Travel Leaders Share Top Concerns and Optimism for 2026

Agentic artificial intelligence (AI), social media influence and shifting economic and geopolitical conditions are driving both excitement and uncertainty across the travel industry — themes explored at The Phocuswright Conference last week.

Between center-stage discussions, interviews and networking sessions, we asked a range of industry stakeholders one simple question: What are you most optimistic about — and most concerned about — in travel right now?
Unsurprisingly, AI emerged as a dominant thread.

Below, leaders including Brett Keller of Priceline, Wendy Olson Killion of Rome2Rio, David Armstrong of HolidayPirates and others share their perspectives. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Brett Keller, CEO of Priceline (stepping down in 2026)
Keller is energized by rapidly expanding access to powerful technology, especially for companies without deep in-house AI expertise. “We can now leverage the same tech everyone else can,” he said, noting that the challenge is how quickly companies can deploy it to build meaningful products.

His concern? Oversaturation. Keller fears that too many companies will try to build the same AI-driven capabilities, creating confusion for consumers in an already complex ecosystem.

Ricarda Lindner, German National Tourist Board
Lindner is optimistic about rising U.S. interest in cultural travel, culinary tourism and sustainable mobility — areas where Germany excels. But economic uncertainty, fluctuating long-haul travel costs and global tensions pose risks to traveler confidence. The priority, she said, is ensuring visitors continue to view Germany as welcoming, stable and enriching.

Lindene Cleary, Tourism Tasmania
Cleary sees strong demand for authentic, slow, personal travel — the essence of Tasmania’s appeal. Her concern is ensuring that these human-centered qualities translate effectively through increasingly AI-driven search and discovery. Destinations like Tasmania must adapt to ensure their stories remain visible in algorithmic environments that often reward scale over nuance.

Mat Orrego, Cornerstone Information Systems
Orrego is encouraged by progress in data transparency, automation and AI-ready infrastructure across corporate travel. But he warns that agentic AI and high-volume automation can cause cloud costs to spike without thoughtful guardrails. Messy data and technical debt also threaten the success of AI initiatives if not addressed.

Nick Whitfield, CityUnscripted
Whitfield is optimistic about travelers’ desire for meaningful, human-centered experiences. His concern is that scale and automation may homogenize travel, pushing the industry toward what sells easiest rather than what’s most meaningful or sustainable. Technology must disperse demand and enhance personalization—not amplify sameness.

Wendy Olson Killion, Rome2Rio
Killion sees a major shift toward multimodal, intentional travel. When travelers understand how to move between places, lesser-known destinations can thrive more equitably. But digital infrastructure still lags behind traveler intent. AI helps, she said, but only when paired with human-validated data and local insight.

David Armstrong, HolidayPirates
Armstrong is optimistic about AI’s power to increase efficiency in sourcing, editorial workflows and publishing. But he worries about global conflicts affecting demand and traveler safety. Wars and geopolitical tensions have already disrupted travel, and he fears more may emerge.

Kei Shibata, Venture Republic and Trip101
Shibata is heartened by the resilience of global travel demand despite inflation, climate pressures and geopolitical turbulence. His concern centers on AI overhype. He warns that startups without AI-driven value propositions may struggle for capital, potentially distorting innovation across the sector.

Tags: phocuswire

Travel Leaders Share Top Concerns and Optimism for 2026

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