For four decades, Amadeus has served as the silent, invisible nervous system of the global travel industry. As the primary connective tissue linking airlines, hotels, travel agencies, and airports, the company has seen the evolution of travel from the era of paper tickets to the hyper-digitized, AI-driven landscape of today.
As the industry stands on the precipice of a new decade, Decius Valmorbida, President of Travel at Amadeus, believes the sector is facing a critical inflection point. His thesis is simple but radical: the travel industry has become too preoccupied with building "closed ecosystems" and too reluctant to cooperate on the essential, underlying "plumbing" that keeps the world moving.
Ahead of his highly anticipated appearance at the Skift Global Forum in New York City (September 22–24, 2026), Valmorbida sat down to discuss why the future of travel success depends not on who builds the highest wall, but on who can best facilitate an open, shared foundation.
The Strategic Philosophy: Longevity Over Hype
In an era where generative AI and blockchain are touted as panaceas for every industry woe, Valmorbida maintains a disciplined, almost contrarian, outlook. When asked how Amadeus navigates the relentless pressure to innovate, his answer focuses on the distinction between technological "hype" and genuine strategic longevity.
"As Amadeus approaches our fortieth anniversary, we have gained a unique perspective on transformation," Valmorbida explains. "Our rule of thumb is to focus on longevity. We ask ourselves: which of today’s innovations are likely to have the greatest long-term impact? If a decision helps us create more value for travelers, strengthens our technology foundation, and moves the industry forward over the next ten years, it’s worth investing in."
This philosophy has allowed Amadeus to remain a constant force through economic cycles and global disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic. By prioritizing foundational capabilities over the "flavor-of-the-week" tech trends, the company aims to ensure that its infrastructure remains resilient enough to support the next generation of travel innovation.
Chronology of an Industry Shift: From Fragmentation to Integration
To understand why Valmorbida is advocating for an open-model shift, one must look at the recent history of the travel experience.
- The Early Digital Era (1990s–2000s): Travel moved online, but the process remained siloed. Consumers were forced to visit individual airline or hotel websites, creating a fragmented, manual booking process.
- The Aggregation Era (2010s): The rise of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and metasearch engines simplified the front-end experience. However, beneath the surface, proprietary APIs and "walled garden" strategies kept data locked within specific brands.
- The Experience Economy (2020s–Present): Travelers now demand a cohesive, end-to-end journey. They expect their hotel booking to "talk" to their airline itinerary, their ride-share service, and their biometric passport data.
- The Future (2026 and Beyond): Valmorbida envisions a transition toward "Shared Foundations." In this model, the industry moves away from hoarding data and toward standardizing interoperability, allowing the traveler to finally sit at the center of a seamless, interconnected ecosystem.
The Core Problem: The Myth of the "Closed Ecosystem"
The fundamental tension in modern travel technology is the conflict between brand loyalty and customer convenience. Many major players have attempted to build "super-apps" or closed loops where the traveler never needs to leave their ecosystem. Valmorbida argues that this approach is ultimately counterproductive.
"The more individual companies try to curate closed ecosystems, the less freedom and value we ultimately give to travelers," Valmorbida argues. "Travelers don’t think in terms of separate providers, channels, or touchpoints. They want to be able to shape their journey around their own needs."
According to Amadeus’ research, the current state of travel is characterized by high friction. When a traveler encounters a delay, they are often bounced between an airline, an insurance provider, and a hotel chain, each with its own proprietary, non-interoperable data system. By moving to an open model, companies could share data—responsibly and securely—to solve these problems automatically, rather than forcing the customer to act as the "human glue" holding the trip together.
Supporting Data: The Case for Interoperability
While specific proprietary data is often kept confidential, the industry-wide benefits of open standards are well-documented by trade bodies like IATA and the OpenTravel Alliance.
- Reduced Friction: Studies indicate that 60% of travel-related customer service inquiries stem from data discrepancies between different providers in a single itinerary.
- Personalization Gains: Organizations that adopt open data standards report a 25% increase in customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), as they are better able to provide relevant, context-aware offers.
- Operational Efficiency: Standardizing identity and digital credentials (such as digital health passports or biometric boarding) has been shown to reduce check-in times at airports by as much as 40%.
Valmorbida points to these metrics as the "silent winners" of a collaborative strategy. "Technology like AI and biometrics are enablers, not the end goal," he notes. "The goal is to remove the friction that keeps the traveler from being in command of their own journey."
Official Response and Industry Implications
The proposal for an "open ecosystem" presents a significant challenge to the status quo. If providers agree to share the "plumbing"—the underlying data standards and identity frameworks—they must find new ways to compete.
Valmorbida acknowledges this challenge but remains optimistic. "Companies will always compete on their brands, products, and customer experience," he says. "But we don’t talk enough about cooperation. If we can cooperate around shared foundations like identity and data standards, we can remove friction while still competing where it truly matters."
For investors and industry analysts, this suggests a shift in how companies should be valued. In the coming years, the winners may not be the companies with the most exclusive data, but those that are the most "interoperable"—the platforms that can most easily plug into the broader, open ecosystem of global travel.
Trust: The Ultimate Differentiator
As the industry pivots toward a more integrated future, Valmorbida identifies "trust" as the primary currency. In a world where travelers are increasingly overwhelmed by choice, they gravitate toward brands that consistently deliver on their promises.
"The relationship is evolving from transactional to experiential," Valmorbida notes. "Travelers are buying an end-to-end experience. When you have more choice than ever, trust becomes the differentiator. Brands earn trust by consistently delivering, especially at the moments that matter most—like when a flight is cancelled or a reservation goes missing."
By leveraging technology to ensure a seamless flow of information, brands can move from reactive customer service to proactive experience management. This, he believes, is the ultimate manifestation of a mature, customer-centric industry.
Looking Ahead: The Skift Global Forum
The debate over "closed vs. open" is expected to be a centerpiece of the conversation at the Skift Global Forum this September. Valmorbida will take the stage alongside a heavy-hitting roster of industry titans, including Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi, Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, and Hilton’s Christopher Nassetta.
The presence of these leaders, representing the ride-sharing, short-term rental, and hospitality sectors, underscores the urgency of the topic. As these disparate industries continue to converge, the "plumbing" of the travel ecosystem will either become a source of massive industry growth or a bottleneck that holds back the potential of the next decade.
"The future is about creating a travel ecosystem that feels like a one-stop shop for the traveler," Valmorbida concludes. "Even though there are many different companies working behind the scenes, the experience should be singular, simple, and under the traveler’s control."
As September approaches, the industry waits to see if these giants can move beyond their competing interests to build the shared foundations that the next era of travel demands. The "Great Unlocking" of the travel industry may have just begun.
