Asian travellers embrace AI for planning, not booking

Agoda's 2027 Asia Travel Pulse shows that 53% of surveyed Asian travellers now use artificial intelligence to plan trips, up from 33% a year earlier.

The survey found travellers are far less willing to hand over the final booking decision to software. Across 11 Asian markets, 89% said they still want some degree of control over hotel bookings, while only 6% said they would fully trust an AI agent to complete a booking on their behalf.

Most respondents use AI at the start of the travel process rather than at the point of purchase. Building an itinerary was the most common use, cited by 64%, followed by finding inspiration at 45% and comparing hotels or flights at 44%.

Only 7% said they would use AI to make a booking.

The sharpest increases in AI use for travel planning were recorded in Vietnam and Taiwan. In Vietnam, usage rose from 30% to 63%, while in Taiwan it increased from 35% to 63%.

Travellers in Taiwan and South Korea were the most likely to use AI to build itineraries, at 75% and 73% respectively.

Booking caution

The data points to a divide between using AI for research and using it for transactions. While 38% of travellers said they would let an AI agent book a hotel in some form, most in that group would attach conditions.

Nearly a quarter of respondents, or 23%, said they would permit AI booking only if they could review the reservation before confirmation. Another 9% said they would limit AI booking to simple or low-cost reservations.

Among those surveyed, 57% said they would rather book a hotel themselves.

South Korea and Vietnam stood out as the markets most open to AI-assisted booking. More than six in 10 travellers in each market said they would allow an AI agent to book a hotel in some form.

In South Korea, 39% said they would allow AI booking with final review, compared with 23% across the region. Vietnam recorded the highest level of full trust, with 19% saying they would allow an AI agent to book entirely on their behalf, more than three times the regional figure.

Trust factors

The survey also examined what would make travellers more comfortable using AI tools. Real reviews from other travellers ranked first, chosen by 25% of respondents, followed closely by clear sourcing of information at 24%.

Access to a real person for help came next at 18%, while 15% said explanations of why a recommendation was made would improve confidence.

Preferences varied across markets. Real reviews were selected most often in South Korea, where 33% chose that option. Travellers in Thailand and Japan placed the greatest weight on knowing where information comes from, at 30% and 29% respectively. Access to a real person ranked highest in the Philippines at 27% and in Hong Kong SAR at 25%.

The findings suggest consumers are prepared to rely on AI for information gathering but remain cautious when money is involved. That caution appears to centre on transparency and oversight rather than outright rejection of the technology.

The results were based on a survey of 3,395 respondents across Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Idan Zalzberg, Chief Technology Officer at Agoda, said: "Research that used to take travelers hours can now be done in a single conversation with an AI assistant. When it comes to the booking itself, many travelers still want to make the final decision on their own terms. The findings give the industry a clear view of what helps travelers feel more confident using AI, including real reviews, clear sources and access to a person when they need one. At Agoda, we will continue to help travelers plan and book with confidence."

Agoda is using AI in its own consumer tools, including systems that match hotel photos with guest reviews and a conversational assistant inside its app that offers hotel recommendations with pricing and availability. Its platform lists more than 6 million holiday properties, more than 130,000 flight routes and more than 300,000 activities.