APAC consumers are ready for AI agent-led shopping, Accenture research finds
Accenture hosted a media briefing to present findings from its Consumer Pulse Survey 2026 and lay out a framework for how businesses across Asia Pacific should prepare for what it calls "agentic commerce" — a shift in which AI agents research, compare, purchase and manage returns on a consumer's b [...]
AI in action: Reshaping travel
10 key takeaways from a presentation at WiT Japan by Amy Wei, Senior Product Director, Trip.com Group
1. The shift is already here and accelerating fast.
Trip.com launched its AI assistant TripGenie in February 2023, just 2.5 months after ChatGPT. Three years of real user data tell a clea [...]
AI in ASEAN travel. What’s working, what isn’t, what’s next.
Because of the widespread nature of AI, conversations about its applications and potential can get pretty vague. We didn’t want that to be the case, so at Travel Tech Thursdays Vol 9, we had three experts on the panel who are already deep in the build - Sarah Wan, GM for Singapore, Malaysia, Indon [...]
Japan’s travellers have already embraced AI. Its travel brands are still catching up
In Japan, artificial intelligence has quietly become part of how people approach travel. Consumers have absorbed the technology into their planning with little fanfare, even as many of the businesses they ultimately book with have been slower to respond.
That divergence between travellers who hav [...]
Travel’s next big opportunity is in the post-booking journey
Wenrix CPO Tor Leelo on the banking playbook coming for travel, and the 60% of service requests nobody's managed to fix.
A decade ago, UK banking customers didn't switch to digital-first challengers because they were cheaper, they switched because when something went wrong, the response was instant [...]
AI + Omotenashi: Hail, a new partnership in travel
JTB’s Eijiro Yamakita on reading the room, sensing the world, and why the renaissance of travel is already here.
There is a word that does not translate easily. Omotenashi, often rendered as “Japanese hospitality”, is, as Eijiro Yamakita gently reminded the audience at WiT Japan, neither a me [...]
Don’t play defence: The lesson two Expedia CEOs agree on
Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi returns to the Explore stage to exchange lessons with Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin
It felt like it was almost always meant to be. Former CEO and now Uber chief, Dara Khosrowshahi back on stage at Explore with current CEO Ariane Gorin – the two having just signed a la [...]
Inside the Philippines’ most overlooked $36b digital market
94% of Filipino consumers will share data with AI, so why is an online travel that's set to double by 2030 still owned by foreign OTAs?
The archipelago nation of 7,600+ islands has a travel landscape that's complex by nature - fragmented routes, unbanked communities, and a population that was born [...]
AI and digital identity drive aviation’s next chapter
Trip.com Group opened its flagship Trip.com Airline Global Conference (AGC) 2026 in Amsterdam, convening global leaders from across the aviation and travel ecosystem to explore how technology, trust, and collaboration are redefining the future of travel.
Held at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam [...]
Expedia Group hits record Q1 profitability amid AI overhaul
On the back of an artificial intelligence (AI)-focused technological overhaul, Expedia Group reported its highest Q1 profitability in company history on Thursday.
Within the results, the company's adjusted EBITDA rose 83% year over year to $542 million. Room nights booked totaled 113.9 million, [...]
