RateHawk’s Futurecast event reveals travel’s next big shifts

RateHawk, the B2B booking platform of UAE-based Emerging Travel Group (ETG), has identified agentic artificial intelligence (AI), application programming interfaces (APIs) and changing traveller behaviour among the trends expected to reshape the travel industry over the next decade.

 

The findings emerged during the company’s Futurecast online event, which brought together executives from RateHawk, TikTok, Lufthansa City Center (LCC), Travelport and MakeMyTrip to discuss how travel businesses can adapt to rapid technological change, evolving customer expectations and growing market uncertainty.

 

AI was a key theme throughout the discussion, with industry leaders urging travel businesses to adopt the technology early while recognising the continued importance of human expertise. Felix Shpilman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Emerging Travel Group, said: “You cannot afford to wait. Start by automating simple tasks, one at a time, learn from the process and scale what works.” 

 

Ilya Kravtsov, Chief Commercial Officer at Emerging Travel Group, added that while agentic AI would “excel at finding answers and doing routine tasks”, travel professionals would remain essential for understanding context and delivering service with empathy.

 

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The panel also highlighted APIs as the next phase of travel distribution, enabling greater connectivity, automation and personalisation. Kravtsov said businesses increasingly want to focus on customer acquisition and service rather than managing multiple supplier integrations, adding that RateHawk is beta testing a Demand Shift tool to provide insights into emerging travel trends and demand patterns.

 

Changing traveller behaviour was another essential theme. Speakers said Generation Z travellers are placing greater trust in authentic content and social media than traditional advertising. Siiri Palisaar, Senior Director Sales Steering at LCC, said: “Travel agents should advertise and create content on social media and digital platforms themselves because it’s where their audience is.”

 

Astrid Kastberg, Managing Director of RateHawk, added that the pace of change in the industry is “only accelerating”, creating both opportunity and uncertainty for businesses as they adapt to new era of travel. 

 

Earlier this year, the company announced plans to expand its technology capabilities and strengthen its API offering as it entered its second decade. The platform currently provides access to more than 3.2 million accommodation options worldwide, including direct contracts with more than 250,000 properties, alongside flights from more than 450 airlines, transfers in more than 150 countries and a range of ancillary travel services.

 

For more information, visit www.ratehawk.com