New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- Travel companies will increasingly need to focus on building continuity across the customer journey, strengthening trust and making it easier for travellers to return to an existing plan as artificial intelligence reshapes how trips are discovered and booked, according to a joint report by Skift Research and McKinsey & Company.

The report, based on a survey of more than 1,000 US travellers and diaries from travellers researching and booking actual trips, said the traditional linear path from inspiration to booking has evolved into a series of "orbits". It found that the number of travel touchpoints has risen to 65 in 2026, from about 45 in 2018.

"Always-on inspiration creates more entry points, but trust determine...