Navigating AI and Travel: 'Social-First,' Influencers, and the Human Touch

AI and social commerce are reshaping travel, blending personalized automation with human connection across a mobile-first global market.

The AI revolution is going global and shifting from a discovery function to a personal agent. Social media companies are integrating search and transaction functions into their platforms, paving the way for a new era of social commerce.

Sub-Saharan Africa is no exception: smartphone adoption is set to reach 87% by 2030, up from 51% in 2022, which will change the way travelers there search, engage, and book.

At Web in Travel (WiT) Africa 2025, held at Innovation City in Cape Town in mid-March, speakers placed an emphasis (unsurprisingly) on AI and how the travel industry has evolved from static marketing strategies to the rise of online travel agencies in the late 1990s and, more recently, to social-media-driven bookings. However, Generative AI is an entirely new kind of disruption.

According to Skift Research’s 2025 Travel Outlook, 37% of travel