RCS emerges as fastest-growing channel for UK travel and hospitality brands
Research from global AI-first communications platform Infobip reveals the era of simple one-way customer communications from travel and hospitality brands is over. Drawing on data from 628 billion global interactions in 2025, 3.8 trillion messages over the past 20 years and more than 15.4 billion UK customer interactions in 2025, Infobip’s Messaging Trends Report 2026 shows a shift towards Rich Communications Services (RCS) as brands seek highly engaging, two-way customer interactions.
SMS remains an important channel for travel and hospitality brands, recording a 22% increase in the UK last year. However, RCS has surged by more than 300% as travel and hospitality brands prioritise secure, reliable and interactive communications. Meanwhile, WhatsApp interactions continue to grow year-on-year, with a 4% rise last year.
RCS penetration in the country has reached 70%, with adoption helped in part by concerns over fraud on other messaging channels. With more than six million travel and hospitality interactions recorded in 2025, UK travellers are becoming accustomed to engaging with their favourite travel brands through RCS.
The shift toward RCS is being accelerated by the integration of Agentic AI. Infobip’s CX Maturity Report highlights that over 50% of global brands have already adopted agentic AI for tasks like account authentication and travel reminder notifications.
There remains an opportunity for UK travel and hospitality brands to move beyond basic automation. By deploying intelligent AI agents within channels like RCS and WhatsApp, brands can handle booking, travel updates and loyalty programmes through a single conversational thread.
James Stokes, Head of Enterprise UK and Nordics, at Infobip, said: “This data confirms that single-channel engagement is now a thing of the past for the travel and hospitality sector. UK travel and hospitality brands are increasingly communicating with their customers through RCS and WhatsApp, creating engaging and two-way conversational experiences. We’re seeing a clear trajectory toward omnichannel engagement powered by Agentic AI.”
Find out more in the Messaging Trends Report 2026: https://www.infobip.com/messaging-trends-report
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RCS emerges as fastest-growing channel for UK travel and hospitality brands
RCS emerges as fastest-growing channel for UK travel and hospitality brands
Research from global AI-first communications platform Infobip reveals the era of simple one-way customer communications from travel and hospitality brands is over. Drawing on data from 628 billion global interactions in 2025, 3.8 trillion messages over the past 20 years and more than 15.4 billion UK customer interactions in 2025, Infobip’s Messaging Trends Report 2026 shows a shift towards Rich Communications Services (RCS) as brands seek highly engaging, two-way customer interactions.
SMS remains an important channel for travel and hospitality brands, recording a 22% increase in the UK last year. However, RCS has surged by more than 300% as travel and hospitality brands prioritise secure, reliable and interactive communications. Meanwhile, WhatsApp interactions continue to grow year-on-year, with a 4% rise last year.
RCS penetration in the country has reached 70%, with adoption helped in part by concerns over fraud on other messaging channels. With more than six million travel and hospitality interactions recorded in 2025, UK travellers are becoming accustomed to engaging with their favourite travel brands through RCS.
The shift toward RCS is being accelerated by the integration of Agentic AI. Infobip’s CX Maturity Report highlights that over 50% of global brands have already adopted agentic AI for tasks like account authentication and travel reminder notifications.
There remains an opportunity for UK travel and hospitality brands to move beyond basic automation. By deploying intelligent AI agents within channels like RCS and WhatsApp, brands can handle booking, travel updates and loyalty programmes through a single conversational thread.
James Stokes, Head of Enterprise UK and Nordics, at Infobip, said: “This data confirms that single-channel engagement is now a thing of the past for the travel and hospitality sector. UK travel and hospitality brands are increasingly communicating with their customers through RCS and WhatsApp, creating engaging and two-way conversational experiences. We’re seeing a clear trajectory toward omnichannel engagement powered by Agentic AI.”
Find out more in the Messaging Trends Report 2026: https://www.infobip.com/messaging-trends-report
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