PhocusWire and RateHawk reveal 10 travel trends to 2036

Survey of 1,300 underpins ten trends

PhocusWire has published Supercharging Travel: 10 Trends That Will Shape the Industry Over the Next Decade, a 10th‑anniversary report for RateHawk, the B2B booking platform. The paper highlights ten forces at work — from trip diversification and the rise of payments to agentic AI — and sets out operational takeaways for agencies, TMCs and OTAs. It draws on Phocuswright research, interviews with industry leaders and a RateHawk survey of 1,300 professionals.

The white paper translates each trend into actionable levers: consolidating tools to speed up customer response, favouring flexible options for resale and rebooking during disruption, diversifying inventory to match demand, reinforcing API infrastructure amid a more fragmented distribution landscape (NDC, direct connections, aggregators), and smoothing payments (card, bank transfer, pay‑by‑link, instalments). It also notes the rise in AI usage, with 57% holding a positive view and nearly one in two willing to delegate rule‑based tasks — such as payment follow‑up, visa checks and external risk assessment — to AI.

“We designed this report as a practical guide to help travel businesses navigate a constantly evolving environment,” said Astrid Kastberg, managing director of RateHawk. “It analyses the main shifts affecting the core components of the travel ecosystem — including market context, traveller behaviour and technology adoption — and aims to help travel professionals identify priority actions to stay competitive over the next decade.”

Inflation and rising costs (fuel, energy, taxation), geopolitical instability, new post‑pandemic behaviours and the influence of social platforms are shaping the priorities identified in the report. Together they are fuelling greater volatility and influencing traveller behaviour, making people more price‑sensitive and prompting more spontaneous decisions. Younger generations, more visual and impatient, expect instant responses and take more inspiration from social content.

This uncertainty is pushing travel professionals to diversify risk with more resilient product, while driving demand for all‑in‑one solutions that simplify booking and trip management. Reliable API connections, which allow rapid reaction to changing conditions, are becoming crucial. The paper also observes that despite growing automation, the perceived value of human advisers is rising, particularly for decoding complex options and handling disruption.

The document notes that 27% of respondents rank regulatory change among their biggest challenges, 23% point to financial instability and the risk of supplier failure, and 24% struggle to keep pace with customer responsiveness demands. In a sector whose contribution to global GDP is estimated by the WTTC at 11.6 trillion, the report outlines a pragmatic roadmap: invest in connectivity, improve data quality and refocus on advisory — without losing the personal relationship.