Momondo turns 20 and points to AI as the next big change in travel planning. According to a new survey from the travel search engine, 31 percent of Danes between the ages of 18 and 44 use AI to find travel inspiration.
The Danish travel search engine was launched in September 2006 with the ability to compare flight prices between different travel providers. Twenty years later, the service also includes hotels and rental cars.
In conjunction with the anniversary, Momondo has compiled ten events and trends that the company believes have influenced Danes' travel since its inception. Among them are the financial crisis, the expansion of low-cost airlines, social media, the pandemic, and the rapid development of AI.
“Our travel choices are constantly influenced by the world around us. For 20 years, we have seen how Danes' travels are shaped by everything from popular culture and social media to financial crises and natural events,” says Lisbet Due Berg, press officer at Momondo.
AI takes its place in travel planning
The latest change, according to Momondo, is the use of generative AI.
In the company's survey, 31 percent of Danes between the ages of 18 and 44 say they use AI for travel inspiration. Momondo also states that one in five respondents would change their destination if AI suggested a better alternative.
35 percent say they would follow advice from AI if it could help them save money.
Momondo previously launched its own AI-based search function, Ask AI, in 2026.
Social media changed inspiration
Social media is another trend that Momondo highlights. According to a survey from the company, 39 percent of Danish travelers used social media for travel inspiration last year.
In this year's survey, 30 percent say they post content on social media during all or most of their trips.
According to Momondo's search data, movies and TV series also influence destination interest. When the third season of The White Lotus was recorded on Koh Samui, Danes' flight searches to the Thai island increased by 48 percent compared to 2024.
Events drive the choice of travel destination
Concerts and other events have also become a clearer driver for travel.
According to Momondo's survey, around one in three Danes chooses a destination and time of day based on a specific experience.
When Danish artist Thomas Helmig played in Málaga in early September, flight searches from Denmark to the city increased by 68 percent for the concert weekend compared to the same period in 2025, according to Momondo search data.
From low-cost flights to pandemic
Among the other changes Momondo points out is the expansion of low-cost airlines, which helped make shorter European city trips more accessible.
The pandemic brought a sharp interruption to that development. According to Momondo data, 66 percent of Danes vacationed in Denmark in the summer of 2020, compared to 20 percent the year before.
As restrictions were later eased, demand for international travel increased. At the end of 2022, Momondo's flight searches for 2023 were 81 percent higher than the corresponding level the previous year, according to the company.
The financial crisis, the ash cloud after the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, the smartphone breakthrough and an increased interest in food travel are also among the ten changes that Momondo highlights in its first 20 years.
