Smarter travel, safer journeys: How data and AI are transforming traveller decision-making

A decade ago, planning a summer holiday meant a travel agent, a stack of guidebooks, and a great deal of guesswork. Today, it means an app that predicts flight delays before the airline does, a chatbot that reshuffles an itinerary around a storm warning, and an insurer that can settle a claim before the traveller checks out of the hotel. Travel has quietly become one of the most data-driven decisions consumers make—and artificial intelligence (AI) is now firmly in the co-pilot’s seat.

Allianz Partners' Global Travel Confidence Index 2026 report across 11,010 adults in 10 markets, captures this shift in sharp detail. Travel intent remains resilient—87% of people globally plan to take a vacation this summer—but how that trip gets planned, booked, protected, and managed has changed fundamentally. Nearly half of all travellers (45%) said they have used, or plan to use, AI to help plan their holiday this year, a figure that soars to 82% in India, and is led globally by Gen Z and millennial travellers who expect technology to do the heavy lifting.

From guesswork to guided decisions

What is driving this rapid adoption? Largely, it is the sheer complexity travellers now have to navigate. Rising costs, shifting border rules, and unpredictable weather can make even the “best” holiday decision dynamic such that it needs recalculating in real time. The index shows 77% of travellers are concerned about rising prices with 51% saying stricter border controls are making them reconsider destinations, and 68% now factoring environmental risks and extreme weather into where they choose to go. AI tools help travellers cut through this noise: comparing fares dynamically, flagging visa or advisory changes, and personalising recommendations by budget and interest, rather than a generic search results page.

This is reshaping not just where people go, but how they spend once they arrive. The survey finds a clear pivot towards experience-led travel, with 54% of travellers likely to attend a ticketed concert, festival or performing arts event, 41% planning a ticketed sporting event and 45% booking a wellness or spa retreat—curated, activity-rich planning at a scale and speed the traditional travel agent model simply could not match.

Digital tools meet growing vigilance

The same technology making travel easier to plan is also making travellers more alert to what could go wrong. Nearly half (47%) said they feel vulnerable to cyber risks while travelling—rising sharply to 78% in India market where mobile-first travel behaviour is most advanced. This is prompting a parallel shift in what travellers expect from the companies that protect their trips.

The index finds 63% of insured travellers want round-the-clock customer support and emergency assistance through a mobile app, 45% want to view and manage their policy digitally, and 45% want to start a claim digitally, with the app automatically handling potential damages. A notable 26% globally are already looking ahead to proactive claims, where payouts trigger automatically from predefined events such as a cancelled flight, without the traveller filing anything at all.

Insurance is moving into the booking journey

Purchase of insurance is perhaps the clearest sign of how digital behaviour is reshaping travel decision-making. Two out of five travellers who intend to buy a policy now do so at the same moment they book their trip, and a further one in five buys shortly after. Insurance is no longer perceived as a separate task but it is becoming embedded in the booking flow itself, alongside flights, hotels and activities. Almost 85% of travellers cite peace of mind, protection against unforeseen disruptions, and cover for medical emergencies abroad as the leading reasons for buying, underscoring that reassurance has become as important a purchase driver as price.

This convergence is also changing where people buy insurance. While 31% still purchase directly from an insurer, online travel sites and agencies together account for a similar share, reflecting a preference for having flights, stays, experiences and cover confirmed in one digital checkout.

What this means for the industry

For insurance providers, competitive advantage now comes from building more personalised features into the journey—AI-assisted planning that understands a traveller’s budget and risk tolerance, insurance coverage that adapts to how and where someone travels, and claims built to respond as fast as the customer grievance itself. For travellers, the payoff follows through directly: this personalisation is what makes protection feel seamless and genuinely valuable, not just a check box before departure.

The desire to travel has not diminished, it remains remarkably resilient despite cost pressures and global uncertainty. What has changed is the toolkit travellers use to travel. As data and AI become as essential to a holiday as a passport, the industry's task is to ensure that smarter planning also means safer and more confident journeys right from the first search to the final claim.

(The author is MD, Allianz Partners India. Views are personal.)