New Research Reveals Travelers Are Two Years Ahead of the Travel Industry on AI

Mindtrip, Sabre, Sojern and MMGY Travel Intelligence study finds more than half of travelers already use AI to plan trips, while many destination marketing organizations remain unprepared for the shift

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindtrip, in partnership with Sabre, Sojern and MMGY Travel Intelligence, today released new research revealing a growing disconnect between traveler behavior and travel industry readiness when it comes to AI.

The study found that 54% of travelers have already used AI to plan travel and 75% intend to use AI for future trips. Meanwhile, only 22% of destination marketing organizations (DMOs) currently offer AI trip-planning capabilities on their websites, and just 26% have a documented AI strategy. With 72% of DMO leaders saying organizations that fail to adopt AI within the next two years risk becoming irrelevant in destination discovery, the industry is at a crossroads with a gap that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

"Travelers aren't waiting for the industry to catch up," said Michelle Denogean, CMO of Mindtrip. "AI is already reshaping how people discover destinations, build itineraries, and make travel decisions. The organizations that move now have an opportunity to become more useful, more visible, and more valuable to travelers."

The study found that AI is already reshaping how travelers discover and choose destinations, particularly among younger generations. Nearly 7 in 10 Millennials (69%) and 63% of Gen Z travelers report using AI assistants as often as social media for trip planning. AI is also having a measurable impact on destination decisions: 40% of travelers have discovered a destination through AI, while 29% have changed their travel plans based on an AI recommendation. As AI increasingly rivals social media and online communities as a source of travel inspiration, travelers are most likely to use it for researching itineraries (42%), comparing flights, hotels, and tours (32%), and finding destination ideas (32%).

"We're witnessing the biggest shift in travel planning since online booking transformed the industry," said President and GM of Sojern Destinations, Sylvia Weiler. "Travelers now expect AI to guide them from inspiration through booking, and those who act now will be better positioned to influence travelers at every stage of their journey. The opportunity for DMOs is to become the trusted source powering AI-driven travel decisions by investing in authoritative content, seamless experiences and partnerships that connect and measure discovery to transaction."

At the same time, travelers increasingly expect AI-powered experiences from the brands and destinations they trust. Nearly two-thirds (63%) say they would use an AI trip planner directly on a destination website, while 25% are less likely to use a destination site that doesn't offer AI features.

The research also found that travelers are using AI for far more than inspiration. Sixty percent use it to research attractions, restaurants, and transportation options; 56% use it to compare prices; and 43% use it to build itineraries and organize trip details.

Yet many destination organizations continue to focus on inspiration over utility. Only 20% of DMO leaders rank itinerary building as a high-value capability, despite travelers already making it one of the most common uses of AI.

The study also points to growing readiness for AI-assisted booking. More than one-third of travelers are already comfortable with AI participating in the booking process, with adoption highest among Millennials and Gen Z. Comfort rises significantly when travelers know human support is available if needed.

"Travelers are already using AI to discover destinations, compare options, and make travel decisions. We're continuing to bring more agentic travel experiences to life that can help travelers move seamlessly from planning to booking," said Brad Johnson, Vice President Product Management, Sabre. "For destination organizations, this creates an opportunity to extend their role beyond inspiration and become a more connected part of the traveler journey, helping visitors discover, plan, and ultimately act on their travel decisions while driving greater value for local tourism partners and economies."

For destination organizations, AI can no longer be approached as an emerging technology. It is on track to become the primary interface for travel discovery and planning. The organizations that successfully connect inspiration, planning, and booking through AI will be best positioned to win the next generation of travelers.

For more information about the study, please visit: https://go.mindtrip.ai/ai-readiness-report

About the Study
Mindtrip partnered with Sabre, Sojern, and MMGY Travel Intelligence to examine traveler AI adoption, destination marketing readiness, and the future of AI-powered travel planning and booking. The study surveyed 1,006 U.S. adults aged 18 and older who had taken an overnight leisure trip in the past 12 months or planned to do so in the next 12 months, along with 103 destination marketing organization leaders and practitioners. Research was conducted in April 2026. The full findings, including a destination readiness framework and practical recommendations for DMOs, are available at https://go.mindtrip.ai/ai-readiness-report.

About Mindtrip
Mindtrip is your personal travel assistant, one that knows you, works for you and keeps you one step ahead. Powered by agentic AI and travel-specific intelligence, Mindtrip learns what matters to you, remembers it from one trip to the next and helps you plan, book and navigate every stage of your journey with greater confidence. Mindtrip also powers AI experiences on destination, hotel and travel brand websites, helping partners deliver more personalized traveler experiences. Founded in 2023 in Silicon Valley by serial entrepreneurs with a proven track record of bringing innovative technology products to market, Mindtrip was built on the belief that travel should start with you, not just where you're going. Learn more at Mindtrip.ai.

About Sabre
Powering the agentic revolution in travel. Sabre is an AI-native technology leader, backed by one of the world's largest travel data clouds. With AI at its core and operating at unparalleled scale, Sabre transforms insights into innovation, empowering airlines, hoteliers, agencies and other partners to retail, distribute and fulfill travel worldwide. Sabre is built on an open, modular, cloud-native architecture and serves as the backbone for both established leaders and bold, new disruptors, guiding them to the next age of travel retailing through intelligent, connected, and personalized experiences. For more information visit www.sabre.com. 

About Sojern
Sojern is the leading AI-powered travel platform built for hospitality, designed to boost growth and profitability for the travel industry. The Sojern marketing platform is a set of easy-to-use software and services that delivers unrivaled traveler insight, intelligent audiences, multichannel activation and optimization, and a connected guest experience—all in one place. More than 13,000 travel marketers rely on our platform annually to find, attract, convert and engage travelers. Sojern, founded in 2007 and acquired by RateGain in 2025, is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with teams in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.

About MMGY Travel Intelligence 
MMGY Travel Intelligence is MMGY's data and insights division, offering proprietary research including Portrait of American Travelers^™ as well as DK Shifflet's TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/Monitor℠, which utilizes the largest continuous consumer travel database in the industry. Travel Intelligence's services are designed to power travel industry decision-makers through consumer insights, travel performance data, and audience modeling and segmentation. To learn more about the extensive collection of research, analytics capabilities and strategy services, visit mmgyintel.com or email [email protected]. 

Media contact:
Rachel Rogers
[email protected]
310-770-4917

SOURCE Mindtrip, in partnership with Sabre, Sojern and MMGY Travel Intelligence.