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- Generative AI adoption for travel planning jumped 64% year-on-year to 18% of travellers; 25% received outdated information and only 46% trust AI systems.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 Yet 25% received outdated information and only 46% trust AI.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 |
|---|---|
| Global pet ownership rate | 56% |
| Pet parents taking pet on main vacation for first time in 2025 | 27% |
| Generative AI adoption for travel planning year-on-year growth | 64% |
| Travellers who received outdated or inaccurate travel information | 25% |
| People willing to trust AI systems | 46% |
| Airbus A321XLR aircraft orders placed | 500+ |
| Fuel efficiency improvement in new aircraft | 25–30% per seat |
| Global travellers who would use biometric gateways | 69% |
Figures as published in the source; forecasts and survey results are labelled as such in the note.
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.
Official source
The report is © Amadeus. 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
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