Travolution Connects Preview: Casper Maasdam from Trip.com

A series of Q&As with selected speakers ahead of their appearance at Travolution Connects, the new event from Eventiz from Travelsoft…

Casper Maasdam is the managing director of Europe operations for trip.com, also holding the role of CEO for Travix, one of trip.com’s European brands. In this Q&A he compares and contrasts the travel patterns and technology preferences between European and APAC markets.

Are there any material differences between the travel trends you are seeing in Europe and APAC

The bigger consumer needs are broadly consistent - value, convenience, transparency, personalisation support. The difference is how those needs show up across regions.

In many APAC markets, the travel journey is often more mobile-led and more integrated across search, booking, payment, content, loyalty and service. That can make adoption of new tools faster when those tools are connected to real services and practical journey moments.

Europe is generally more fragmented. Travellers often compare across multiple platforms and suppliers before booking, so trust plays a particularly important role. Price competitiveness matters, but so do clarity, transparent policies, reliable after-sales support and confidence that help is available if something goes wrong.

APAC was seen as a driving force in the mainstreaming of mobile. Is a similar dynamic happening with AI, and are there learnings for Europe-Asia travel?

There is a parallel, but the learning is broader than AI. 

APAC helped mainstream mobile because mobile became connected to the full travel journey. The same dynamic is starting to happen with AI, although it’s only the start, but we’re making progress, particularly around how AI will be part of booking and payment. 

But it’s true that travellers adopt new technology faster when it helps them complete real tasks more easily than the existing options. Simply adding another interface does not drive adoption. 

For Europe-Asia travel, this is particularly relevant because long-haul travel involves more uncertainty -flight options, baggage rules, entry requirements, payment methods, local transport, language barriers, hotel location and disruption support. In these examples, the value of technology is not just inspiration; it is information and reassurance.

AI supports this, but only when it is connected to real travel systems. A chatbot that sounds helpful is not enough, its responses have to be accurate and trustworthy.   We see an opportunity to position AI as a decision and service layer: helping the traveller understand, compare, decide and act with confidence.

From a Trip.com perspective, how much do you need to regionalise products and experiences for Europe-Asia travellers?

Localisation is essential, but it is not just translation. The underlying platform can be global, but the customer experience needs to reflect where the traveller is from, where they are going, and what kind of uncertainty they are trying to solve.

Across APAC source markets, behaviour is not uniform. In some markets, travellers may use digital tools as their real-time decision partners during the trip. In others, the value is more about certainty before departure: planning earlier, comparing more carefully and seeking detailed reassurance before committing.

For European travelers heading to Asia, the experience needs to be adapted to different levels of familiarity with Asia, different booking windows, different expectations around support and different comfort levels with digital tools. 

Travellers using digital tools not only for inspiration but also for reassurance is one of the clearest behavioural shifts that we’ve seen across all markets - when someone is travelling long-haul, responses can inspire (or undermine) the confidence which encourages (or dissuades) a traveler to move towards booking.

Our goal is one global foundation that can adapt to local behaviours and traveller confidence needs.

What behaviours or demand signals are you seeing that show where Europe-Asia corridors are growing - or where friction remains?

The most interesting signals are not the top ten destination rankings, they are the gaps between interest, search and booking. A destination can generate strong curiosity and lots of searches, but if travellers are not converting at the same pace, that highlights a gap indicating some sort of friction.

For Europe-to-Asia travel, this is the main question - what moves them from consideration to booking. Travellers may be inspired by Asia, but still need reassurance around cost, flight connectivity, entry requirements, payment options, safety, local transport or simply how easy the trip will feel once they arrive.

In the other direction, Asian travellers coming to Europe may be motivated by and familiar with culture, shopping, events, food, sport. But the booking journey is more complex as it involves multiple countries, suppliers and modes of transport. That is where a platform can add value and convert demand by connecting flights, hotels, rail, activities and service into a more coherent journey.

How does a global business such as Trip.com manage inconsistent regulation, traveller protection expectations and cross-border complexity?

Cross-border travel is complex by nature. Every market has its own regulations, consumer expectations, payment habits, privacy requirements and traveller protection frameworks. For a global platform such as Trip.com, the priority is to help travellers navigate that complexity with confidence, while making sure we remain responsive to local market realities.

That starts with clear and reliable information. 

Travellers need to understand what they are booking, what is included, what the relevant policies are, and what support is available if plans change. This is particularly important in Europe, where expectations around transparency, privacy and consumer protection are very high. At the same time, customer expectations vary significantly across Asia and other regions, especially around payment methods, service channels and digital behaviours.

The way we manage this is by combining global standards with strong local execution. Trip.com operates across many markets, so consistency is important, but it cannot come at the expense of local understanding. Our customer experience teams, local market teams and operational specialists play a central role in identifying where traveller expectations differ, where support needs to be adapted, any local compliance requirements, and how we can make the experience clearer and more reliable.

This human expertise is especially important when travel becomes disrupted or complicated. Regulation, airline policies, hotel conditions and traveller rights can differ depending on the route, supplier or market. In those moments, travellers need more than a transaction platform. They need clear service paths, responsive support and teams who understand the practical realities behind the booking.

For Trip.com, trust is built by reducing uncertainty. That means making the booking journey as clear as possible, ensuring customers can access support when they need it, and continuously strengthening our internal processes so we can respond across markets in a responsible and locally relevant way. 

Ultimately, managing cross-border complexity is not only about systems and scale; it is about people, service culture and accountability across the full traveller journey. When it comes to managing regulatory complexity, we see it not only as a compliance requirement— rather it is a key part of delivering a reliable and trusted travel experience worldwide.

What is next for Trip.com in Europe-Asia travel

The next opportunity is to build a more connected understanding of the Europe-Asia corridor. That means looking beyond destination demand and asking more useful questions: who is travelling, when they are booking, how long they are staying, what gives them confidence, what products they combine, and where they need support.

For Trip.com, this fits naturally with the role of a global platform. The value is not only helping someone book a flight or hotel but also reassuring them and being there. Content, data and technology will connect inspiration with bookable demand. Events, food, culture, shopping, theme parks, nature and multi-city itineraries are all part of how travellers choose destinations today. There is an opportunity is to help destinations and partners understand those motivations, then make the journey easier to plan and complete.

The most relevant point is that the winners will be those who understand the behaviour behind the corridor, not just the route map. Demand is there, but the businesses that succeed will be those that reduce friction around connectivity, value, payments, policy, service and destination familiarity.

Travolution Connects is a new event brand for the UK market from Travolution’s parent company Eventiz by Travelsoft. It is an invitation-only senior leaders event, with the launch event taking place on June 23 in London. For more details, visit the Travolution Connects web site and for sponsorship or guest list queries, please contact andy.hibberd@travolution.com.

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Manuel Hilty, CEO and co-founder, Nezasa

Sarah Ditton, director of customer success, Alyza

Gemma Timmons, Director of Operations and Chief of Staff, OAG

Chelsea Dickenson, Founder, Holiday Expert