stop in the traveller decision journey

This is not a theoretical forecast. It’s happening right now, invisibly, across the market. Insights paint a clear picture. The future of travel marketing will be built around conversation, context and confidence. Not keywords.

1. The traveller journey has quietly changed - and it’s happening outside your analytics

Insights from Sophie Henderson, Newmarket Holidays

Traditionally, travel research began with search terms. Queries that marketers could see, measure and optimise around. That visibility is disappearing. Sophie explained that travellers now begin their thinking inside LLMs with intent-based, multi-layered prompts, not single keywords:

• “What’s the best Mediterranean destination for a couple who wants quiet beaches but good food?”
• “Recommend an active holiday for a solo traveller in their 40s with a moderate budget.”
  

These are personal, contextual, descriptive inputs, not the structured searches Google was built to handle.

This matters for one reason. Brands are now competing in an environment where the journey begins before the brand even knows it started. Customers refine their thinking through AI before they ever enter your measurable universe:

• Researching destinations
• Comparing styles of holiday
• Asking questions they would never ask publicly
• Validating assumptions
• Filtering down choices

By the time they reach your website, they’re already far down the funnel, but you didn’t get to influence the earlier stages.

Implication

To stay relevant, brands must build content and CX around the traveller’s thought process, not the brand’s existing pathways.

2. AI search is not search - it’s conversation mapping, and it will redefine visibility

Insights from Dan, Accord Marketing

Dan made one of the most important points of the session: “AI search is not about ranking; it’s about representation.” 

‍LLMs don’t return pages; they return answers. That means:

• The “first page of Google” becomes irrelevant.
• Websites matter less than the insights extracted from them.
• Traffic becomes a flawed measure of influence.
  

Dan highlighted the rise of zero-click behaviour, which many marketers misunderstand. Brands see traffic drop and panic, but conversion quality often improves because customers arrive later in their decision-making process.

The winning metric is no longer traffic volume - it’s conversion velocity.

The brands that win in LLM environments will:

• Express expertise with clarity and depth
• Have distinct, trustworthy propositions
• Provide consistent signals across all channels
• Structure content in ways AI can interpret
• Answer real customer questions, not algorithmic demands

This is a strategic shift from SEO → AIO (Answer Engine Optimisation). And the travel industry is one of the sectors most exposed to this change.

3. Personalisation is becoming dynamic, and AI finally makes it scalable

Insights from Marc Dolman, The Thinking Traveller

Marc’s view cut through the hype with refreshing clarity: “AI doesn’t replace human expertise, it makes it stronger.”

High-end travel relies on emotional nuance and lived experience. But scaling that level of service has always been difficult. The Thinking Traveller uses AI in a way that respects the brand promise:

• Analysing customer transcripts
• Surfacing detail a human might miss
• Capturing tone, sentiment and context
• Helping advisors understand the traveller holistically
  

This enables precision personalisation:

• Not “segment A wants X”
• But “this specific traveller would value Y because…”
  

Marc’s comment captures the future beautifully: “AI deepens the insight. The human deepens the trust.” AI-enabled human service is where luxury travel is heading.

4. High-consideration travel decisions are being simplified, and AI is the new guide

Insights from Alex Langton, Panache Cruises

Cruises are one of the most complex travel products:

• Many variables
• Long decision cycles
• High cost
• High emotional stakes

Alex showed how AI is cutting through that complexity. Panache Cruises has even hired an in-house AI engineer. A remarkable signal of where the industry is going. The team uses AI to:

• Compare itineraries
• Summarise differences
• Guide travellers through huge amounts of information
• Support service teams
• Speed up operations

As a result, decision friction drops and confidence rises.

Travellers who once needed weeks of research can now reach clarity far faster, with support from both AI and knowledgeable advisors. This creates a new model:

AI = the analytical guide
Human advisor = the emotional anchor

It shortens the path from consideration to commitment.

5. The industry knows change is coming but is unsure where to begin

Our live poll revealed something telling:

• 50% said AI is already part of their strategy
• 38% are exploring but lack a clear starting point
• 8% are observing from the sidelines
• 4% aren’t considering AI at all
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This distribution mirrors what’s happening across the market. Travel brands know the environment is shifting, but internal blockers remain:

• Uncertainty about resource requirements
• Confusion around measurement
• Overreliance on legacy tracking
• Risk avoidance
• Fragmented tech stacks
  

The gap is not awareness. It is execution. And the brands that act early will gain outsized conversion advantage.

6. The new battleground is CX from the traveller’s point of view

If there was one thread connecting every speaker’s perspective, it was this:

The future of travel belongs to brands that design CX around real traveller behaviour. Not internal processes where brands talk about:

• Funnel stages
• CRM journeys
• Tech integrations
• Operational efficiency
  

Travellers care about:

• Reassurance
• Expertise
• Clarity
• Personal relevance
• Easy decision-making
• Feeling understood
  

LLMs have revealed what travellers have always wanted on a larger scale. Brands that adopt this mindset gain a structural advantage: higher-quality leads, stronger advocacy, better lifetime value, reduced acquisition waste and faster conversion cycles.

This is the lens through which the next decade of travel marketing will be shaped.

The takeaway: The travel industry is entering its next great transition

The game has changed. Customers no longer start their journey on Google. They no longer follow predictable paths. They no longer respond to generic content. They want answers, clarity, personal relevance, trustworthy expertise and in-the-moment support. And they expect it instantly.

Brands that adapt to this behaviour will become the industry’s new leaders. Those who wait will become invisible. Not because they lack quality, but because they no longer appear in the traveller’s field of consideration. The shift is already here. The opportunity is wide open. And the winners will be those who meet customers where decisions now begin.

Watch the full webinar

‍What this means for SmartChat ‍

Travel brands now need to engage customers in real-time, with context, intelligence, and human nuance. SmartChat’s Lead Conversion Engine was designed for this evolution:

• Predictive models identify high-intent customers
• AI assists humans in delivering richer, more tailored conversations
• Conversations turn into qualified, ready-to-book leads
• Brands recover value from traffic they would otherwise lose
  

This isn’t about more chat. It’s about more conversion, through intelligent, human-led engagement supported by AI. It aligns perfectly with the AI-driven shift in discovery and CX highlighted during the webinar.