Consumers are increasingly comfortable using AI to discover and plan travel, but willingness falls sharply when AI moves closer to bookings and autonomous payment decisions, according to a new survey released by Alipay+ in partnership with S&P Global.

The study surveyed 6,000 consumers across nine markets in Asia, Europe and the United States. It also found continuing friction in cross-border payments, including uncertainty over merchant acceptance and access to preferred payment methods.

AI use drops as decisions become more consequential

According to the survey, 81.3 percent of respondents already use AI-powered tools to explore destinations and experiences. About 73.2 percent said they were open to using AI for hotel or flight bookings over the next 12 months.

Interest falls much further when AI is asked to move toward autonomous payment decisions, with 26 percent of consumers expressing interest. Privacy remains a concern for 43 percent of respondents, while 43 percent also said they hesitate to use AI assistants because they prefer planning travel themselves. Another 32 percent cited a preference for human advice.

The results suggest a distinction between AI as an advisory layer and AI as an actor with authority to transact. As payment providers move toward agentic commerce, user control, transparency and clear authorization are likely to become as important as convenience.

Cross-border payments still create friction

More than half of respondents cited uncertainty around merchant acceptance at 53 percent or lack of access to preferred payment methods at 54 percent. One in four still carries cash as a fallback when traveling.

Security concerns were cited by 62 percent of respondents, while 56 percent pointed to exchange rates and fees and the same share cited unfamiliar payment-terminal steps.

Mobile payments are already widely used for in-destination spending. The survey said 63 percent of consumers use them for most transactions while traveling, although preferences differ by market. Respondents from China, Malaysia and Thailand showed stronger preference for QR payments, while those from the US, UK and Germany favored NFC-based, card-linked wallets.

Wallets are expanding beyond payment

The report also points to growing demand for payment apps to combine more parts of the travel journey. Restaurant reservations and payments were the most requested in-app service at 61 percent, followed by all-in-one travel booking at 58 percent, attraction tickets and passes at 57 percent, and local transportation booking at 54 percent.

Ant International is positioning Alipay+ as infrastructure for this more integrated model. The company said Alipay+ connects 2 billion user accounts across 50 payment partners with merchants in more than 220 destination markets. It has also introduced the Alipay+ Agentic Mobile Protocol, Super App Engine, GenAI Cockpit and Voyager AI travel agent.

Those platform figures and product claims are from Ant International. The survey findings provide a useful indication of consumer attitudes, although the release does not include the full questionnaire, sampling methodology by market or margin of error.

Alipay+ connects to QR Ph for cross-border payments in the Philippines