USD 1.4tn
Travel spending growth attributed to AI-unlocked potential
Euromonitor projects travel spending to grow by USD 1.4 trillion over five years, largely driven by AI-unlocked potential.
Euromonitor InternationalFive years from 2025
TopicIn this topic4 indicators · 3 sources
Economics
What the shift is worth, where the money moves, and which claims are forecasts rather than measurements.
Economic figures in this field divide cleanly into two kinds, and conflating them is the most common error in industry commentary.
Measured quantities — platform guest nights, marketing budgets, reported productivity gains — come from statistical offices or from surveys with disclosed samples. Projected quantities, such as the USD 1.4 trillion of travel spending growth attributed to AI-unlocked potential, are forecasts built on assumptions that the publisher may or may not disclose.
We label both, and we do not blend them. A forecast is shown as a forecast on every page where it appears.
- Share of travel venture funding going to AI-enabled startups45%
McKinsey & Company · First half of 2025 · Global
- DMOs increasing digital marketing spend41%
Sojern · 2026 · Global
- AI-adopting agencies reporting measurable productivity gains40%
Sabre · April–May 2025 · Global (14 countries)
- US travel executives reporting AI improves personalisation33%
McKinsey & Company · September 2025 · United States
Every figure carries its publisher, sample and field period.
Indicators
45%
10%2023Share of travel venture funding going to AI-enabled startups
45% of travel venture capital funding went to AI-enabled startups in the first half of 2025, up from about 10% in 2023.
McKinsey & CompanyFirst half of 2025
951.6m
EU guest nights booked via Airbnb, Booking and Expedia
951.6 million EU guest nights were booked via Airbnb, Booking and Expedia in 2025, per Eurostat's experimental statistics.
Eurostat2025
40%
AI-adopting agencies reporting measurable productivity gains
40% of AI-adopting agencies report a measurable productivity impact — meaning three in five do not.
SabreApril–May 2025
41%
13%cut spendDMOs increasing digital marketing spend
41% of DMOs increased digital spend, 41% held it flat and 13% cut it.
Sojern2026
+25%
Projected growth in tourism AI adoption over five years
UN Tourism projects a 25% growth rate in tourism AI adoption over five years.
UN Tourism2025–2030
33%
36%higher-quality outputsUS travel executives reporting AI improves personalisation
33% of US travel executives say AI improves customer personalisation and 36% report higher-quality outputs.
McKinsey & CompanySeptember 2025