Three in four travel agents now use AI tools, with the Asia-Pacific region ahead of every other market in adoption, according to a new report from Amadeus, the Madrid-based global distribution system operator.

The headline figure — equivalent to 75% of agents surveyed — marks a structural shift in how retail travel is sold, with Amadeus citing APAC as the geography pushing AI use cases furthest. The company has not disclosed the sample size, regional weighting, or the specific categories of AI tools covered in the report.

What is Amadeus actually measuring?

Without published segmentation, the 75% figure should be read as a top-line usage rate rather than a measurement of how deeply AI replaces manual workflows. An agent using a chatbot to draft client emails differs materially from one running AI to re-shop fares or assemble multi-segment packages.

Adoption and integration are not the same thing. The next data point worth tracking is share of revenue, not share of users.

Why does APAC lead?

APAC has consistently outpaced other regions in digital retail travel metrics, driven by high mobile penetration, super-app distribution models in markets such as China, India and Southeast Asia, and a travel agent base that has historically relied on technology to handle volume selling.

For sellers of travel, an APAC lead typically signals where supplier content, GDS functionality and AI integration will get stress-tested first.

What does this mean for distribution economics?

AI adoption in the agency channel affects three revenue lines:

• Supplier commissions. Agents using AI to upsell, dynamically package or assemble ancillaries can lift per-booking revenue. Airlines, hotel chains and tour operators should expect uneven upsell performance across agent tiers depending on AI maturity.
• GDS booking fees. Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport sit on per-segment booking fee models. If AI-driven productivity raises agent output, segment volumes rise and GDS revenues follow. If AI redirects bookings toward direct or NDC channels, GDS take rates erode.
• OTA and bedbank share. OTAs packaging inventory into agent-facing platforms face pricing pressure if AI tools give agents better visibility into direct or supplier-connect alternatives.

What should agents and DMOs do next?

For travel agencies, the strategic question is no longer whether to use AI but how to capture the productivity dividend. Tools that automate the lowest-value work — fare re-shopping, visa checks, document assembly — free agents to handle complex, high-yield bookings.

For destination marketing organizations, the implication is more subtle. AI tools reshape how agents retrieve destination content and assemble packages. DMOs that publish structured, machine-readable data on events, attractions and itineraries are more likely to be inserted into AI-assisted booking flows.

Forward outlook

The 75% adoption figure gives Amadeus a marketing platform to sell AI-enabled tools into its existing agency base and a benchmark to pressure Sabre and Travelport on the same shelf. The next test is whether the share of bookings touched by AI rises in line with the share of agents using it — a figure the next report cycle will determine.