According to Tripadvisor Group CEO Matt Goldberg and new Viator president Pepijn Rijvers, trust is crucial as the travel industry adapts to the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI).
“In a world of AI, trust becomes increasingly more rare, more precious and more valuable—knowing who can trust, knowing the provenance of where that information came from,” Goldberg said during a conversation at the 2025 Phocuswright Europe conference.
“And it's no more important than in the category of travel, which is a very considered purchase, where the consequences of getting it wrong can be very high,” Goldberg said.
This is particularly relevant for younger travelers, who Goldberg said are focused on brand trust as opposed to loyalty.
Rijvers, the former Booking.com executive who was appointed to the role in March, agreed, stating that in the travel space, consumers are loyal to brands that have created value for them.
“The value, typically, in my mind, really sits in removing friction from my ability to experience the world and explore the world. Therefore, where I think we’ve got a job set out for us is to make sure that we add more value—meaning we remove more friction for customers than anyone else.
“As a result, we will see their loyalty to the brand, and then that builds the trust, that builds the repeat business, that builds a free traffic profile, that builds good unit economics and that builds the opportunity to invest.”
The executives discussed loyalty and Tripadvisor’s membership program as well, with the company recently informing members of impending “improvements” to be launched in July.
While Goldberg didn't reveal specifics, he said what he’s interested in is making free memberships “a reason for coming and engaging and spending more time with us,” adding that “there’s a lot of opportunity ahead.”
“We increasingly think about Tripadvisor as being a really interesting earn and burn opportunity, and I think we will experiment with that. There will be opportunities starting in with the traveler to make sure that it is a good experience—a wallet that can be used across categories—we could think about the membership and how it extends beyond the Tripadvisor brand.”
Rijvers and Goldberg also shared insights into how AI will change the industry and how Tripadvisor and Viator are leveraging new technology and partnerships (like those with Perplexity and OpenAI) to personalize experiences, police fraud and drive conversions.
Watch the full conversation with Mitra Sorrells, senior vice president of content for PhocusWire and Phocuswright, in the video below:
From Inspiration to Action - Tripadvisor's Strategic Shift