# Travel Trends 2026

**Publisher:** Amadeus  
**Published:** 2025-12-01  
**Category:** Travel tech  
**Type:** Report  
**Access:** Free PDF  
**Official source:** https://amadeus.com/documents/resources/research-report/travel-trends-2026/amadeus-travel-trends-2026-report.pdf  
**Canonical:** https://tourismintel.ai/reports/travel-trends-2026

## At a glance
- Global pet ownership reached 56%; 27% of pet parents took pets on main vacation for first time in 2025, per Mars and Shape Insight surveys.
- Generative AI adoption for travel planning jumped 64% year-on-year to 18% of travellers; 25% received outdated information and only 46% trust AI systems.
- Airbus A321XLR aircraft exceeded 500 orders; Iberia will operate them on seven Madrid-Americas routes, comprising nearly 10% of that traffic by early 2026.
- Seoul's KPop Demon Hunters film drove hotel ADR growth of 7.4%, 6.9%, and 5.9% in Sept–Nov 2025; Japan bookings up 33%, USA up 30% for H1 2026.
- 69% of global travellers would use biometric gateways to avoid passport checks; Amadeus Seamless Corridor pilots completed in 2025 with wider rollout planned.

## What the report covers
Amadeus's Travel Trends 2026 report identifies six shifts reshaping global tourism, combining primary research (surveys of 20,000 pet owners globally, 2,896 UK/USA travellers, and global traveller panels), Amadeus intelligence platforms (booking and hotel data), and industry case studies. It covers the Pawprint Economy, AI-powered trip planning, long-range aircraft, pop-culture tourism, biometric travel, and hyper-personalization. Published by Amadeus with Globetrender, it guides DMOs, hoteliers, and travel-tech firms.

## Key findings
Pet travel is emerging as a significant consumer segment. Global pet ownership is 56% according to Mars (October 2024). Among UK/USA pet parents surveyed by Shape Insight in October–November 2025, 27% took pets on main vacation for first time. Top barriers: stress risk (42%), lack of pet-friendly accommodation (21%), destination restrictions (20%). Airlines, hospitality brands, and logistics firms—including China Railway, Italy's ENAC, SkyePets, AKA Hotels—are launching pet-focused services.

Travellers adopt 'Travel Mixology': blending AI tools with human sources rather than relying on generative AI alone. Amadeus found AI adoption for travel planning rose from 11% to 18% (64% year-on-year growth). Yet 25% received outdated information and only 46% trust AI. Reddit's r/travel grew 31% year-on-year to 1.9 million members. Word of mouth (36%) and user-generated video (26%) remain most influential, underscoring demand for verifiable authenticity.

Long-range narrow-body aircraft are opening secondary cities. A321XLR orders exceeded 500 by late 2025. New routes: IndiGo India-Athens (January 2026), Wizz Air London-Jeddah, Air Canada Montréal-Mallorca. Iberia operates A321neo on seven Madrid-Americas routes. Aer Lingus saw triple-digit growth: +171% to Indianapolis, +102% to Nashville. Fuel efficiency improved 25–30% per seat versus predecessors.

Pop culture drives measurable tourism uplift. Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters accumulated 300+ million views by September 2025. Seoul bookings for H1 2026 pace +19% above 2025, with Japan +33% and USA +30%. Hotel ADRs in Seoul rose 7.4%, 6.9%, and 5.9% in September, October, November—the year's highest growth. HBO's The Last of Us drove Alberta bookings +20% for H1 2026, EU27 demand +47%; Alberta occupancy grew from 58.5% (2023) to 61.9% (2025); ADRs rose from $137.50 to $148.63.

Biometric technology reduces airport friction. An Amadeus survey found 69% of global travellers would use biometric gateways to avoid passport checks. Amadeus Seamless Corridor uses AI-enabled processing to identify passenger groups in motion and verify identity via mobile apps or biometric wallets. Pilots completed at select airports in 2025; wider rollout planned. Asia-Pacific airports lead in ambient design: Cambodia's Techo International (opened October 2025) and Vietnam's Long Thanh (2026).

## Key numbers
| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Global pet ownership rate | 56% | Observed; Mars global study of 20,000 people, October 2024 |
| Pet parents taking pet on main vacation for first time in 2025 | 27% | Observed; Shape Insight survey of 2,896 UK and USA travellers, Oct–Nov 2025 |
| Generative AI adoption for travel planning year-on-year growth | 64% | Observed; Amadeus survey 2025, rising from 11% to 18% of global travellers |
| Travellers who received outdated or inaccurate travel information | 25% | Observed; Amadeus data from 2025 |
| People willing to trust AI systems | 46% | Observed; KPMG survey cited in report |
| Airbus A321XLR aircraft orders placed | 500+ | Observed; first deliveries in latter half 2025 |
| Fuel efficiency improvement in new aircraft | 25–30% per seat | Observed; compared with predecessor models |
| Global travellers who would use biometric gateways | 69% | Observed; Amadeus global traveller survey, June 2025 |

## Why it matters
**DMOs & destinations** — Pop culture tourism quantifiably moves revenue. Seoul's +33% Japan and +30% USA booking growth, plus 7.4% ADR lift, justify IP-linked experience curation. Alberta's +47% EU demand and rising occupancy confirm that filming partnerships and fan itineraries drive tourist redistribution and rate premium.

**Hotels & hospitality** — Personalization, not price, drives revenue. Attribute-based selling—pet amenities, wellness zones, biophilic design—outperforms discounting. Seoul and Alberta data confirm differentiated, experience-led offerings capture higher-value guests and justify premium positioning versus competitors.

**Travel tech & distribution** — Travel Mixology demands dual visibility strategy: optimize for generative search (AI Mode, Flight Deals) while cultivating user-generated content (Reddit, YouTube, Instagram) to counter hallucinations and build trust. Biometric integration via mobile wallets will commoditize check-in; differentiation lies in pre- and post-journey personalization.

## Methodology and limits
Report draws on Mars pet ownership study (20,000 respondents, October 2024); Shape Insight survey (2,896 UK/USA travellers, October–November 2025); Amadeus global traveller surveys on AI adoption and biometrics (June 2025); Amadeus Travel Intelligence Air Supply Forecast and Demand360® hotel data (baseline 1 November 2025); KPMG trust survey; Reddit and YouTube third-party data; airline route and booking data from Amadeus; hotel occupancy and ADR figures from Amadeus and tourism boards. Figures are observed data, booking forecasts (H1 2026), or survey results. Methodological limits and confidence intervals are not disclosed.

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© Amadeus for the original report. This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel (https://tourismintel.ai). Read the original: https://amadeus.com/documents/resources/research-report/travel-trends-2026/amadeus-travel-trends-2026-report.pdf