Travel Brands Must Think Like Publishers Now | AI Search Travel | HEDNA 2026 | Shumi Khan
Exclusive interview with Shumi Khan, Independent Consultant and Ex-Executive at Accor, in conversation with Cesar de Lima Silva for Travel And Tour World, at HEDNA 2026. Key Highlights: 1. Shumi Khan shares that she came to HEDNA primarily to learn about AI's growing role in the travel industry and to network with technology vendors, as she's planning to start her own company. 2. Her planned company focuses on integrating travel with agentic AI, aiming to find the right balance between offering personalized travel services and staying within regulatory and privacy/security bounds. 3. She frames personalization as the "holy grail" for travellers, but notes it comes with risks around privacy invasion and security breaches. 4. On how AI will reshape the industry over the next 12 months, she points to workforce optimization through AI, as well as major changes in distribution and marketing. 5. She explains that to be discovered and recommended by AI, travel brands need to think more like publishers, structuring website data, SEO, and FAQs so AI can search and surface their content. 6. She distinguishes between GEO and AEO, noting the travel industry currently isn't strong at leveraging third-party authoritative sources, travel magazines, Condé Nast, Reddit, and others, which AEO depends on. 7. Her key message is that the travel industry needs to reinvent its marketing approach, thinking more like publishers, to effectively engage both customers and AI agents going forward. About Travel And Tour World: Travel And Tour World is a global travel media platform covering travel, tourism, hospitality, aviation, MICE, cruise, and luxury travel, with readership across 195 countries. [agentic AI travel, AI in travel industry, HEDNA 2026, travel personalization, AI search travel, answer engine optimization, travel marketing AI, AI travel agents, travel discovery AI, travel industry trends 2026, agentic AI in the travel industry 2026, how travel brands can be discovered by AI, answer engine optimization AEO for travel, GEO vs AEO travel marketing] #HEDNA2026 #AgenticAI #AIinTravel #AEO #TravelMarketing #AITravelAgents #TravelPersonalization #TravelIndustryTrends #FutureOfTravel #TravelAndTourWorld