As Trip.com makes inroads in Europe, Fred Fishlock, the company’s UK Country Lead, explains how it’s leveraging AI and a deep understanding of the Asian market to attract European travellers. Robbie Hodges reports

Trip.com is perhaps the biggest booking platform in Asia, serving over 20 million inbound travellers in 2025, with its logo splashed many an airport loading bay and countless hunks of ground support equipment. And yet, for European travellers, it has long remained one of the smaller stars in the constellation of OTAs.

But change is afoot. A confluence of factors – The White Lotus effect in Thailand, Japan National Tourist Organisation seducing Europeans with its promise of nagomi or wabi-sabi, favourable exchange rates and post-pandemic wanderlust – has put Asia firmly back on the map. Across social media, young people are “China-Maxxing” by adopting Chinese-inspired lifestyle habits spotted on TikTok, while trends linked to the Year of the Fire Horse stampeded into feeds earlier this year. People are yearning for new realities and finding them somewhere between the Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans, often with Trip.com’s support.

It’s just the start, says Fred Fishlock, Trip.com’s Country Lead in the UK. The company recently released a report – The Growing Allure of Asia: Travel Trends across Europe and the UK – which digs deep into UK-to-Asia travel habits. Fishlock speaks to Globetrender about the growing Europe-to-Asia trend and how it’s likely to shape the future of travel.  

Europe-to-Asia bookings are rising sharply. What has changed over the past 12–18 months to turn aspiration into actual bookings?

"The interest in Asia hasn’t suddenly appeared. What’s changed is that the conditions needed to convert that interest into bookings have started to fall into place. Across Europe, 41–53% of travellers say they are likely to visit Asia in the next five years, and between 9–14% already have firm plans.

"At Trip.com, we’ve seen year-on-year growth across all five European markets we track. A big part of that shift is reduced friction, particularly around visas. China is a great example. After the visa policy changes in late 2023, searches increased by 74% in the following five weeks and remained 88% higher over the next 12 months versus the previous year. Flight bookings to China rose by 50% during the same period.

"For UK travellers specifically, visa-free entry is hugely important because it removes complexity at the booking stage. We’re also seeing Asia become more culturally visible in Europe. Food-tour related searches are up 700% year-on-year, while Formula One-related searches have surged by 3,000% from European points of sale.

"Another key factor is confidence. Digital tools – particularly AI-powered ones – are making long-haul travel feel more manageable. Travellers want help researching, comparing, organising and booking trips in one place, and that’s where platforms like Trip.com come in."

How is technology helping reduce the “cultural friction” often associated with long-haul travel to Asia?

"Technology can absolutely reduce friction, although I don’t think it will ever remove it completely. Traditional barriers such as language, navigation, payments and itinerary complexity are becoming much easier to manage through digital tools.

"One small but useful example is our in-app translation feature: travellers can scan a menu in another language, convert it into English, add items to a basket and then show it to the waiter. Those kinds of micro-solutions really help people overcome anxieties about travelling somewhere unfamiliar.

"AI is also increasingly becoming a reassurance layer. Travellers are using it to check visa eligibility, baggage rules and booking policies – not just for inspiration. We’re seeing around 90% of routine customer queries handled by AI, while higher-empathy situations are escalated to human support teams.

"That balance is critical. AI can solve many practical issues, but during moments of disruption or uncertainty, people still want human support. That’s why we combine AI tools with 24/7 customer service, including AI-powered translation tools that help our teams communicate with travellers in their own language."

Japan tops many European travellers’ wishlists, but China leads in actual bookings. What does that reveal about traveller behaviour?

"It highlights the gap between aspiration and booking behaviour. In the UK, for example, 35% of travellers say Japan is the destination they most want to visit over the next five years, but Thailand remains one of the most visited destinations in practice. Japan has huge emotional and cultural appeal, but when people move from dreaming to booking, practical considerations come into play – connectivity, pricing and familiarity.

"China and Thailand often offer more competitive pricing on flights and accommodation, and many travellers have visited them before. That familiarity matters.

