Skyscanner Reveals The Seven Trends Shaping Travel In 2026

2026 journey developments embrace: Glowmads, Shelf Discovery, Altitude Shift, Bookbound, Catching Flights and Feelings, Family Miles, Destination Check-in

LONDON, Oct. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Skyscanner, a world-leading journey app, launches its Travel Trends 2026 report showcasing the seven key developments which is able to outline travellers’ behaviour within the coming yr and outlining the large developments shaping the way forward for journey.

In 2026, travellers are curating journeys that really feel extra in tune with who they’re and what they love. With the price of dwelling nonetheless high of thoughts, journeys in 2026 are being constructed with objective. They’re formed round passions, priorities and a private sense of ‘value it’.

Bryan Batista, CEO Skyscanner mentioned: “Skyscanner’s 2026 Travel Trends report shows how travel is about to get more personal than ever. Whether it’s building a trip around a must-stay ‘destination hotel’, getting lost in a new favourite book on a reading retreat, incorporating a beauty routine into their travel itinerary or bringing the whole family along for the journey, travel will become more curated, grounded and unique.”

The report combines Skyscanner’s personal information with international shopper analysis and insights from famend manufacturers together with Reddit, Malin and Goetz, All Trails and Penguin Books to establish the seven developments shaping journey in 2026.

The seven developments shaping journey in 2026:

Glowmads
Beauty rituals will form how – not simply the place – we journey.

33% of world travellers need to expertise native magnificence tradition and 20% say that they are influenced by TikTookay and social media^[1].

In 2026, skincare and wonder routines will transfer past social feeds and into real-world journey behaviours. From inflight skincare routines to visits to iconic native magnificence retailers to purchase cult merchandise, magnificence turns into a part of the itinerary. While Seoul continues to develop as a worldwide image of magnificence tradition, this development is much less about the place to go, and extra about how magnificence shapes the way in which individuals journey.

Shelf Discovery
Culinary tourism is swapping restaurant reservations for grocery store safaris. 

35% of world travellers plan to take a look at or store at native grocery at their subsequent vacation.

To “eat like a local” now means heading to the snack aisle. From Tokyo merchandising machines and 7-Eleven Slurpees to Iceland’s geothermal baked bread, gastro-tourism is altering. How individuals journey for meals is now half cultural deep dive, half funds hack, providing a novel glimpse into native life that is inexpensive and genuine. 

Altitude Shift
From snow to stillness, travellers are chasing year-round alpine escapes.

Over three quarters (76%) of world travellers are contemplating or planning a mountain escape for summer season or autumn 2026^[2].

In 2026, travellers shall be heading for larger floor – actually. Travellers are heading to larger floor – not only for the ski slopes, however for serenity too. From the Dolomites to Annapurna to the Canadian Rockies, alpine escapes worldwide are luring individuals year-round for off-peak peace. Skyscanner has seen a rise of 103% globally YoY of lodge bookings utilizing our “Room with a mountain view” filter.^[3]

Bookbound

Writing new chapters on how you can escape, reconnect and restore.

Over half (57%) of travellers have booked or would take into account a visit impressed by literature^[4]. 

Whether it is tracing the footsteps of fictional heroes, planning a sluggish vacation round a studying retreat or chasing the world’s most lovely bookshops and libraries, individuals are selecting journey and literature to flee, reconnect and restore. This development is translating onto how individuals are trying to find lodge bookings, with the usage of Skyscanner’s “library” filter up 70% globally YoY.^[5]

Catching Flights and Feelings

Meeting matches, mates and maybes on the transfer.

An spectacular 55% of travellers have gone or thought of going, abroad particularly to satisfy new individuals e.g. for friendship or courting^[6]. 

As courting habits shift and “catch-up friends” develop into a factor, extra travellers are swapping swipes for real-world sparks – from assembly matches in faraway cities to courting abroad to discovering a journey buddy on the highway. We noticed lodge bookings utilizing the “solo” filter has jumped 83% globally YoY.^[7]

Family Miles
Multi-gen journeys and household reminiscence making are on the rise.

