Travel Forward: Data, Insights and Trends for 2026
At a glance
- Global travel market projected to reach $1.67 trillion in 2026, extending post-pandemic recovery across all regions.
- Online bookings forecast to rise 8% in 2025 to $1.07 trillion; Asia Pacific accounts for 36% of OTA sales.
- 58% of U.S. travellers use AI for trip planning; search engine usage fell from 51% to 36% as generative AI platforms surged.
- OTAs generate $408 billion in 2025 bookings but show uneven regional penetration; India's OTAs claim 55% of online bookings.
- Short-term rental online bookings near $190 billion in 2025; 71% of U.S. hosts adopted AI for pricing and analytics.
What the report covers
Phocuswright's Travel Forward report provides global market sizing, consumer behaviour and technology trends across airlines, hotels, short-term rentals, OTAs, AI adoption and loyalty. It covers North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East with projected 2025–2026 data. The analysis examines how travellers research and book trips, how suppliers adapt to AI and autonomous agents, and how loyalty behaviours are evolving across generations and markets.
Key findings
Global travel market momentum continues despite economic headwinds. Gross bookings are projected to reach $1.67 trillion by 2026, with growth moderating from the 2023–24 surge yet demand remaining robust across nearly all regions. International travel, particularly outbound flows from Asia Pacific, leads expansion, whilst Europe and the Americas show sustained strength. The U.S. remains the largest market at $506.8 billion in 2025, though growth has slowed as emerging markets in APAC, Latin America and the Middle East expand at double-digit rates.
Digital adoption accelerates unevenly across geographies. Online bookings are projected to rise 8% in 2025 to $1.07 trillion. Asia Pacific leads with 36% of OTA sales, whilst Europe and North America show stronger direct-booking penetration. OTAs account for one in four travel dollars globally, generating $408 billion in 2025 bookings, but dominance is concentrated: the U.S. represents $112 billion (27% of global OTA value), China $60 billion and Japan $24 billion. India, where OTAs claim 55% of online bookings, illustrates emerging-market growth via travel superapps integrating rail, hotel, bus and fintech.
Generative AI is reshaping travel planning. As of 2H 2025, 58% of active U.S. travellers use AI for some purpose; 39% use it specifically for trip planning via ChatGPT, Google Gemini or similar tools. Search engine usage for travel research fell from 51% in late 2024 to 36% by 2H 2025, whilst generative AI platforms jumped from 6% to 15%. Millennials lead adoption at 58%, compared to 45% of Gen Z and 11% of baby boomers, driven by efficiency rather than novelty. Social networks usage rose from 16% in 2023 to 19% in 2025, reflecting Gen Z preference for peer-authentic voices.
Short-term rentals are professionalising rapidly. Online STR bookings are projected to near $190 billion in 2025. U.S. hosts average 2.9 active marketplaces (up from 2.4 in 2021); 59% work with property managers, and 73% of managed hosts received bookings via property manager channels. Seventy-one per cent adopted AI in the past year for pricing, messaging and analytics. Direct booking is rising, with 35% of hosts receiving bookings via their own websites. STR guests average 6.2 nights per stay versus 5.5 for hotels; 85% rate stays 4–5 out of 5, and 61% took a workcation trip.
OTA dominance persists but faces structural challenges. OTAs command the lodging segment but hold modest share in air and minimal presence in cruise and rail. Emerging markets show stronger OTA penetration than mature regions, where brand loyalty and direct booking gain traction. AI agents and autonomous booking are moving from concept to commercial implementation. Travel suppliers must invest in clean data infrastructure to support agentic reasoning and prepare for agentic traffic volumes. Digital identity wallets, projected to reach half a billion smartphone users by 2026, will enable one-click agent-driven booking.
Key numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Global gross travel bookings | $1.67 trillion |
| Online travel bookings | $1.07 trillion |
| OTA bookings | $408 billion |
| Short-term rental online bookings | ~$190 billion |
| U.S. travel market | $506.8 billion |
| U.S. travellers using AI for trip planning | 39% |
| U.S. hosts adopting AI for business | 71% |
| Average marketplaces per U.S. host | 2.9 |
Figures as published in the source; forecasts and survey results are labelled as such in the note.
Why it matters
DMOs & destinations
AI-driven planning is reshaping discovery. DMOs must ensure destination content is structured, verified and machine-readable for AI platforms to cite in summaries. As search engines lose ground to generative AI and social networks, marketing strategies must shift from keyword ranking to AI agent integration and authentic social channels.
Hotels & hospitality
OTAs still dominate hotel distribution despite direct-booking gains in mature markets. Hotels must integrate AI connectivity, enable real-time pricing visibility to AI providers and compete on loyalty flexibility. Emerging market growth and generational shifts—millennials relying on AI, Gen Z favouring social proof—demand localised, tech-enabled engagement strategies.
Travel tech & distribution
OTA dominance persists in emerging markets and lodging but weakens in mature regions. AI agents and autonomous booking are moving from prototype to commercial scale. Firms must invest in clean data infrastructure, prepare for agentic traffic volumes and decide whether to partner with or compete against aggregators as digital identity wallets enable verified one-click booking.
Methodology and limits
Phocuswright's analysis draws on market sizing models, consumer surveys and proprietary data tools. All 2025–2026 market figures are explicitly noted as projections. AI adoption data reflect Phocuswright consumer surveys of U.S., U.K., French and German travellers in 1H and 2H 2025. Short-term rental data come from dedicated U.S. surveys on host behaviour, guest perceptions and distribution. Regional bookings are modelled via Phocuswright's Phocal Point tool. This brief is based on the publicly available summary; full datasets and longer-term forecasts require paid subscription.
Official source
The report is © Phocuswright. This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel — it quotes only figures published in the source and never reproduces the document.
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