More holidaymakers are turning to AI when planning or booking their trips, according to travel association ABTA. The body found that 8% of travellers were using AI - up from 4% last year - with younger holidaymakers more likely to use the technology when planning their trips. However, AI still lagged a long way behind more established methods - such as general internet searches and asking family and friends. Overall, the number of people taking a holiday continued a recent trend of climbing back towards pre-pandemic levels, ABTA said. The travel body described the increase in customers using AI as both a challenge and an opportunity.

First you could book a flight online. Then came online travel agents. And now you might check in for your hotel via mobile, a computer could set the price, while a chatbot answers your queries. Some travel experts expect the first autonomous cargo flights to start within several years, while big data analysis is on the rise at internet-based firms like Expedia, Lastminute.com and Skyscanner. "We have to reinvent the place of the man in the system," says Fabrice Otaño, chief data officer at AccorHotels group.

First you could book a flight online. Then came online travel agents. And now you might check in for your hotel via mobile, a computer could set the price, while a chatbot answers your queries. Some travel experts expect the first autonomous cargo flights to start within several years, while big data analysis is on the rise at internet-based firms like Expedia, Lastminute.com and Skyscanner. "We have to reinvent the place of the man in the system," says Fabrice Otaño, chief data officer at AccorHotels group.