Where travel meets technology

Visa Asia Pacific chief marketing officer Danielle Jin discusses how AI, digital payments and changing traveller behaviour are reshaping the travel journey, and what destinations and travel businesses need to do to stay ahead

How are Asia-Pacific travellers changing, and what trends stand out most today?
Travellers across Asia-Pacific are becoming much more intentional about how they travel. Despite economic uncertainty and geopolitical developments, we’re not seeing people travel less. Instead, they’re planning more carefully, making practical choices and focusing on experiences that have personal meaning.

Our latest Visa’s 2026 Global Travel Intentions study shows that 63 per cent of travellers choose destinations within Asia-Pacific, drawn by familiarity, convenience and confidence. Increasingly, travel is being shaped by passion rather than simply the desire to take a holiday. Around two-thirds of respondents intend to travel for global concert tours, while more than half are interested in travelling for major sporting events. Another 37 per cent are motivated by authentic local experiences, whether that’s food, culture or heritage.

We’re also seeing travellers strike a balance between planning and spontaneity. While 79 per cent secure their accommodation before departure, many prefer to decide on dining, local transport and activities once they’re at the destination. They want the reassurance of having the essentials in place, but they also want the freedom to discover experiences along the way.

This tells us that travellers today are looking for journeys that feel personal rather than prescriptive, creating new opportunities for destinations to engage them throughout the entire travel experience.

How should destinations and travel businesses respond to these changing expectations?
The biggest shift is that digital readiness is no longer a competitive advantage; it’s becoming a basic expectation.

Almost all travellers in our study researched their trips online, while nearly half already use AI-powered tools during the planning process. That means destinations need to ensure they’re easy to discover wherever travellers are looking for inspiration, while providing accurate, relevant and engaging information throughout the customer journey.

Just as importantly, destinations need to understand what motivates people to travel. Consumers are increasingly choosing places that reflect their interests, whether that’s music, sport, gastronomy, wellness or local culture. Those that can package authentic experiences around these passion points, and make them simple to discover and book, will be better positioned to win travellers’ attention.

Technology certainly enables better travel experiences, but it’s the combination of digital convenience and meaningful local experiences that will set successful destinations apart.

One of the key Asia-Pacific findings of the Visa’s 2026 Global Travel Intentions study is that travellers increasingly research payment-related issues before departure, from security and card acceptance to exchange rates and transaction fees. What implications does this have for destinations and travel businesses seeking to build traveller confidence?
Digital payments are second nature to Asia-Pacific travellers. They expect the entire travel journey, from booking flights and hotels to paying for transport, shopping and dining at their destination, to be effortless.

As travellers become more practical and intentional, payment acceptance and security are no longer simply operational considerations; they have become part of the destination experience. In fact, our research found that nearly one in three Asia-Pacific travellers proactively researches payment information before travelling. Payment security is their biggest concern, cited by 33 per cent of respondents, while 27 per cent look at card acceptance, highlighting how important trust and convenience have become when choosing where to travel.

For destination marketers, this means travellers are evaluating not only the quality of attractions but also how seamless everyday spending will be once they arrive. Destinations that communicate secure, reliable and widely accepted payment options across transport networks, retail outlets and visitor attractions will be better positioned to build confidence and attract visitors. Removing friction from payments ultimately makes the overall travel experience more enjoyable and encourages visitors to spend with greater confidence.

Another finding is that nearly half of Asia-Pacific travellers are now using AI tools to find travel destinations and ideas. In your opinion, what should travel brands do to remain visible and relevant in this changing landscape?
AI is rapidly becoming the new front door for travel discovery. It will soon no longer be enough for brands and destinations to appear in traditional search results. As AI increasingly researches, recommends and eventually books travel on behalf of consumers, brands also need to be discoverable and readable by AI agents.

This shift is already well underway. Nearly half of Asia-Pacific travellers are using AI tools to discover destinations and generate travel ideas. AI is also influencing later stages of the decision-making journey, with 41 per cent using it to access reviews and recommendations, while 35 per cent rely on AI to search for tours and experiences. This demonstrates that AI is no longer just an inspiration tool; it is becoming a trusted travel planning companion.

To remain competitive, travel brands should ensure their content is clear, credible and well-structured so AI platforms can easily understand and recommend it. They also need to communicate what differentiates them, whether that’s pricing, accessibility or unique local experiences that cannot be found elsewhere. Collaborating with trusted travel platforms and partners will become increasingly important, as AI systems are more likely to prioritise reliable and authoritative sources when making recommendations.

This remains a new frontier for the travel industry, and organisations will adapt at different speeds. At Visa, we are supporting our clients and partners through AI advisory services that help them evolve from traditional search engine optimisation towards AI discoverability, enabling them to remain visible as traveller behaviour continues to evolve.

The Visa-Trip.com collaboration was launched to bring together travel discovery, personalised offers and seamless payments. How do you see this creating value for travellers, travel businesses and destinations across Asia-Pacific?
Our collaboration with Trip.com Group brings together two complementary strengths: trusted digital payments and one-stop travel discovery built around travellers’ passions and interests. Together, we are creating a more connected travel journey that links inspiration, personalised offers and seamless payments from the moment travellers begin planning until they arrive at their destination.

Trip.com Group has become a global Anchor Partner for Visa Destinations, our new experience-led programme that connects Visa cardholders with curated experiences inspired by local culture and authentic destination insights. Through this integration, travellers using the Trip.com Group ecosystem will be able to discover experiences that better reflect their interests, while Visa Infinite cardholders will enjoy exclusive Trip.com Group offers alongside access to Visa’s portfolio of sports, music and lifestyle partnerships.

The collaboration also reflects how traveller expectations are evolving. Consumers increasingly want discovery, booking and payments to work together seamlessly rather than as separate parts of the journey. By combining Trip.com Group’s travel ecosystem with Visa’s trusted global payment network, we can help travellers move more confidently across borders while creating new opportunities for destinations and travel businesses to reach high-value travellers through personalised experiences and offers.

Ultimately, we see this as benefiting the entire travel ecosystem by making travel more convenient, more rewarding and more relevant to today’s experience-driven traveller.