Insights & Inspirations | Travel Tech: Shaping Tomorrow’s Tourism in a Shifting Regulatory Landscape

At the 2025 WTA • Xianghu Dialogue held recently in Hangzhou, China, Mr. Emmanuel Mounier, Secretary-General of Global Travel Tech, delivered a keynote speech titled "Travel Tech: Shaping Tomorrow’s Tourism in a Shifting Regulatory Landscape". The following is an excerpt from his address.

Global Travel Tech (GTT) was founded in 2024 as a body representing the world’s leading enterprises in travel technology. Today, technology plays an increasingly vital role in driving economic growth. 42% of all travel-related commerce now occurs online — a marked increase from the much lower figure recorded just six years ago. The tourism industry is inherently international, and this characteristic is becoming more pronounced, whether in the United States, the EU, or across Asia and ASEAN nations. It is within this global context that GTT was established. Our members, who span five continents, are not only technological pioneers in their respective markets but also leaders in the industry. We look forward to collaborating with organizations like the World Tourism Alliance to foster industry-wide dialogue.

First, it is essential to outline the current structure of the tourism ecosystem. Travelers typically begin their journey online via websites or mobile apps, which often serve as comparison tools directing users to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). Through OTAs, travelers can book flights, hotels, or engage travel management companies. At the same time, these OTAs — alongside large digital platforms such as search engines — provide itinerary planning and traveler support. Whether targeting businesses (B2B) or consumers (B2C), travel service providers reach users primarily through these two channels.

As airlines, hotels, and other suppliers build their own direct sales channels via official websites, they enter direct competition with travel agencies. This raises a compelling question: in an era of expanding direct sales, what role do travel agencies continue to play? Some might assume that online platforms and direct channels are merely indirect competitors, given the limited market share involved. Yet the reality is quite the opposite. Globally, OTA market share is steadily rising year after year. We observe that intermediaries in the airline sector are continuing to expand, with leading players gaining greater market share through stronger bargaining power. A similar trend is evident in the hotel industry. In most markets, close to half of all bookings are made via OTAs. Over recent years, the overall OTA market share has stabilized at just under 30%, with no signs of decline in the foreseeable future.

Within this landscape, the new frontiers of travel are especially notable — particularly in digital media and experiences. Today, tourism experiences represent the industry’s largest growth opportunity. 63% of travelers prioritize the activities and experiences available at the destination when choosing where to go. 52% of Gen Z travelers are willing to spend more on experiential consumption. Notably, in 2024, only 22% of experience-related bookings are made online, compared to 77% for flights and 61% for hotels. This reveals significant untapped potential for online penetration across the global travel market. Gen Z is actively reshaping consumption trends: 83% of Chinese respondents, for example, expressed willingness to book and pay for experiences directly through social media platforms.

Railway travel represents another major trend. China is the world’s largest railway travel market, with Europe following closely and experiencing rapid growth. Since 2010, the size of the European railway travel market has quadrupled. For many travelers, high-speed rail — with its compelling sustainability advantages — has become a premium choice comparable to air travel, and now even influences destination selection. Notably, the online booking penetration rate for rail has already exceeded that of air travel.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, is becoming a central focus at industry conferences. Widely viewed as a transformative force across the economy, it is certainly shaping the tourism sector as well. In the coming two years, billions of people are expected to use AI tools for travel planning. What does this mean for the industry? Unlike traditional search engines, which often offer limited information, AI can provide richer, more personalized recommendations, naturally steering users toward AI-powered platforms for trip planning.

So, what implications does this hold for travel technology companies? Some might question: Will this render OTAs obsolete? Indeed, AI demonstrates the capacity to perform core OTA functions, from data aggregation and price comparison to itinerary creation and booking. Yet, rather than being replaced, OTAs are actively integrating AI technologies into their own platforms to enhance their services. For example, OpenAI has partnered with Expedia to launch a new AI-powered travel service. While users can search for and plan hotels through the AI interface, the final transaction is still completed via Expedia’s website. This is because the effectiveness of AI is highly dependent on the quality and depth of the data it can access, and established OTAs like Expedia serve as crucial repositories of reliable, high-quality travel data.

For travel service providers, the AI revolution raises an open question: as the next generation of AI tools is adopted at an unprecedented pace, the tourism distribution model may be on the verge of a paradigm shift. In this evolving landscape, what role will intermediaries play? Will users increasingly bypass traditional search engines? Can OTAs successfully integrate into the AI ecosystem? Is this transformation a threat or an opportunity?

In this context, we must recognize the transformative power of the platform economy. Over the past decade, both in China and globally, platforms have functioned as digital marketplaces connecting supply and demand. Though these entities typically do not own physical assets, they have achieved sustained growth through network effects, gradually gaining market dominance and, in some cases, creating a "winner-takes-most" dynamic. This disruption has already reshaped traditional industries such as retail, transportation, and hospitality, and it presents new regulatory challenges spanning areas like taxation, illegal content distribution, and fair market competition. Given that tourism technology companies are generally smaller than global tech giants and primarily serve as intermediary service providers rather than broad social platforms, there is a clear need for differentiated regulation within the overall digital platform legislative framework.

(1) Regarding Taxation. The rise of the platform economy has introduced cross-border tax challenges. For example, a platform operating in Country A may connect local producers with consumers while its headquarters — and thus its profit reporting — is based in Country B. To address such issues, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has taken the lead in developing a global tax framework and promoting coordinated international action. It is important to emphasize that tourism technology platforms differ fundamentally from general digital platforms. Their core value lies in delivering "tourists" rather than merely "profits". Tourists generate tangible economic contributions to destination countries through spending on accommodation, dining, transportation, and experiences. Therefore, in designing a global digitalservices tax regime, a differentiated approach should be adopted for tourism platforms, avoiding a onesizefitsall policy.

(2) On the Market Competition. The competitive landscape of digital markets is being reshaped. For instance, when users search for "flights from New York" on certain search engines or platforms, they are often presented not only with flight options but also with hotel and related‑service recommendations. However, these platforms may engage in self‑preferencing — prioritizing their own services or those of commercial partners. Over time, such practices have undermined fair competition in the tourism market, meaning the choices users see may not be the most suitable for their needs but rather a result driven by the platform’s commercial interests. In response, the European Union has enacted the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which seeks to curb such behavior through proactive regulatory intervention.

(3) Concerning Content Governance. The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and related regulations impose stricter obligations on platforms regarding content responsibility, aiming to address challenges including unsafe or illegal products, political and hate speech, disinformation, child‑safety risks, and deceptive algorithmic practices. While some of these issues may appear indirectly related to tourism technology, the underlying algorithms and information ecosystems significantly influence tourism‑consumer rights.

Tourism technology has already profoundly transformed the entire tourism ecosystem. For smaller players, there may be short‑term adjustment challenges, but in the long run technology also creates new opportunities. The transparency enabled by digital tools provides a platform for "small but beautiful" enterprises to showcase their unique offerings. We firmly believe that the tourism‑technology sector holds enormous potential for collaboration — not only among industry stakeholders but also through constructive dialogue with regulators across jurisdictions.