Trip.com is celebrating the third anniversary of its real-time AI travel assistant, TripGenie, and has released fresh insights into how travelers around the world are using it.
According to Trip.com, AI-driven bookings for flights, hotels and other services made through TripGenie jumped roughly 400% year over year. Usage of practical tools—like real-time translation and menu guidance—rose about 300%, signaling that travelers are increasingly turning to the assistant while on the ground.
User behavior has shifted noticeably. Early on, people mostly asked simple, inspiration-driven questions about destinations. Lately, however, requests have gotten more complex—covering visa guidance, baggage rules and premium-service inquiries—showing travelers are using AI to remove uncertainty and make more confident choices.
Regional travel cultures produced distinct usage patterns. In Asia—especially Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, where short, frequent trips are common—travelers tended to use AI more during their trips, treating TripGenie as a companion for real-time attraction details and on-the-spot decisions.
By contrast, travelers from Europe and North America leaned on AI mainly during the pre-trip planning phase. Users in Germany and the U.K. in particular displayed an “advance planner” pattern, checking airline and hotel policies weeks before departure.
Korean users stood out. In 2025, TripGenie’s user base in Korea grew 117% year over year, with many people using the assistant across the entire travel journey—an “all-rounder” usage style.
About 40% of Korean travelers relied on AI for comprehensive trip planning, from building itineraries to packing lists and document checks. They frequently rechecked passport rules, visa paperwork and booking policies, showing a cautious, highly organized approach.
Users also demonstrated strategic spending habits that cut costs without sacrificing perks. About 12% of flight inquiries focused on discounts and promotions, while questions about lounge access (10%) and membership benefits were common.
When it came to choosing accommodations, Korean users prioritized taste-driven factors like ambiance and design. Unlike travelers from other countries who focused most on location and safety, Koreans used TripGenie to seek out unique design elements (8%) and specific views or scenery (5%), hunting for mood-driven, boutique stays that match their personal style.
Photo: Trip.com
