In today’s travel landscape, destinations alone no longer drive decisions—experiences do. Modern travellers are increasingly seeking journeys that offer meaning, connection, and personal enrichment. Whether it’s a local cooking class in Tuscany, a spa retreat in Bali, or a hidden street food tour in Bangkok, experience-based travel has become the defining trend shaping the industry. Driven by evolving consumer preferences, digital innovation, and the growing power of peer reviews, this shift marks a new era—where travellers are not just sightseeing but story-making. Travel brands that focus on curating and personalizing these moments are emerging as the true leaders of the future.

Trip.com, a leading one-stop travel service provider, unveiled the latest industry and sector trends, evolving traveller patterns, and future plans at its Attractions & Tours Global Partners Forum.

The event is part of Trip.com Group’s annual global partner conference, Envision 2025, and was held on 26 May at the Shanghai Museum East – a cutting-edge landmark and cultural exchange hub known for its wave-inspired architecture and immersive technology.

Empowering Global Partners through Innovative Technology and Marketing

Setting the stage, Mr. Jim Ji, Vice President of Trip.com Group, CEO of Attractions & Tours, shared that the travel industry has been recovering steadily, with international tourist arrivals expected to bounce back fully and exceed pre-pandemic levels this year based on industry forecasts. This is largely due to the relaxation of visa requirements and increasing flight capacity across the globe.

In his keynote speech titled ‘Empowering Global Partners’, Mr Ji emphasized how Trip.com is meeting this demand growth by building a global tourism industry ecosystem consisting of a wide distribution network, including:

• 22 international offices
• 2900+ affiliates & resellers, covering 150+ countries & regions, 300k+ products worldwide
• 170+ marketing resources
• 24 languages supported and 24/7 customer service
• 33 currency options

Sharing strategies that will empower partners to reach international travellers more directly and effectively, Mr Ji explained how Trip.com’s ticket machines, onsite ticket operations, and customisable online booking sites are helping partners to reduce manpower and improve operational efficiency. Measures to prevent fraudulent transactions as well as large-scale ticket bot activities have also been set up to enable partners to guard against such risks.

He further highlighted the importance of engaging travellers through innovative marketing with partners. For example, to provide a more comfortable waiting experience for travellers at the Sanur Harbour in Bali, Indonesia, Trip.com Attractions & Tours worked with a local partner to build a Trip.com VIP lounge. This attracted nearly 200,000 customers and increased ferry ticket sales significantly.

Creating Deeper Travel Experiences

A key trend spotlighted during the forum was how travellers are increasingly making decisions based on the type of experiences they can enjoy during their trip. Forum speakers noted that the growth rate for experience-related searches on Trip.com is six times that of destination- or attraction-related searches. Keywords such as “food” and “spa” were among the top-searched keywords relating to experiences that international travellers were interested in.

“Travellers today are overwhelmed with options and increasingly seek experiences that resonate on a deeper level. Through collaboration with our global partners and the smart use of AI and consumer insights, we are curating personalised journeys that go beyond the expected and meet the evolving needs of international travellers,” said Mr Ji.

One way Trip.com is responding to this shift is through Trip.Best, an in-app collection of curated travel rankings based on user reviews, bookings, and AI algorithms, inspiring travel through its destination guides and best-ranking lists. Users can easily find the most popular travel attractions across the world with Trip.Best’s global “Best Things to Do” rankings, including theme parks, museums, experiential activities, and more.

In recognition of the efforts by global partners to create a better experience for travellers, awards were also presented at the Envision forum to the best of the industry, such as top-ranked attractions on Trip.Best, as well as the Excellent Partner Awards and the Most Promising Partner Awards. experience-based travel

About Trip.com

Trip.com is an international one-stop travel service provider, available in 24 languages across 39 countries and regions in 35 local currencies. Trip.com has an extensive hotel and flight network consisting of more than 1.5 million hotels and flights from over 640 airlines covering 3,400 airports in 220 countries and regions around the globe. Trip.com’s world-class 24/7 multilingual customer service, as well as additional centers in Edinburgh, Tokyo, and Seoul, help to ‘create the best travel experience‘ for its millions of customers worldwide.