The travel industry stands at a critical crossroads between ambition and execution. Travellers now expect brands to recognise them instantly, anticipate their needs, and deliver relevance at every moment. While the aspiration for personalisation is nearly universal, the ability to deliver it at scale remains elusive.

This research with Skift reveals that the gap between intent and impact is not about awareness, it’s about readiness. Travel leaders overwhelmingly understand that customer data is the engine of growth, loyalty, and seamless experiences. But most organisations are still early in unifying that data across fragmented systems and teams, leaving them unable to connect insights consistently across the traveler journey.

Closing this gap begins with a durable foundation representative of building a direct relationship with travellers using first party data. As third party relationships (third party identifiers) with travellers disappear and AI accelerates, first-party data that is unified, privacy-safe, and actionable becomes the prerequisite for competitive advantage. Brands that connect all customer signals into a single, real-time traveler profile will not only deliver personalised experiences, but also unlock measurable efficiency and ROI across marketing, loyalty, technology and customer service functions.

This report underscores a simple truth: personalisation begins with data readiness. By bridging ambition and execution, travel leaders can move from reactive to predictive, transforming traveller relationships in the process. Those who unify customer data today will define the future of recognition, relevance, and trust in travel. In this report:

• How traveler expectations are reshaping personalisation in travel
• Why first-party data is the foundation for readiness and loyalty
• Where industry confidence outpaces data integration
• How AI ambition collides with data reality
• What it takes to close the convergence gap and deliver measurable ROI

1. Traveler Expectations Set the Bar for Personalization
2. Industry Recognizes the Imperatives
3. Industry Ambition Outpaces Execution
4. AI Hypes Collides with Data Reality
5. Closing the Convergence Gap
6. Key Takeaways