For several days in Las Vegas, Expedia Group used Explore 2026 to unveil its vision for the future of travel. Behind the product announcements, AI demonstrations, and discussions around APIs, a broader message emerged: the tourism industry is entering a new phase, driven more by data, personalization, and technology platforms.

Through conferences, interviews and roundtables organized during the event, Expedia detailed how the group wants to evolve its role in the global travel ecosystem.

The message is clear: Expedia no longer wants to be seen simply as a booking platform. The group is seeking to strengthen its role as a technological infrastructure capable of supporting travelers, partners, and tourism professionals across a much broader part of the journey.

Summary

How AI is transforming advertising in tourism

Artificial intelligence is becoming an operational layer of travel

AI was one of the central themes of Explore 2026. Expedia presented several features capable of simplifying search, comparison and booking, notably through queries formulated in natural language.

On Vrbo, travelers will soon be able to describe their ideal stay in their own words to get more personalized results. Hotels.com is also rolling out tools designed to accelerate decision-making, such as AI Property Compare and Property Expert, which automatically answers travelers' questions based on property data and guest reviews.

But the stakes go beyond consumer use. Expedia is progressively integrating AI into its partner tools, B2B interfaces, advertising solutions, and API capabilities. The goal is to reduce the technical and operational complexity required to create smoother travel experiences.

Personalization is becoming the new standard

Another message that came up in several speeches was that travellers expect experiences that are more tailored to their preferences, budget, travel context and habits.

Mindy Rehse, Vice President, Americas at Expedia Group B2B, summed it up clearly:

"Travelers are looking for highly personalized experiences."

For Expedia, this evolution is directly transforming tourism distribution. APIs, connectivity, and data are becoming essential to enable partners to offer more tailored experiences based on markets, traveler behavior, and business objectives.

The group also emphasizes a key principle: there is no single model. Each partner must be able to build an experience consistent with its own audience, positioning, and customer relationship.

Expedia strengthens its role as a technology infrastructure

One of the major takeaways from Explore 2026 concerns the evolution of Expedia Group's positioning in B2B.

Chris Hodges, who leads technology partnerships and connectivity operations at Expedia Group, detailed the rise of APIs and connectivity in travel distribution.

Expedia Group B2B today reports working with 75,000 partners and 200,000 travel advisors. The group also states that its platform processes approximately 21 billion API calls per day, according to its 2025 internal data.

These figures demonstrate how central technological infrastructure is becoming to global tourism distribution. For partners, the challenge is no longer simply to access hotel or airline offerings, but to be able to integrate travel services into their own environments: loyalty platforms, banks, agencies, corporate players, marketplaces, or third-party applications.

Rapid API plays a central role in this strategy. Expedia aims to gradually expand its capabilities to include accommodation, activities, mobility, additional services, and air travel.

Tourism marketing is shifting towards intent signals

Explore 2026 also confirmed a profound transformation in tourism marketing.

Jennifer Andre, Global Vice President of Expedia Group Advertising, explained that travel advertising now relies more on behavioral data, real-time traveler signals, and understanding the purchase context.

According to Expedia, destinations and tourism brands are no longer solely focused on maximizing volume. They want to attract more qualified travelers, capable of generating greater economic value, staying longer, or contributing more effectively to the distribution of travel flows across territories.

Jennifer Andre summarizes this evolution:

"From now on, it's no longer just about quantity, but above all about the quality of the travelers welcomed."

Tourism marketing is therefore becoming more data-driven, more contextualized, and increasingly assisted by artificial intelligence. But it would be an exaggeration to speak of total automation: the main objective is to help advertisers better understand market signals and adjust their campaigns more quickly.

AI does not replace tourism professionals

Despite the central role played by artificial intelligence during the event, Expedia also sought to reassure travel professionals.

The message repeated during the discussions is clear: AI should support advisors and partners, not replace them.

Mindy Rehse put it this way:

"We use AI to assist travel agents, not to replace them."

Expedia also acknowledges the current limitations of AI:

"AI doesn't always give the right answers."

This question of trust is becoming central. For Expedia, the future winners will not only be those who automate the fastest, but those who know how to combine reliable data, personalization, human oversight, and a seamless customer experience.

Additional experiences and services are becoming strategic

Explore 2026 also confirmed Expedia's desire to expand its ecosystem beyond accommodation.

The acquisition of Tiqets, a specialist in activities and experiences, as well as the planned acquisition of CarTrawler, a B2B player in car rental and mobility, illustrate this expansion strategy.

Expedia aims to cover a broader portion of the traveler journey: activities, experiences, mobility, travel protection, additional services, and payments. This strategy responds to a strong market trend: partners want to integrate more comprehensive, seamless, and personalized experiences into their own channels.

What tourism professionals need to know

Explore 2026 shows that global tourism is entering a new phase of technological transformation. AI is becoming an important operational layer, APIs are emerging as strategic infrastructures, personalization is becoming a standard, and data is taking center stage in tourism competitiveness.

But the event also serves as a reminder of a crucial point: the future of tourism will not be solely technological. Companies capable of combining innovation, trust, data quality, and a deep understanding of travelers could gain a lasting advantage.

In short

Expedia Group is strengthening its positioning around AI, APIs and personalization.
The group wants to support a larger part of the traveler journey, beyond just booking.
Expedia Group B2B claims 75,000 partners, 200,000 travel advisors and 21 billion daily API calls.
AI is presented as an assistance tool, not as a replacement for tourism professionals.
Experiences, activities, additional services and mobility solutions become strategic relays.
Tourism marketing is shifting towards a better understanding of traveler intent signals and value.

Thanks

A huge thank you to Fatima, Stephanie, Ludivine, Tiffany, Kyle, Kevin and the entire Expedia Group team for organizing Explore 2026 and for the particularly professional and warm welcome throughout the event.

These exchanges have provided a better understanding of the transformations currently underway in the global travel industry.