Booking.com, Mitsubishi Research Institute Host AI Tourism Summit in Tokyo

Booking.com and the Mitsubishi Research Institute jointly held "Booking.com Innovation Summit Japan 2026: The Next Horizon" at Takana Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, according to it.donga.com. The event covered AI, regional tourism revitalization, fintech and cybersecurity.

Booking.com SVP Matthias Schmidt said AI is evolving to understand traveler tastes and intent and recommend suitable destinations and accommodations. Kazuo Hiyane, research director and AI technology advisor at the Mitsubishi Research Institute, said tourist destinations lacking information for AI to reference have fewer chances of being shown to travelers.

Toshiyuki Nakanishi, operator of the Kyoto ryokan Nanzenji Yachiyo, said he input all guest reviews from the past six months into AI to understand what overseas travelers want. He said using Booking.com's chat system to contact guests before arrival led some overseas travelers who had booked one night to extend their stay or request additional experiences.

On payments, Rajiv Apana, Booking.com's VP of payments, said the company supports about 50 payment methods to address different payment environments by country. Kentarō Watanabe, executive officer and CMO of Japanese hospitality technology company SQUEEZE, presented the company's kiosk and POS systems for automating lodging operations.

Manish Wilking, Booking.com's Chief Security Officer, and Japanese government and EU officials stressed technical measures, user education and public-private cooperation against phishing and impersonation threats.

A 2025 survey by Booking.com and Statista found 76% of 260 Japanese lodging executives and managers rated past business performance positively, up 13 percentage points from 63% in 2024. The same survey found 59% of respondents planned to expand investment within the next six months. Booking.com's "Travel Happiness Index 2026" found 74% of Japanese travelers said digital tools made travel planning and booking easier, and 82% said they felt safer planning trips when booking through a trusted platform.