Gulf Business · 15 Sep, 06:16 · Technology briefing

Trip.com’s Siddharth Sudhakar on the rise of agentic travel

Trip.com’s Siddharth Sudhakar discusses the emerging trend of agentic travel, where artificial intelligence autonomously manages complex booking itineraries.

What it means for you ↓ Courses for this story

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The briefing

The story
in brief.

What happened, who it affects, and why it landed on our intelligence desk — in plain English, sixty seconds or less.

Trip.com’s Siddharth Sudhakar discusses the emerging trend of agentic travel, where artificial intelligence autonomously manages complex booking itineraries. This shift moves beyond simple search assistance towards fully autonomous decision-making in travel planning. The development signals a significant transformation in how consumers interact with travel platforms, prioritising efficiency and personalised execution over manual selection processes for professionals.

Employer demand for AI Strategy skills — indexed growth since 2019
Indicative index of skill mentions in professional job postings for the field this story moves (2019 = 1)

Your move

What this means
for your career.

Every headline redistributes opportunity. Here is who this one rewards — and how to be on the right side of it.

This shift demands that you pivot from routine administrative tasks to strategic oversight of AI agents. Traditional booking roles diminish, while skills in AI strategy, process automation, and complex problem-solving surge in value. You must understand how to configure, monitor, and optimise these autonomous systems rather than performing the tasks yourself. Professionals in tourism, customer experience, and digital marketing should pay close attention. To stay competitive, you should immediately upskill in AI strategy to manage these tools effectively. Focus on learning how to integrate agentic workflows into broader business operations. This positions you as a leader who leverages technology for efficiency, rather than someone displaced by it. Prioritise courses that bridge technical AI understanding with practical business application.

For this story, the fields that convert it into pay are AI Strategy, AI in Hospitality, AI in E-Commerce and Tourism And Hospitality — exactly the programmes matched below. The chart shows the indicative salary uplift certified professionals report in each of those fields; every one of them is a click away, from £79, finishing in as few as 20 days.

Indicative salary uplift in the fields matched to this story
Indicative ranges from published continuing-education salary studies, by field — each field is a recommended course below

Matched to this story

Enrol in these
to benefit.

These programmes position you for exactly this shift — online, self-paced, and finishing with a verifiable certificate you can share the day you pass.