Tourism runs on growth, but the outlook is not without clouds. While the IFTM stirs Paris, travel agencies juggle between rampant AI, over-tourism, geopolitical tensions, and rising prices. To stay at the center of the map, they must adapt quickly and effectively: valuing the human element and on-the-ground expertise, inventing exclusive experiences, responding to the search for meaning and responsible expectations, all while mastering new digital tools.
Between positive numbers and shifting horizons, tourism is experiencing a paradoxical moment: demand is rebounding strongly, but the rules of the game are changing. At the IFTM in Paris, travel agencies and tour operators are on the front lines to reinvent value: leveraging artificial intelligence without losing the human touch, navigating over-tourism, dealing with geopolitics and inflation, while addressing the search for meaning and decarbonization. Their compass: on-the-ground expertise, exclusive and responsible experiences, more agile destination portfolios, and sharpened control over prices and currencies. An overview of a thriving… yet tense sector.
IFTM, showcase of a boom framed by new reflexes
The major Parisian event in the sector, the IFTM, opens for three days, in a decidedly favorable context. According to UN Tourism, international arrivals in the first six months of 2025 are nearing 690 million, up 5% versus 2024 and about 4% above pre-Covid levels. However, the euphoria comes with challenges: the explosion of AI usage, geopolitical reshuffling, rising air costs, and an increasing appetite for more responsible travel. Agencies are urged to up their game.
AI: from the era of clicks to the era of signature itinerary creation
Twenty years after the onset of the web, artificial intelligence is reshuffling the cards. Conversational tools, response automation, process optimization: behind the scenes, AI is streamlining customer service. But in the spotlight, it requires strengthening the added value. Professionals gathered around the Seto emphasize the same priority: shifting from a “reservation-taking” stance to becoming creators of travel, with itineraries not found online, and notable additional services (unique encounters, confidential bivouacs, privileged access). AI compiles; humans design, recommend, reassure, and surprise.
Clients demand clarity and serenity amidst abundance
In the era of information overload, travelers seek a compass: an interlocutor who simplifies, secures, and filters. Actors like Marco Vasco note that agents are more essential than ever for sorting information, articulating budget, season, constraints, and deep desires. This demand is coupled with a quest for meaning: working with local providers, respecting ecosystems, giving purpose to travel. The trend is settling in, and agencies that take it seriously build loyalty.
Over-tourism and impact: towards more virtuous models
A new grammar emerges: avoid crowds during peak seasons, better distribute tourist spending, and limit carbon emissions. Pioneers like Evaneos have popularized the “value captured locally” approach, publishing indices to inform about over-tourism and ceasing operations in certain destinations during saturated periods. The movement is expanding: for city breaks, trains are gradually becoming the preferred mode; for distant travel, longer and less frequent stays are favored. In the industry, collective initiatives are also emerging: the Seto invests in projects with a positive social impact, like Jiko Sawa in Kenya, to better distribute the benefits of travel.
At the territorial level, debates on urbanism, accommodation, and sustainable tourism are intensifying: how to welcome without distorting? How to share space, water, energy? Agencies play a role as architects of responsible itineraries, capable of smoothing flows and opening new horizons off the beaten path.
Geopolitics: the art of an agile portfolio
Crises and tensions are constantly reshaping the demand map. Neighboring countries of the Israel-Hamas conflict, such as Jordan and, more sporadically, Egypt, are feeling the repercussions. The war in Ukraine continues to erode Eastern Europe. The United States has experienced a noticeable decline in bookings, combining political context and rising prices. In the face of these waves, the winning strategy remains diversification: offering attractive and accessible alternatives. This summer, “value” destinations thrived: mainland Greece, Morocco, Tunisia, Rhodes, Crete. In France, the shift toward mountain towns (cooler and more affordable) benefited Savoie and Haute-Savoie, while some heritage cities like Avignon saw a great influx.
Prices, currencies, airlines: mastering the new equation
Price pressure remains strong, particularly on air travel destinations. Hence, a key skill has returned: currency arbitration. The example of Japan illustrates this shift well: the weakening of the yen has made stays significantly more competitive, rekindling demand. Conversely, expensive and distant markets are seeing their volumes erode. In the United States, even iconic hubs like the Los Angeles airport are no longer sufficient to offset the price effect for family travel. Agencies that closely monitor air basket prices, hotel chains, and exchange rates can capture these windows of opportunity.
Insurance, security, fluidity: innovations that reassure
In a world of uncertainties, travel insurance and protective services are becoming major commercial assets. Players like Assurever and its innovations enhance client trust: better-targeted guarantees, simplified journeys, responsive assistance. Integrated into the offering, these devices prevent travelers from navigating the jungle of fine print and reinforce the agency’s image as a comprehensive ally.
Territories and mega-projects: attracting without losing direction
Major projects, reconfigured resorts, amusement parks: destinations are reinventing themselves to capture new audiences. But caution is needed to maintain balance. The Vercors mega-project associated with Tony Parker illustrates the promises and questions: economic impact, sustainable development, local acceptability. Here again, agencies have a role to play: programming experiences that benefit local stakeholders, spreading flows, and educating demand about seasons, sustainable mobility and the sobriety of activities.
The future of travel: less often, longer, better
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, Nomade Aventure playfully projected tourism fifty years ahead: space orbits, abyssal diving, virtual reality… The exercise brings a smile, but the lesson is serious: travel will remain at the heart of humanity, it must still win its environmental bet, and can become genuinely useful (for biodiversity, intercultural dialogue, the local economy). Another insight: the hyper-viralization of “spots” gives the illusion of a saturated planet; in reality, a handful of locations concentrate the bulk of flows, leaving vast spaces for exploration — or for new ways of traveling in the same place.
2025 Adaptation Kit for agencies: the winning arsenal
Hyper-humanization: entrust sensitive cases to advisors “who have been there”, capable of empathy and informed decisions.
Co-pilot AI: automate repetitive tasks, focus teams on designing signature itineraries and relationships.
Modular offers: create flexible building blocks (sustainable mobility, homestays, local workshops, slow travel) to customize without exploding costs.
Local partnerships: prioritize local professionals, short-value circuits, responsible and traceable production.
Risk management: geopolitical monitoring, backup plans, integrated insurance and assistance, proactive communication.
Carbon and ethics: offer train alternatives for short trips, promote longer trips, make footprint and serious compensation transparent, linked to the sustainable tourism debate.
Community building: engage a community of travelers (experience sharing, clubs, events), create brand preference.
Continuous training: AI, cybersecurity, duty of care, storytelling, revenue management on currencies and air stocks.
Examples that inspire
Marco Vasco invests in impactful partnerships (e.g., educational programs in Southeast Asia) to meet the demand for meaning and traceability.
Evaneos has popularized direct relationships with receptive agencies and laid strong foundations against over-tourism (minimum stays for air travel, de-seasonalization).
The Seto supports a fairer “distribution of values” through dedicated funds, while advocating for a reasonable vision of travel.
Nomade Aventure reminds us that adventure is not just about the destination, but also about how to practice it: itineraries, seasons, mobility, encounters, chosen sobriety.
