Travel AI’s Trust Problem: Efficiency Is Rising, but Consumer Conversion Is Not

Trust emerged as one of the defining themes at Phocuswright Europe 2026, second only to artificial intelligence. During a closing discussion, industry experts questioned whether “trust” has simply become a new way of describing technology and services that work reliably. Mario Gavira, CMO of Travelier, argued that although AI is already delivering efficiency gains and cost savings, it has yet to produce a compelling consumer-facing feature comparable to email, mobile apps or Google Maps.

Gavira also challenged claims that conversational AI is rapidly becoming a new travel search and booking channel, noting that chatbot usage has not translated into meaningful conversions. Timothy O’Neil-Dunne of T2Impact was equally cautious about the outlook for travel startups, suggesting that major platforms now have stronger customer knowledge, service capabilities and competitive barriers than emerging players can easily overcome. The panel also discussed European regulation, the long-term future of travel and how AI could reshape the industry’s workforce.