{"id":35218,"date":"2026-08-28T09:44:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/?p=35218"},"modified":"2026-08-28T09:53:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:53:18","slug":"whats-on-the-minds-of-travel-buyers-today-buyer-buzz-insights-from-gbta-convention-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/whats-on-the-minds-of-travel-buyers-today-buyer-buzz-insights-from-gbta-convention-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s on the Minds of Travel Buyers Today? | Buyer Buzz Insights from GBTA Convention 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Travel buyers are embracing change, but they want to be the ones driving it. That was the overarching takeaway from 470+ travel buyers who participated in the interactive Buyer Buzz session at <a href=\"https:\/\/convention.gbta.org\/\">GBTA Convention 2026<\/a>.<br><br>Results from live polling during the session paints a picture of a profession that is optimistic about technology, committed to partnership and increasingly focused on influencing change within organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AI Is Here to Stay, But Buyers Are Keeping a Watchful Eye<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 78% at the Buyer Buzz session said they&#8217;re already &#8220;hooked&#8221; on generative AI, and an overwhelming 92% believe AI will make their jobs \u201cmore strategic\u201d rather than replace them. Sixty four percent cite \u201challucinations and incorrect information\u201d as a bigger concern than AI\u2019s environmental impact, while 60% associate AI&#8217;s future more closely with <em>Terminator<\/em> que <em>Star Trek<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Buyers are split on whether AI should enforce travel policy automatically. While 51% say it should, 49% prefer AI to simply recommend the best travel choices. Buyers see AI as a strategic advantage, but they&#8217;re still working through how much authority they&#8217;re willing to give it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Real Challenge Is Internal Influence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked about their biggest challenge, 57% said \u201cinfluencing internal stakeholders,\u201d compared with 43% who cited \u201cinfluencing traveler behavior.\u201d Nearly four out of five buyers (78%) identified \u201cchange management\u201d as the most important skill for travel professionals, ahead of \u201ccommercial thinking (22%).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it comes to innovation, 64% said their biggest source comes from \u201cinternal business needs\u201d rather than \u201cexternal market trends.\u201d Success increasingly depends on building consensus, leading change, and aligning travel programs with broader business objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Buyers Want Strong Partnerships, Not Transactions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An overwhelming 92% of participants said the best supplier relationships are built on \u201clong-term partnerships,\u201d while just 8% favored \u201ccompetitive tension.\u201d At the same time, buyers don&#8217;t want suppliers to do all the driving. More than three-quarters (77%) believe innovation happens fastest when \u201cbuyers push suppliers,\u201d rather than when \u201csuppliers challenge buyers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Technology Helps But People Matter Most<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly six in ten buyers (58%) identified \u201cseamless human response and support\u201d as the most important element of traveler safety, ahead of \u201ctrust and consistency\u201d alone. In the modern travel program, technology may improve efficiency, but human support remains essential during moments of disruption, uncertainty or risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Looking for Solutions to Growing Complexity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly two-thirds (64%) said groups and meetings are harder to manage than transient travel, underscoring the increasing complexity of managing meetings and events. Buyers want new approaches to managing change, leveraging AI, improving traveler experiences, and tackling an increasingly complex landscape. Travel buyers are not resisting the future. They are actively preparing for it.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Travel buyers are embracing change, but they want to be the ones driving it. That was the overarching takeaway from 470+ travel buyers who participated in the interactive Buyer Buzz session at GBTA Convention 2026. Results from live polling during the session paints a picture of a profession that is optimistic about technology, committed to&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"2339,1165,824,8460,10907,1470","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1626,37,1453,1555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-research-and-travel-trends","category-travel-management","category-united-states"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Debbie Iannaci","author_link":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/author\/diannacigbta-org\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":1626,"name":"Community","slug":"community","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1626,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1626,"category_count":4,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Community","category_nicename":"community","category_parent":0},{"term_id":37,"name":"Research and Travel Trends","slug":"research-and-travel-trends","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":37,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":977,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":37,"category_count":977,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Research and Travel Trends","category_nicename":"research-and-travel-trends","category_parent":0},{"term_id":1453,"name":"Travel Management","slug":"travel-management","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1453,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1453,"category_count":13,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Travel Management","category_nicename":"travel-management","category_parent":0},{"term_id":1555,"name":"United States","slug":"united-states","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1555,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":45,"count":25,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1555,"category_count":25,"category_description":"","cat_name":"United States","category_nicename":"united-states","category_parent":45}],"tag_info":false,"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1626,"label":"Community"},{"value":37,"label":"Research and Travel Trends"},{"value":1453,"label":"Travel Management"},{"value":1555,"label":"United States"}]},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"mfb_rest_fields":["featured_image_src_large","author_info","comment_info","category_info","tag_info","taxonomy_info","featured_image_src","featured_image_src_square"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35218"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35226,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35218\/revisions\/35226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbta.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}