Holiday planning is already entering a new era, with Australians increasingly moving beyond the traditional process of opening Google, searching through dozens of options and piecing a trip together themselves.
Instead, travellers are turning to AI to articulate what they are looking for and bring relevant options together in a matter of seconds.
That shift is changing not only how people plan and book holidays, but how travel businesses compete for customers.
AI is moving beyond simply helping us find information to understanding preferences, making recommendations and bringing multiple sources of information together in a more personalised way.
For travellers, that means less time spent searching, comparing options and navigating the admin that can make holiday planning feel like a chore.
At the same time, convenience does not remove the need for judgement.
AI can streamline the planning process, but travellers still need to sense-check recommendations, verify important details and ensure the final itinerary reflects their own preferences.
For travel businesses, the implication is equally significant, as earning a place in the recommendations AI delivers is becoming an increasingly important part of being discovered.
The way we plan holidays is changing
The shift is already evident in the way people are interacting with AI.
Rather than searching for individual components of a holiday, a traveller can simply describe what they are looking for.
For example, asking for 10 days in Queensland, travelling with family, with a mix of beaches, nature and good food, and receiving a tailored starting point in seconds.
Google has traditionally helped us find information, AI is just increasingly helping us make sense of it.
By considering factors such as budget, interests, dates, travel companions and the type of experience someone is looking for, AI is bringing disparate information together and making recommendations that are more closely aligned to the individual.
The next step is already taking shape as AI becomes more integrated into the tools we use every day.
As assistants gain access to information such as calendars, preferences and previous interactions, the experience is moving from simply responding to a request towards anticipating needs.
Over time, that means an AI assistant could identify an upcoming window of availability, suggest a destination based on established preferences, compare flights and accommodation, build an itinerary and present the options for approval.
AI can plan the trip, but it can’t own the decision
That does not mean travellers should hand over complete control.
AI is already proving valuable for generating ideas, building itineraries, comparing options and surfacing experiences people may not have considered, but its role is best viewed as an intelligent planning partner, rather than the final authority.
Travel information can change quickly, with prices, availability, opening hours, entry requirements and local conditions all subject to change.
Important details should therefore always be checked against the original source before booking, particularly when it comes to aspects such as, visa requirements, government travel advice and local regulations.
The opportunity is to let AI take on the heavy lifting, while keeping human judgement at the centre of the decisions that matter. Used well, the technology makes travel planning faster, more personalised and considerably less cumbersome, without removing the traveller from the process.
Businesses now need to earn AI’s recommendation
For travel businesses, the implications are even broader. As customers increasingly ask AI which car rental, hotel, airline, or destination is right for them, AI is becoming another layer between businesses and their customers.
That changes the marketing equation. Businesses have spent years competing for visibility through Google, SEO, advertising and reviews, but now they also need to ensure their information is accurate, credible, transparent and useful enough for AI to understand, assess and recommend.
AI creates an opportunity to connect customers with businesses that genuinely meet their needs, rather than simply those that rank highest in traditional search.
But it also creates a new visibility challenge, in that, if AI does not surface a business, it risks being overlooked.
That makes the fundamentals of a strong travel brand more important, not less, with accurate information, genuine reviews, strong experiences and transparency helping build the signals AI uses to determine relevance and trust.
The competition is therefore shifting from winning attention to earning a place in the AI-driven consideration set.
The future of travel planning is not about replacing human decision-making with AI. It is about using AI to remove friction from the planning process, while giving travellers better, more personalised information to make decisions with confidence.
For businesses, the shift is already underway and evolution is necessary.
