Rebuilding travel for AI agents

_{THE SHIFT TO AGENTIC TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE}

Most travel API structures still mirror human UX patterns: filters, stars, price bands, location. But the next user isn’t a human. It’s an AI agent trying to understand intent, context, images, and preferences, and then make decisions on its own.

Together with Nuitée, this week we unpack what it really takes to build distribution for AI systems (not just add “AI” on top), and why they decided to rebuild their entire stack around this idea.

It’s a proper look at agentic travel infrastructure, embedded distribution, and where booking flows are actually heading. 

Read the full piece →

_{MILANO-CORTINA: THE BIG PICTURE}

As Milano-Cortina 2026 kicks off, Italy is not just preparing for a global event. It’s testing how its tourism system holds up under pressure: across cities and mountain regions, infrastructures and communities, promotion and governance.

We spoke with Alessandra Priante, President of ENIT, about what’s changing beneath the surface of Italian tourism, from shifting traveler motivations to resilience, data, and the legacy question behind Milano-Cortina 2026.

_{HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CONVERSATION}

• From where to why: Travel decisions are increasingly driven by motivation, meaning, and identity, not destinations alone.

• Resilience is strategic: It’s about reading weak signals early and acting intentionally, not normalizing crisis.

• The Olympics as a stress test: Milano–Cortina is less about the Games themselves and more about what still works after 2026.

_{THE FULL CONVERSATION}

FutureTravel: What feels most different about this moment in Italian tourism?

Alessandra Priante: Tourism is going through a paradigm shift. For a long time, it was organized around where people travel. Today, the real question is why they travel.

Motivations like meaning, wellbeing, identity, learning, and belonging now matter more than the destination itself. Italy is starting to internalize this shift, rethinking tourism not as a set of places, but as a system of experiences, values, and narratives.

At the same time, there’s growing awareness that tourism can no longer be managed through promotion alone. It requires governance, data, skills, and long-term choices. We are moving, not without friction, from volume-driven growth to purpose-driven development.

FT: What capabilities does Italy need to build to stay resilient?

AP: Resilience today means reading weak signals early and responding without becoming numb.

Geopolitical shocks risk becoming normalized, which is dangerous. Tourism depends heavily on trust, perception, and social cohesion. Ignoring complexity doesn’t make it disappear.

Italy needs to strengthen 3 capabilities:
1 - advanced data governance, where AI connects fragmented datasets and supports real-time decisions;
2 - human capital, with destination managers skilled across sustainability, digital tools, and community engagement;
3 - systemic coordination, treating tourism as strategic infrastructure, not a standalone sector.

Resilience is about staying alert, adaptive, and intentional.

FT: What does good public–private collaboration look like today?

AP: Good collaboration today is less about partnerships on paper and more about shared intelligence.

Public institutions provide vision, rules, interoperable data systems, and long-term objectives. The private sector brings experimentation, technology, and speed. AI can help align decisions across actors, rather than increase fragmentation.

In Italy, the collaborations that work best are place-based, data-informed, and outcome-driven. They focus on managing flows, improving residents’ quality of life, and strengthening local value chains. True collaboration is continuous, transparent, and built on trust.

FT: What does Milano-Cortina 2026 represent beyond the Games?

AP: Milano-Cortina 2026 is a globally unique moment for Italy. It’s the first truly distributed Olympics, spread across cities, alpine areas, and mountain regions. This makes it a real-world experiment in territorial integration, mobility, infrastructure, and destination management at scale.

The key issue, however, is not the Games themselves. It’s the day after.

The real opportunity lies in the legacy: smarter and more sustainable infrastructure, better-connected territories, stronger local tourism ecosystems, and data-driven governance that lasts beyond 2026. Success will be measured not by visibility during the Olympics, but by what still works once the spotlight moves on.