The future of travel could involve fewer passport checks, AI agents that book entire holidays and hotels designed to help guests sleep better, eat well and maintain their health. These were among the ideas discussed at the 26th World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit, which recently brought senior tourism officials, business leaders and industry experts to Malta.
The summit explored how technology, changing traveller expectations and pressure on popular destinations are reshaping the global tourism industry. Discussions ranged from digital identity and artificial intelligence to hotel wellness and a growing debate over whether destinations should focus on attracting more visitors or getting greater benefits from the tourists they already receive.
One of the central messages was that the industry’s future will depend not only on how many people travel, but also on how easily they can move between countries, what they expect from their trips and how tourism affects the places they visit.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the summit’s main speaker, argued that tourism has a role beyond its economic contribution. Speaking with WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara, he described international travel as a way to counter growing isolationism and distrust between countries.
Trudeau pointed to what he described as a failure by the United States in recent years to make international visitors feel welcome, a concern linked to the debate around the so-called “Trump Slump” in US tourism. He argued that encouraging people to turn inward was unlikely to benefit the world and that travel could help build understanding between people from different backgrounds.
For Trudeau, the value of tourism lies partly in the encounters it makes possible. Travelling exposes people to different cultures, encourages curiosity and can develop empathy, he said. His comments placed the tourism industry within a wider discussion about international relations at a time when some governments are taking more inward-looking positions.
When asked which Canadian destination he would recommend, Trudeau chose Montreal, his home city. He highlighted its restaurants, arts scene and festivals, while noting that winter snowfall also gives visitors a reason to experience the city at a different time of year.
Technology offered another major theme at the summit, particularly the possibility that travellers could eventually move through airports and border controls without repeatedly presenting a physical passport.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, predicted that passports would no longer be necessary for travel within five years. The main obstacle, he argued, is not the technology itself but the difficulty of connecting the different systems used by airports, border authorities and other travel businesses.
The idea extends beyond airport security. Summit participants discussed a future in which verified digital identity could allow travellers to cross borders, collect rental cars and check into hotels with fewer physical documents and less repetitive administration.
However, the prediction should not be mistaken for a confirmed global deadline. Making passport-free journeys possible across international borders would require governments and private companies to coordinate their systems and agree on how digital identities are verified and accepted. Until that happens, travellers should continue to follow existing passport and entry requirements.
Artificial intelligence is also moving beyond the early stages of travel planning. Travellers already use AI tools to research destinations, compare options and build itineraries. The next development could allow AI agents to complete bookings, rather than simply recommend what a traveller should buy.
Christie Travers-Smith, Google’s director for EMEA Strategic Partnerships, described travellers as becoming increasingly empowered by AI. The next challenge, she suggested, is persuading people to trust these systems with more sensitive tasks, including sharing payment details and authorising an agent to make purchases on their behalf.
That change would move AI from an information tool to an active participant in the booking process. Instead of researching flights, hotels and activities separately, a traveller could eventually ask an agent to organise the trip and complete the transactions.
Such a system would also raise practical questions about payment security, consent, pricing and responsibility when a booking goes wrong. Travellers would need confidence that an AI agent understands their preferences, follows their instructions and does not commit them to purchases they did not intend to make.
The hotel industry is facing a different shift, with wellness and longevity becoming increasingly visible in the luxury travel market. Some high-end hotel groups have introduced facilities such as infrared saunas and hyperbaric oxygen therapy as interest in health optimisation grows.
Tim Gray, founder of Health Optimisation, argued at the summit that the goal should be to make the basic principles of healthy living available across the hotel industry, rather than treating longevity as a luxury reserved for wealthy guests.
That approach starts with ordinary details that can affect how people feel during a trip. Blackout blinds can help guests sleep, removing blinking lights can make bedrooms more comfortable, and healthier food options can make it easier to maintain eating habits away from home. Access to water and opportunities to stay active also matter, particularly for people dealing with long journeys and disrupted sleep.
Advanced wellness equipment may appeal to some travellers, but Gray’s argument was that it should support these fundamentals rather than replace them. The wider question for hotels is whether wellness can become part of standard hospitality rather than an expensive add-on.
The summit also examined how destinations measure tourism success. For years, visitor arrivals have been a prominent indicator of a destination’s performance. Increasingly, tourism officials are questioning whether higher visitor numbers necessarily translate into better outcomes for local communities.
Michelle Fridman, Secretary of Tourism of Jalisco, Mexico, described a shift from measuring tourism by volume to measuring it by value. She said the destination wanted visitors who stayed longer, spent more locally, bought local products and showed respect for the area’s identity.
Her comments reflect a broader effort to attract visitors whose spending supports local businesses and whose presence does not come at the expense of the culture that makes a place distinctive. The challenge is to ensure that tourism income reaches local communities rather than concentrating mainly among large operators.
Miguel Sanz, Director-General of Spain’s national tourism organisation, Turespaña, expressed a similar approach, describing his role increasingly as that of a tourism curator. The aim, in this view, is not simply to bring more people into Spain, but to encourage forms of travel that better serve destinations and their residents.
Yet the discussion also raised a concern about how the industry defines a valuable visitor. Mark Weingard, founder and CEO of Iniala, warned against becoming so focused on high-spending tourists that travel begins to appear accessible only to wealthy people.
He argued that tourism must benefit the cities and neighbourhoods where it operates, without damaging local culture or making life harder for residents. Hospitality businesses, he said, should contribute to the communities that sustain them.
Taken together, the discussions in Malta pointed to an industry trying to balance convenience, technology, personal wellbeing and the interests of local people. Digital identity could reduce some of the friction involved in travel, while AI agents may eventually take on more of the work involved in organising a trip. Hotels are reconsidering what wellness should look like, and destinations are examining whether success should be measured through local benefits as well as visitor numbers.
These ideas remain at different stages of development. Passport-free international journeys depend on coordination across borders, AI booking requires consumer trust, and more sustainable tourism depends on decisions by governments, businesses and destinations. But the summit made one issue clear: the next phase of tourism will be judged not only by how many people travel, but by the quality of the experience and the value it creates for the places they visit.