"Interestingly, mainland China dominates bookings across the five European markets we focus on. Tokyo is one of the top-booked cities, but Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou all feature strongly too.

"So there are effectively two layers of demand: aspiration – 'I’d love to go to Japan one day' – and what feels achievable and bookable today. As barriers continue to reduce, we expect those two layers to converge."

The report suggests travellers spend longer planning Asia trips. How is Trip.com trying to shorten the path from inspiration to booking?

"Asia trips naturally involve more planning because of cost, distance and perceived complexity. Our goal is to shorten the journey from inspiration to booking by increasing confidence and reducing friction. Historically, travellers had to jump between multiple websites and apps to research, compare and organise a trip. What we’re focused on is bringing that journey into one place.

"We have several tools supporting this. TripGenie and Trip Planner help answer practical questions around routing, visas and itinerary structure, while Trip Moments provides user-generated travel inspiration through a social-style content feed. It’s similar to TikTok in format – travellers can scroll through recommendations like “best bakeries in Tokyo” or “top things to do in Shanghai”.

"That user-generated content has more than doubled year-on-year. It creates social proof and helps validate decisions because travellers can see real experiences from other users. Ultimately, it’s not just about speed, it’s about giving travellers enough confidence to move from consideration to booking."

Trip.com says AI tools are driving a 45% uplift in revisit rates. What’s behind that behaviour?

"That uplift is actually a very positive signal because it shows travellers are finding the tools genuinely useful and returning to refine their plans. Long-haul trips to Asia tend to involve a much more iterative planning process than short-haul European travel. Travellers come back repeatedly to adjust itineraries, validate decisions, compare routes or account for changes in timing or travel companions.

"Importantly, only around 20% of revisits happen after a booking has already been made, which means most activity is still happening during the planning phase. We don’t interpret that as hesitation in a negative sense. It’s more that travellers are using AI as a confidence-building layer, as a way to compare options, refine decisions and feel more certain before committing."

Are European travellers using AI differently from Asian travellers?

"The core use cases are broadly similar – itinerary generation, transport recommendations, hotel suggestions and trip planning queries. Where Europe differs is how AI is used within the booking journey. European travellers, particularly when planning long-haul trips to Asia, tend to use AI more as a verification tool than purely an inspiration tool.

"They’re checking practical details like baggage rules, visa eligibility and booking policies. Planning windows are also longer – around 30 days for medium- and long-haul trips, versus as little as three days for shorter regional trips. Asian travellers still have the highest proportion of AI sessions ending in a direct booking, reflecting greater familiarity with AI-powered travel tools. Europeans are adopting these tools quickly, but usage remains slightly more cautious and reassurance-led."

One criticism of open AI platforms is that they can hallucinate or provide outdated information. How does Trip.com avoid that?

"That’s exactly the difference. We’re not relying on third-party information, we’re using live, bookable travel data from within our own ecosystem. When travellers interact with TripGenie, we can direct them straight to live flight or hotel pages where they can immediately view availability and complete a booking. That creates a much stronger trust loop compared with using general-purpose AI tools that aren’t built specifically for travel."

Looking five years ahead, what will feel different about how Europeans plan and book trips to Asia?

"I think the process will feel far less fragmented and much less intimidating. Travellers will increasingly expect to move seamlessly from inspiration to itinerary within a single connected ecosystem, rather than switching between multiple platforms and tabs. That matters especially for Asia, because long-haul travel still carries a higher perception of complexity than intra-European travel.

"AI will become more embedded and practical, helping travellers compare trade-offs, build smarter itineraries and feel more confident about multi-stop journeys. We’ll also see much more sophisticated personalisation. Travel tools will become better at understanding traveller intent and combining that with seasonality, connectivity and on-the-ground practicality.

"Another interesting shift is that travellers will increasingly move beyond iconic gateway cities into secondary destinations and more niche experiences. We’re already seeing people use hubs like Tokyo, Bangkok and Shanghai as entry points before travelling onwards by rail, domestic flight or car hire.

"At Trip.com, our role is to make those cross-border journeys feel simpler and more bookable by bringing together flights, hotels, rail, attractions, airport transfers and support into one connected platform."