Published on
6 May 2026
Travel Agencies
Operational Efficiency
Future of Travel
Expert Tools
Scalable Systems
Tech Innovation
Travel Tech
AI in Travel
A recent analysis by Stripe Economics revisits the long-held belief that the demand for travel agents declined because consumers stopped needing them. However, data tells a different story.
When online booking platforms started to appear, simple transactional tasks that sustained agencies started to be automated. This pushed consumers towards self-service, where traditional agencies started to lose the operational foundation that had kept them viable.
Agencies who survived didn't disappear but moved towards more complex travel that require high-touch services, where human judgement matters. Stripe's data makes it clear that the market for curated travel persisted, but the infrastructure supporting it did not.
Agents relied on disconnected platforms where supplier data were scattered, itineraries had to be assembled manually and communication with travellers depended on slow repetitive email chains. Instead of a unified workflow, agents were forced to tie together dozens of tools that required manual work leading to lack of efficiency and time wasted.
The travel agent is not obsolete but lacks a scalable operational model. That is why the future of travel lies in the synergy between human expertise and technological intelligence.
Consumers want curation especially to navigate a complex travel itinerary, but they refuse to pay for inefficiency. For experts to stay relevant, their workflow has to be able to support this demand.
Did you know?
Skyscanner reports that 80% of Gen Z use smartphones to research and book trips and 58% already feel confident using AI to plan and book.
This means that in order to reach younger travellers, digital presence is no longer optional.
Travel experts need the speed of AI with the reliability of data. With the right platform that combines the two, operational friction that makes expertise slow and expensive is removed, allowing agents to save time and serve more travellers without compromising quality.
See how Cumbaya empowers agencies to stay competitive, scale, and thrive in a market that demands speed and efficiency.
AUTHOR
Gill Gonnissen
Hi! I'm Gill, co-founder and CPO at Cumbaya. I lead the product vision and front-end development behind our platform. I enjoy writing about trends and technologies that help agencies work more efficiently.
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