The travel industry has never met a buzzword it didn’t immediately stick into a PowerPoint presentation.
Blockchain. Metaverse. Web3. Synergy. Disruption.
Now, naturally, it’s artificial intelligence’s turn to swagger into the boardroom wearing an expensive suit and promising to “transform customer engagement”.
And according to a fresh report from HBX Group, much of the global travel distribution sector is enthusiastically climbing aboard the AI express, even if plenty are still fumbling around trying to find the right carriage.
The company’s newly released report, The State of AI in B2B Travel Distribution, offers a revealing snapshot of where the industry genuinely sits with artificial intelligence in 2026. Not where conference panellists pretend it sits. Not where LinkedIn prophets insist it sits. But where businesses dealing with actual bookings, actual customers, and actual operational headaches sit every single day.
And the findings are surprisingly honest.
The research, compiled from HBX Group’s worldwide network of travel agents, tour operators and wholesalers, shows that 65 per cent of respondents are already using AI in some form. More than half, 55 per cent, say AI will be critical or very important to their future success, while 64 per cent report the technology is already having a positive impact on daily operations.
On the surface, that sounds like a roaring success story.
But dig a little deeper, and the reality becomes rather more travel-industry-like: enthusiastic ambition mixed with mild confusion, operational caution, and a healthy amount of “we’re still working it out”.
In other words, business as usual.
AI is in the building, but mostly near reception
What emerges from the report is not an industry fully transformed by artificial intelligence, but one cautiously experimenting with it while trying not to break anything important.
For many businesses, AI currently sits in the “helpful assistant” category rather than the “trusted decision-maker” department.
It is writing marketing copy. Assisting customer service teams. Helping summarise content. Speeding up repetitive administrative tasks.
Useful? Certainly.
Revolutionary? Not quite yet.
The report makes it clear that while AI adoption is accelerating, widespread integration into core operational systems remains limited. The technology may be moving quickly, but human confidence is jogging along behind, carrying an instruction manual.
And frankly, that hesitation is understandable.
Travel is not an industry that can afford too many technological hallucinations. One rogue itinerary, one incorrect booking condition or one AI-generated misunderstanding involving a honeymoon in Vienna instead of Vietnam, and suddenly everyone becomes nostalgic for paper files and fax machines.
HBX Group’s Chief Strategy, Transformation & AI Officer, Javier Cabrerizo, cuts neatly to the heart of the issue.
“The barriers we are seeing particularly around trust, training and usability point to a broader shift in where the challenge now sits. This is no longer about access to AI. The technology is already available and evolving rapidly. The real challenge is adoption at scale: prioritising where value lies, embedding AI into day-to-day workflows, and building the confidence to use it effectively.”
That last line matters.
Because the travel sector no longer has an AI access problem. It has an AI confidence problem.
The Industry’s Biggest Obstacle? Humans
Ironically, the challenge facing artificial intelligence in travel turns out to be deeply human.
Training gaps. Trust concerns. Staff uncertainty. Operational integration. Workflow redesign.
The software exists. The enthusiasm exists. The glossy presentations definitely exist.
But embedding AI properly into the daily rhythm of a travel business is proving harder than simply purchasing a subscription and announcing a “digital transformation strategy” over coffee and stale muffins.
That is particularly true across B2B travel distribution, where systems are often sprawling, fragmented, and layered with decades of legacy processes that nobody dares touch for fear the entire booking engine will spontaneously combust.
The report suggests the next phase of AI adoption will be less about experimentation and more about execution.
That means practical outcomes.
Faster workflows. Smarter automation. Better operational efficiency. Improved servicing. Reduced manual handling.
Less hype. More horsepower.
And there is little doubt the pressure is mounting.
With rising labour costs, ongoing staffing shortages and travellers expecting instant responses at all hours of the day and night, the commercial incentive to deploy AI effectively is enormous.
The businesses that succeed will not necessarily be the loudest AI evangelists. They will be the operators quietly using the technology to save time, remove friction and improve customer experience without turning every interaction into a robotic word salad.
That balance will matter enormously.
Because despite all the excitement surrounding automation, travel remains stubbornly personal. People still want reassurance. Empathy. Experience. Human judgement.
Particularly when flights are cancelled, borders close, or luggage disappears somewhere between Singapore and Sydney.
No chatbot on Earth has yet mastered the delicate art of calming a furious traveller standing at Gate 32 with a missing suitcase and three screaming children.
Though, to be fair, neither have some airline call centres.
The full State of AI in B2B Travel Distribution report is available through HBX Group and explores regional adoption trends, operational use cases, and the barriers still slowing widespread implementation.
One thing, however, is becoming abundantly clear.
Artificial intelligence is no longer knocking politely on travel’s front door.
It has already walked in, ordered a coffee and started rearranging the furniture.
