ITIC Global 2025 | Travel and medical assistance – looking to the future

The ITIJ team are reporting from ITIC Global in Venice this week (2–6 November 2025), sharing the discussions that take place at the conference. Read all reports.

Alastair Crossley, Global Head of Travel Solutions, AXA Partners

Crossley began by looking at high-level trends in the travel and tourism market. He highlighted data that showed that 2024 surpassed 2019 as the biggest year ever for the industry, and that there was a significant increase in leisure spend compared with 2019. He said travel and tourism was worth US$11 trillion in 2025 and was expected to grow to $16.5 trillion in 2035.

Reasons for changing travel trends

Crossley outlined several factors affecting travel trends, citing climate change, geopolitical shifts, and the rise of medical tourism as key influences.

He noted that many European travellers were now seeking cooler destinations in response to rising temperatures, while also showing a stronger preference for sustainable, experience-driven travel. Geopolitical issues have also shaped travel patterns, with a decline in visitors to the US attributed to the current political situation, conflicts in regions such as the Middle East, and growing concerns in popular tourist destinations worldwide about overtourism. Finally, Crossley highlighted the rapid growth of medical tourism, fuelled by travellers seeking faster access to healthcare services and more affordable treatment options.

Impact on medical networks

Crossley finished by looking at how these evolving travel patterns were influencing medical networks. He highlighted increased investment in healthcare infrastructure and the expansion of provider networks. Innovation is also driving growth in telemedicine, alongside greater investment in training programmes to meet the rising demand for skilled healthcare professionals.

He concluded: “Travel continues to grow: it connects us, fosters innovation and human progress, and it also evolves with shifting consumer preferences. The key for all of us is the need for flexibility and cooperation to be able to move with these trends so we can collectively be well placed to support and protect travellers.”

Moderator Mandy Langfield asked about the impact of overtourism on healthcare systems. Crossley responded that both the public and private sectors needed to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, particularly in destinations that receive large numbers of tourists over extended periods.

José Castellanos, Head of Global Network, Falck Global Assistance

Climate change and its impact on travel
Castellanos began his presentation by highlighting data related to climate change. Citing scientific reports from NASA and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), he noted that these sources confirmed a clear and alarming trend: the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events globally. This includes record-breaking heatwaves, prolonged droughts, widespread wildfires, heavy rainfall and severe floods.
He emphasised that this wasn’t just about more events; it was about more powerful and destructive events.

Shift in travel preferences
Castellanos discussed how extreme weather events were reshaping travel patterns, noting that heatwaves in Southern Europe and conflicts in the Middle East were prompting tourists to seek cooler, more peaceful, Nordic destinations. This trend has led to a surge in cruise travel to countries such as Norway and the Arctic, with forecasts predicting record arrivals by 2025 and growing demand for sustainable, nature-based, and cultural experiences across the region.
However, he also noted that the rise in tourism had sparked concerns about overtourism in countries like Norway, leading to the introduction of a 3% tourism tax.

Healthcare across the Nordic region
Castellanos went on to outline the structure of healthcare across Scandinavian countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Finland, and Greenland, covering public and private systems, emergency services, costs for non-residents, and access challenges.
He highlighted key challenges of managing assistance in the region, such as language barriers, limited private facilities, a large and heavily regulated public healthcare sector, underdeveloped tourism infrastructure, lack of communication, and geographical and weather-related constraints – particularly in Greenland, where harsh conditions, vast distances, limited airports, and logistical complexities make medical transport and evacuations especially challenging. He added that cashless solutions could play an important role in addressing some of these challenges.

The future of assistance
Castellanos concluded by discussing what the future might hold for the assistance industry, identifying several emerging trends and opportunities:

• Increased inbound activity for existing players
• New insurance products. including more local coverage
• Greater focus on prevention
• Entry of new private healthcare and assistance providers
• Adoption of cashless technology
• New partnerships
• Use of drone technology
• Enhanced geolocation and security tools
• Stronger and more integrated local networks
• Growth in public–private partnerships.

Guillaume Debaene, Founder of GD TravelMed Assistance and Lead Consultant for Mega Assistance Services

Gap in outpatient assistance

Debaene began his presentation by discussing the gap that has traditionally existed in outpatient assistance, saying that low-level cases were often overlooked for cashless services. He explained that for low-level cases, travellers were usually required to pay upfront and then file for reimbursement. He added that, until recently, insurers had largely left travellers to handle outpatient care on their own, overlooking the resulting friction and dissatisfaction.

He went on to explain that payers had been slow to address this challenge due to the operational costs and complexity involved. However, the landscape is now shifting, driven by growing demand from millennials, remote workers, and more independent travellers for seamless, mobile, real-time experiences. As a result, payers increasingly need to compete on convenience and customer experience, not just coverage.

The benefits – when it’s done right

Debaene noted that when outpatient assistance was managed effectively with cashless solutions, it delivered clear benefits: stronger customer acquisition and retention, better cost control, and greater operational efficiency. He drew attention to data showing that most travellers preferred cashless options – a factor that could enhance retention by as much as 18%. He added that working with trusted partners also helped reduce fraud and streamline care delivery.

Discussing solutions and strategic options for payers, he noted that not every claim required full-scale assistance. He explained that hybrid models and strategic partnerships enabled payers to manage outpatient care more effectively without overburdening internal resources.

New solutions

Debaene highlighted the growing role of technology in transforming outpatient assistance, noting that new digital solutions were making cashless care more efficient and accessible. He explained that artificial intelligence (AI) driven case management now supported pre-authorisation, verification, member communication, and provider recommendations through mobile health apps. However, he also cautioned that AI must be used responsibly across the industry, emphasising the importance of safeguarding confidential patient information.

Debaene also pointed to the rise of digital health cards, which allow instant issuance, wallet integration, and real-time fund control. For payers, these tools offer significant convenience – they are supported in over 100 countries, remove the need for complex guarantees of payment or restrictive networks, and help reduce inflated medical costs.

Debaene concluded that outpatient cashless services mattered more than ever, as care models must evolve to meet modern traveller expectations. Payers, in turn, gain from stronger loyalty, brand trust, and greater efficiency in managing the high volume of outpatient cases.

The panel summarised that the future of assistance lies in collaboration, co-creation, trusted partnerships, strong payer–provider relationships, and continuous innovation to meet the changing needs of customers.