Generative AI and Digital Identity Converge: The most significant innovation trends in travel technology and distribution for 2025 and beyond.
Philip Wolf founded Phocuswright in 1994 on the premise that the world of travel was about to change dramatically due to the rise of a new technology — the internet. Five years later, the first Phocuswright report, then termed the Phocuswright Yearbook, noted that the biggest industry challenges were “customer acquisition, service and retention, fierce competition, an influx of new players and rising marketing and technology costs.”
Does this sound familiar? Three decades later, having navigated additional periods of technological disruption during the rise of mobile, social media and the sharing economy, the travel industry stands on the brink of a new era. The rapid emergence of generative AI (GenAI) is poised to bring change that many business leaders agree will be on par or greater than the personal computer or the internet. And very similar predictions and challenges rise to the fore.
That’s why the theme for The Phocuswright Conference 2024 and Phocuswright Europe 2025 is “The New Age(nts).” New agents of change abound as a new age of travel beckons. And the most impactful agent of all in 2025 and beyond will be autonomous, powered by the latest breakthroughs in GenAI. The second most impactful agent of change will be digital identity.
Searching for, booking and experiencing travel, as well as how travel companies operate, are all subject to dramatic change in the coming years as GenAI and digital identity converge. As always, Phocuswright will be on the forefront of navigating this change.
Phocuswright’s Travelers and Tech 2024: GenAI, VR and More found that in 2023, 22% of all U.S. travelers were using GenAI for any topic (not just travel), which was less than other popular consumer technologies measured like virtual reality and augmented reality. But in 2024, GenAI leapfrogged to 39% usage, far more than VR and AR – remarkable since those technologies have been around much longer.
(Read the full original article at https://www.phocuswright.com/Travel-Research/Research-Updates/2025/Travel-Innovation-and-Technology-Trends-2025)
