The Global Risks Report 2026
At a glance
- 50% of respondents anticipate turbulent or stormy global outlook over the next two years, according to the survey.
- Uncertainty is identified as the defining theme characterising the global risks landscape in 2026.
- The seven-percentage-point increase between two- and ten-year forecasts signals accumulated structural vulnerabilities.
What the report covers
The Global Risks Report 2026, published by the World Economic Forum, surveys respondent perceptions of global risks across near-term and long-term horizons. The report assesses economic outlook, geopolitical instability, technological disruption, and systemic vulnerabilities facing the global economy. It identifies uncertainty—rather than specific discrete threats—as the overarching characteristic of the 2026 risk environment, drawing on expert respondent views to inform policy and business strategy.
Key findings
The survey reveals widespread pessimism about near-term global stability. According to the World Economic Forum's respondents, 50% anticipate either turbulent or stormy conditions over the next two years. This finding signals acute anxiety among global stakeholders about economic trajectory, geopolitical fragmentation, and institutional resilience in the immediate outlook.
Long-term sentiment deteriorates markedly beyond the two-year horizon. When assessing the ten-year outlook, 57% of respondents expect turbulent or stormy conditions—a seven-percentage-point increase from the two-year forecast. This widening pessimism suggests respondents perceive accumulated structural pressures and systemic vulnerabilities that intensify rather than resolve over the medium to long term.
Uncertainty itself emerges as the defining feature of the 2026 global risks landscape, rather than any single crisis or discrete threat. The report emphasises pervasive difficulty in forecasting outcomes and managing exposure to multiple cascading and interconnected risks. This reflects fragmentation across geopolitical, climate, and technological domains, limiting predictability and complicating scenario planning for organisations and policymakers.
Key numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Respondents anticipating turbulent or stormy outlook (two-year horizon) | 50% |
| Percentage-point increase in pessimism between two- and ten-year forecasts | 7 percentage points |
Figures as published in the source; forecasts and survey results are labelled as such in the note.
Why it matters
DMOs & destinations
Destination marketing organisations must prepare for volatile and unpredictable visitor demand. With 50–57% of global stakeholders expecting turbulent conditions, visitor arrivals, booking lead times, and seasonal distribution patterns may shift unpredictably. DMOs should diversify source markets, stress-test marketing budgets against scenario downturns, and embed flexibility into long-term destination promotion strategies.
Hotels & hospitality
Hoteliers face compressed decision-making horizons and heightened revenue management risk. Rising pessimism between two- and ten-year outlooks signals structural rather than cyclical pressure—labour costs, capital investment returns, debt servicing, and operational expansion all become harder to forecast. Operators should prioritise portfolio flexibility, modular capital expenditure, and scenario-based financial planning over rigid multi-year expansion commitments.
Travel tech & distribution
Travel technology and distribution platforms must engineer resilience into demand forecasting and pricing systems. Uncertainty in visitor volume and behaviour patterns challenges machine learning models and dynamic pricing algorithms. Investment in real-time data ingestion, rapid scenario modelling capabilities, and adaptive user experiences becomes more valuable than static product roadmaps in navigating volatile market conditions.
Methodology and limits
This brief is based on the publicly available summary and digest page of the Global Risks Report 2026. The source text provided consists primarily of website technical and cookie policy infrastructure; detailed methodological disclosure is not accessible in the public excerpt. The report appears survey-based, capturing respondent assessments of global risks across two- and ten-year horizons. Sample size, respondent geographic and sectoral composition, survey administration dates, response weighting, and statistical significance testing protocols are not disclosed in the accessible portions of the source.
Official source
The report is © World Economic Forum. This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel — it quotes only figures published in the source and never reproduces the document.
Check the official statistics on Pulse
Related reports
The World Economic Forum's Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 identifies AI, geopolitical fragmentation and supply chain opacity as the defining challenges for organizational cyber resilience.
The report, published by the World Economic Forum and listed in the library under the title "Women's Health Investment Outlook," frames women's health as an area of investment imbalance.
The World Economic Forum's May 2026 Chief Economists' Outlook presents a significantly more pessimistic view than its January edition, reflecting escalating Middle East conflict, Strait of Hormuz closure, and resulting supply-chain disruption.
The World Economic Forum's Global Aviation Sustainability Outlook 2026 assesses the aviation sector's pathway to net-zero emissions amid simultaneous pressures for growth, affordability and decarbonization.