Data from the world's leading hotel groups, travel firms and trend forecasters suggests that 2026 will be the year of quiet escapes, algorithm-shaped itineraries, ultra-personalised retreats and a return to slower, more intentional travel.
Number crunchers, behaviouralists and travel firms have been compiling their data over the last few months to assess where they think the travel industry is heading. From "coolcations" – a trend that emerged a few years ago to become one of the Collins Dictionary words of the year – to
"flashpacking", a term used to denote upscale backpacking, annual travel trends tend to come with an awkward portmanteau-style word and almost always reflect how we live – or how we want to live. (BBC)
These are the top trends on the horizon for 2026:
1.Quiet over everything
2.Gen AI over admin
3.Trust over choice
4.Roads over runways
5.Ultra personalised over one-size-fits-all
6.Off-grid over tried-and-tested
7.Culture over hedonism