According to a new ‘State of Travel’ survey from Skift, the travel tech landscape is undergoing a monumental shift.

AI is no longer just a buzzword in travel: it is actively changing how consumers research, choose, and book their holidays.

1. Planning v. Booking: The AI Trust Deficit

While consumers are increasingly comfortable using AI during the research phase, the possible good news is that currently they are not ready to book through it.

It means that those tour operators and agents planning ahead, and already integrating AI into their booking processes, will be best placed to win consumers when that change does come.


2. Affluent Travelers Lead AI Adoption

The Skift research shows a direct correlation between household income and AI travel planning tool adoption – the more a household earns, the more likely they are to use AI in researching their holiday.

Given that the ski demographic is typically weathier than the average household, it’s another indicator that the snowsports industry needs to prioritise AI integration and product.

3. Brand Loyalty is Under Threat

Companies should be mindful that consumers show little loyalty when offered better deals by AI, with 55% likely or very likely to ditch brands in favour of an AI recommendation.

4. Expect fewer ‘Search’ results

The journey from initial discovery to booking is compressing. Traditional Google searches with 10 results have already been replaced by ‘AI Overviews’ + 3-5 results, leading to fewer clicks.

Expect that to reduce further, as ‘conversational’ AI assistants come into play. Optimization strategies must shift toward Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to ensure your business falls in the top three recommendations.

5. Consumers Outpacing Operators

Consumer adoption of AI trip planning has surged by +124% YoY, yet the survey shows only 2% of travel organizations have scaled agentic AI capabilities.

Travellers now expect instant, highly context-aware answers regarding lift passes, equipment hire, transfer logistics, childcare options, and real-time snow conditions.

Ski businesses that rely on 24-hour response windows for email inquiries or formatted answers will quickly lose prospective guests to operators utilizing agentic AI for 24/7 inquiry handling, tailored itinerary building, and frictionless pre-booking support.

Lessons for the UK Snowsports Industry

  1. Be AI-findable: Ensure your properties, packages and resort content are structured and optimized for AI discovery.
  2. Maintain the Human Touch: Use AI to power inspirational research, but keep the booking channel transparent and human-supported.
  3. Target High-Net-Worth Users: Recognize that affluent skiers are early adopters of AI tools, so tailor digital marketing to match their evolving search habits.
  4. Close the Tech Gap: Don’t fall into the 98% of travel businesses lagging behind. Implementing smart conversational tools now gives UK ski operators a sharp competitive edge for the future.