Agoda Survey: 53% of Asian Travelers Use AI to Plan Trips
Agoda's 2027 Asia Travel Pulse finds AI planning use jumped from 33% to 53%, but most travelers insist on final say over hotel bookings.
November 9, 2026 · 4 min read
Executive summary
53% of surveyed Asian travelers use AI to plan trips, up from 33% last year, while 89% want to retain some control over hotel bookings.
Key metrics
Key takeaways
- AI use for travel planning rose from 30% to 63% in Vietnam and from 35% to 63% in Taiwan.
- Only 7% of surveyed travelers would use AI to make a booking, compared with 64% using it to build an itinerary.
- Thirty-eight percent would let an AI agent book a hotel in some form, but 23% require final review before confirmation.
- Real reviews ranked first as a trust factor at 25%, followed by information-source transparency at 24%.
- Agoda’s AI-powered content system matches hotel photos with guest reviews across more than 700 million images in over 40 languages.
Asian travelers have embraced artificial intelligence for the research-heavy early stages of trip planning, but they are not yet ready to hand over the final booking decision.
Agoda's 2027 Asia Travel Pulse, released Wednesday, found that 53% of surveyed travelers now use AI to plan their trips, up from 33% a year earlier, while 89% want to keep some control over the hotel booking itself.
The findings, based on a survey of 3,395 travelers across 11 Asian markets conducted in September and October 2026, suggest the travel industry's AI adoption is outpacing consumer willingness to delegate transactions. Only 7% of respondents said they would use AI to make a booking, compared with 64% who use it to build an itinerary.
Regional Adoption Surges in Vietnam and Taiwan
The survey's regional breakdown shows the sharpest increases in AI planning use occurred in Vietnam, where usage more than doubled from 30% to 63%, and Taiwan, where it nearly doubled from 35% to 63%. Travelers in Taiwan (75%) and South Korea (73%) were the most likely to use AI to build an itinerary.
Beyond itinerary building, 45% of travelers use AI for travel inspiration and 44% for comparing hotels or flights. The data points to a clear pattern: AI is being deployed as a research assistant rather than a booking agent, with travelers retaining the transaction decision.
The Booking Control Gap
Among those open to AI-assisted booking, conditions apply. Of the 38% who would let an AI agent book a hotel in some form, nearly a quarter (23%) would allow it only with their final review before confirmation, and 9% would limit it to simple or low-cost bookings. Just 6% would completely trust an AI agent to book for them.
South Korea and Vietnam showed the highest openness to AI booking, with more than six in ten travelers in each market willing to let an AI agent book a hotel in some form. In South Korea, 39% would do so with their final review, compared with 23% across the region. Vietnam had the highest share of travelers who would trust an AI agent completely, at 19%, more than three times the regional figure.
Trust Factors: Reviews and Transparency
When asked what would most increase their trust in an AI travel assistant, 25% of travelers chose real reviews from other travelers, followed by showing where its information comes from (24%), being able to contact a real person for help (18%) and explaining why it recommends something (15%).
Real reviews were selected most often in South Korea (33%). Travelers in Thailand (30%) and Japan (29%) placed the most weight on knowing where information comes from, while access to a real person ranked highest in the Philippines (27%) and Hong Kong SAR (25%).
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.Idan Zalzberg, Chief Technology Officer, Agoda
Agoda's AI Tooling and Strategic Outlook
Agoda is developing its own AI tools with these trust priorities in mind. Its AI-powered multimodal content system matches hotel photos with the guest reviews that describe them, covering more than 700 million images in over 40 languages, so travelers can see what previous guests experienced.
The company's AI Assistant, recently launched in the Agoda app, lets travelers plan and manage a trip through conversation, with hotel recommendations that include real-time pricing and availability.
For enterprise technology leaders across Asia Pacific, the survey underscores a broader pattern in consumer-facing AI: adoption of AI for research and planning is accelerating faster than acceptance of autonomous transaction execution.
The gap between the 53% using AI to plan and the 6% willing to fully delegate booking suggests that trust mechanisms — verified reviews, source transparency and human escalation paths — remain critical design requirements for AI agents in commerce.
The full 2027 Agoda Asia Travel Pulse is available at ago-da.co/2027-asia-travel-pulse.
Editorial FAQs
How many Asian travelers use AI for trip planning?
Fifty-three percent of surveyed Asian travelers use AI to plan trips, up from 33% last year.
Do travelers want AI to book hotels for them?
Most want to retain control. Fifty-seven percent prefer to book a hotel themselves, while 32% would allow AI to book only with conditions attached; 6% would completely trust an AI agent.
What do travelers use AI for when planning trips?
The most common uses are building an itinerary at 64%, getting travel inspiration at 45%, and comparing hotels or flights at 44%.
What would increase trust in an AI travel assistant?
Real reviews from other travelers ranked highest at 25%, followed by showing where information comes from at 24%, access to a real person at 18%, and explaining recommendations at 15%.