Booking.com's Asia-Pacific Localization and AI Strategy

On October 19, 2026, Laura Houldsworth, Managing Director of Booking.com Asia-Pacific, said at WiT Singapore 2026 that 64% of travelers in the Asia-Pacific region use AI to plan trips, that localization and payments are the current keys to competition, and proposed putting Asia and well-being at the core. On October 21, Booking.com was reported to be building its own payment system and to be offering free tools to startups and SMEs for booking business travel, while also driving business and leisure customers back. Its South Asia regional head Santosh Kumar said that to win the Indian market in the long term, it must be closer to Indian bookers. The report said Booking.com is known in India for hotel accommodation bookings and currently faces intense competition from local rivals led by MakeMyTrip that dominate domestic travel.