THE FREEDOM HOLDING JOURNEY
AI, personalization, and intense price competition are changing the travel industry. Against this backdrop, Freedom Travel, part of Freedom Holding Corp., is pushing beyond its home market in Kazakhstan, preparing to compete with global players such as Booking and Airbnb. Here’s how Freedom Holding is building that expansion.
New Travel Reality
In 2026, post-COVID travel continues to rise, but with distinct shifts. “Over the 2025 to 2026 holiday season, more than half of Americans planned to travel — the highest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But many have shifted toward a conservative approach, cutting trip frequency and length, distance traveled, accommodation class, and in-destination activities. Financial pessimism, reaching higher income levels than in recent years, appears to be the biggest cause of this frugal trip planning. And on the corporate side, economic uncertainty may be at the root of more cautious budgeting,” says Deloitte in its 2026 Travel Industry Outlook report.
Generational shifts are also shaping travel behavior. According to Deloitte, Gen Z and millennials – the two youngest adult generations – plan more trips than older cohorts. They are also leading AI adoption in travel planning, using AI tools to build itineraries, select hotels, and discover activities at destinations. “AI adoption has accelerated dramatically: nearly a quarter of travelers report using gen AI tools for trip planning in late 2025 – three times as many as in 2022. Older travelers are also embracing these tools,” the report notes. Deloitte forecasts that once fully integrated discovery and booking experiences – combining visuals, reviews, and seamless transactions – mature, adoption will have significant upside potential.
In turn, according to McKinsey’s “Remapping Travel with Agentic AI” report, this shift could make personalization truly scalable, improving customer engagement, increasing retention rates, and raising customer lifetime value. Thus, competitiveness in the travel industry today is increasingly defined by the ability to combine attractive pricing, AI-driven technologies, and a highly personalized customer approach.
The Freedom Way
Freedom Travel, part of a fast-growing Nasdaq-listed multi-industry fintech group Freedom Holding Corp. with over $8.5 billion market capitalization, is actively leveraging these industry trends in its business strategy. This is a key company within Freedom’s lifestyle segment, which also includes e-grocery and ticketing (events and entertainment). Other parts of the Freedom Holding ecosystem span financial services, telecom, and media. The core of the ecosystem is the Freedom SuperApp, a mobile application that provides access to all services in one place. In total, the group operates across 21 countries, manages 230 offices, serves more than 11 million users, and counts BlackRock, State Street, and JPMorgan Chase among its shareholders.
Founded in 2013 as an airline ticketing service, Freedom Travel has grown into a full-service travel operator, offering a comprehensive suite of travel services beyond flight bookings. In Kazakhstan, the company’s home market, Freedom Holding holds a leading position in the travel segment, selling over 400,000 airline and rail tickets per month and partnering with more than 1,000 airlines and 3.5 million hotels worldwide. In 2025, Freedom Holding Corp. doubled both its customer base and market share, while repeat purchases increased fivefold and prices were optimized by 17%.
In addition to competitive pricing, the user experience is enhanced through AI-driven automation and a strong ecosystem approach. Integration with Freedom Bank and the Freedom SuperApp enables one-click purchases and bookings, including installment and credit payment options through Freedom Bank. AI-powered routing and proprietary technology also enable “Smart Routes” that optimize complex travel itineraries.
The company is currently launching a platform that enables users to plan and book complete trips in one place, including flights, hotels, visas, transfers, curated experiences, and other related services. The aim is to make the entire travel process seamless and fully integrated while maintaining competitive pricing. “Our prices will be lower than those of the world’s largest global platforms,” says Freedom Travel CEO Igor Boyko.
Europe Ahead
Igor Boyko also highlighted that these services go far beyond Kazakhstan, with clear plans for international scaling and adaptation.
Freedom Travel plans to enter the European market in 2026 and expand its travel services across Europe. The company aims to build a leading position in Europe and compete directly with platforms such as Booking and Airbnb by integrating financial and travel services, including embedded credit options and cashback features.
“I am confident that European customers also need a convenient service — an ecosystem with a full range of services and a single entry point through one mobile application, with a unified payment system and customer support,” Boyko concluded.
