Industry execs talk Agentic AI, new travellers and API Boom at RateHawk Futurecast

Digital platforms and social media - a meeting point with customers 

Leaders from RateHawk, TikTok, Lufthansa City Center, Travelport, and MakeMyTrip recently discussed how travel businesses can adapt to technological change, shifting customer expectations, and growing market uncertainty, at RateHawk's online event, Futurecast. 

“If the last 10 years taught us anything, it is that the pace of change is only accelerating. For travel businesses, this creates both opportunity and uncertainty,” said Astrid Kastberg, managing director of RateHawk, in her opening remarks. 

Many themes were discussed but the first one outlined the new consumer behaviour. According to panelists, Gen Z customers, increasingly becoming active travelers, are already reshaping demand patterns that will influence the industry over the coming decade. 

Eager to relate to someone’s experience, they also demonstrate greater trust to people and to authentic content rather than to traditional advertising formats. 

Siiri Palisaar, senior director sales steering at Lufthansa City Center, emphasised that travel professionals should leverage the growing role of social media channels, especially to connect with younger digital native customers.

“Travel agents should advertise and create content on social media and digital platforms themselves because it’s where their audience is," she said.

Speaking of travel professionals’ role, Palisaar added: “The world is becoming ‘noisy’, and the decision-making process is not getting any easier. 

"Travel businesses are better equipped with information than ever before, which allows them to create particularly relevant offers. 

"Demand for their support is increasing as it helps travelers navigate the uncertainty and the overwhelming amount of choice."

Panelists pointed to APIs as a key enabler of future travel distribution and automation. 

“We're only at the beginning of what APIs will enable in terms of personalisation and connectivity, combined with AI and cloud-based technologies," said Sinead Reilly, senior director global enterprise sales at Travelport. 

The ultimate goal is to deliver less fragmented and more standardised content to the frontline travel professionals.

According to Ilya Kravtsov, chief commercial officer of Emerging Travel Group, RateHawk’s parent company, demand for travel APIs will grow as more businesses digitise operations. 

“Travel businesses want to focus on customer acquisition and service rather than managing dozens of supplier integrations, so we’ll see many strong technology partnerships in the upcoming decade,” said Kravtsov. 

“Another thing that travel tech providers should offer to travel professionals is access to market intelligence. For instance, we’re developing a Demand Shift tool, a solution that provides actionable insights into emerging travel trends and demand patterns. The product is currently in beta testing.” 

During a fireside chat focused on the recent AI developments, Felix Shpilman, president and CEO of Emerging Travel Group, encouraged businesses to adopt new technologies early rather than waiting for them to mature. 

He said: “You cannot afford to wait. Start by automating simple tasks, one at a time, learn from the process, and scale what works."

Kravtsov spotlighted the role of human-to-human interaction in the next decade: “While agentic AI will excel at finding answers and doing routine tasks, people will remain irreplaceable in understanding the context and delivering service with empathy," before RateHawk managing director Kastberg conluded: “we believe that long-term success will belong to businesses that stay close to change and act with confidence."

The event, held as part of RateHawk’s 10th anniversary campaign, also saw it present a joint study with Phocuswright, which defined the top industry trends for the next decade.