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From inspiration to conversion: AI-powered discovery and the modern travel retail journey

AI is reshaping how travellers search, compare and book. Legacy retail architectures weren’t built for agentic search, real-time personalisation or AI-led planning.

Download our latest research on how traveller behaviour is changing and what CTOs and digital leaders must prioritise now.

Modern travel isn't one journey, it's many connected journeys 

The way people search and book travel is changing. AI-driven discovery, contextual offers, loyalty integration and the growing number of channels travellers have at their disposal when planning a trip are redefining how customers search, compare and purchase.

This shift is placing pressure on CTOs and digital leaders to rethink architecture, integrate AI responsibly, and enable continuous experimentation without destabilising core systems.

The challenge is no longer just modernisation, it’s building a flexible retail platform that supports real-time personalisation, scalable experimentation and seamless UX across touchpoints.

To help travel brands navigate this shift, Leighton commissioned independent research into the evolving end-to-end travel purchase journey.

Drawing on insights from 1,000 recent travel bookers and senior technology leaders from brands including IAG Loyalty Retail, Hays Travel and On The Beach, the report explores how AI, new distribution capability (NDC), search infrastructure and experimentation strategies are reshaping digital travel purchase.

Together with insight into what customers expect friction in the buyer journey and key decision drivers, the report offers practical insight into prioritising workload in line with customer demand and is designed to support the travel and aviation industry with guidance to inform a blueprint for evolving legacy stacks into modern, scalable platforms.

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Experienced and agile, trusted by some of the world’s biggest brands

We build and modernise the platforms behind exceptional travel experiences

For over 25 years, we’ve partnered with airlines, loyalty brands and travel retailers to modernise digital platforms, integrate complex systems, and deliver secure, scalable customer experiences. ​

As an AWS Advanced Tier Partner, we combine deep engineering expertise with a proven track record of delivery across airlines, travel brands and adjacent ecosystems including British Airways, Hays Travel, IAG, Avios and The Wine Flyer. 

Our team partners with clients to design, build, and scale the platforms behind exceptional travel experiences, delivering flexibility, innovation, and long-term value.​

  • Modern platform engineering - Scalable, secure services designed for change.
  • Connected systems & APIs - Integration across partners, products and channels. 
  • Cloud-native delivery on AWS - Faster release cycles, improved reliability, lower cost.
  • Experience-led transformation - UX, accessibility and design systems that scale.
  • Faster delivery, better outcomes - Agile teams that ship, iterate and improve continuously. 

Move from insight to action

Our targeted workshops and assessments help leaders identify opportunities, modernise platforms, and improve digital journeys with confidence.

AI-Ideation-And-Use-Case-Workshops

AI Ideation & Use Case Workshop

A structured session with your technology and product leaders to:

  • Identify commercially viable AI opportunities
  • Map AI into your existing platforms and data
  • Provide use cases for safe experimentation
  • Define a phased AI implementation roadmap
Modernisation-Assessment

Modernisation
Assessment

A targeted review of your platform and architecture to:

  • Assess booking and retail platform architecture
  • Review integration and API landscape
  • Evaluate personalisation capabilities
  • Identify cloud efficiency and AI readiness gaps
UX-And-conversion-Review

UX & Conversion Review

Improve booking flow, pricing transparency and conversion through:

  • Data-led UX and end-to-end journey analysis
  • Accessibility and usability review across key touchpoints
  • Booking flow optimisation to reduce abandonment
  • Experimentation and A/B testing strategy

Ready to explore what this could mean for your platform?

If you're thinking about how AI, modernisation, or better customer journeys could improve conversion and traveller experience, our team would be happy to start the conversation. Share a few details below and we’ll be in touch to discuss how we can help.