31% of travellers the world over plan to journey with their household, together with multi-generational journeys^[8].

Multi-generational journey is on the rise – not simply to share prices, however to reclaim time collectively and create long-lasting reminiscences between mother and father, youngsters and grandparents. 

With funds an element and many 20-somethings dwelling at house, households – particularly youthful generations – are getting artistic about how and the place they journey. 

Destination Check-in

Hotels are the primary occasion, shaping the place and why we journey.

29% will keep in lodging that is a part of the journey expertise or vacation spot itself^[9].

More than ever, travellers are selecting the place to go based mostly on the place they need to keep. Hotels are now not a spot to simply mattress down – they’re the vacation spot itself. From gorgeous structure to transportive design to the general vibe, travellers are prioritising distinctive stays. And as youthful travellers (and their social feeds) gas the dupe obsession, uncommon lodging is redefining what it means to “travel the world” with out the long-haul flight. 

The Future of Travel

The way forward for journey Is curated, thought of and cleverer than ever earlier than. With 84% saying they will go overseas as a lot – or extra – in 2026 vs 2025^[10], travellers shall be stretching their budgets to make room for richer, extra rewarding experiences. 

AI is about to shift from assistant to agentic, the place a number of methods work collectively to unravel advanced traveller wants, from journey inspiration to in-the-moment help. It’s not simply an evolution – it is a complete new working system for journey.

Social and search at the moment are the go-to instruments for inspiration, analysis and planning. As search grows smarter, social platforms are reshaping the inspiration part by surfacing trending spots, area of interest experiences and suggestions in a method that feels private and enjoyable.

To learn extra concerning the Travel Trends 2026, please click on:

About Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a worldwide chief in journey that helps travellers plan and guide their journey with ease and confidence. Every month, Skyscanner connects hundreds of thousands of travellers, in 52 nations and 37 languages, to greater than 1200 trusted journey companions to allow them to discover flight, hotel or car rent choices. 

Founded in 2003, Skyscanner has workplaces worldwide, in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America the place traveller-first improvements are developed and powered by information and insights. Making use of the newest know-how, Skyscanner simplifies the complexity of journey and gives sincere and clear options, looking out round 100 billion costs every single day so travellers will be positive they’ve seen the very best choices, multi function place. 

^[1] These are the outcomes from a worldwide survey of twenty-two,000 travellers, performed by OnePoll in June–July 2025.
^[2] These are the outcomes from a worldwide survey of twenty-two,000 travellers, performed by OnePoll in June–July 2025.
^[3] Data compares international lodge redirects on Skyscanner utilizing the ‘room with a mountain view’ filter between 1 June 2024 – 31 May 2025 and the identical interval the earlier yr (1 June 2023 – 31 May 2024).
^[4] These are the outcomes from a worldwide survey of twenty-two,000 travellers, performed by OnePoll in June–July 2025.
^[5] Data compares international lodge redirects on Skyscanner utilizing the ‘library’ filter between 1 June 2024 – 31 May 2025 and the identical interval the earlier yr (1 June 2023 – 31 May 2024)
^[6] These are the outcomes from a worldwide survey of twenty-two,000 travellers, performed by OnePoll in June–July 2025.
^[7] Data compares international lodge redirects on Skyscanner utilizing the solo filter between 1 June 2024 – 31 May 2025 and the identical interval the earlier yr (1 June 2023 – 31 May 2024).
^[8] These are the outcomes from a worldwide survey of twenty-two,000 travellers, performed by OnePoll in June–July 2025.
^[9] These are the outcomes from a worldwide survey of twenty-two,000 travellers, performed by OnePoll in June–July 2025.
^[10] These are the worldwide outcomes from a worldwide survey of twenty-two,000 travellers, performed by OnePoll in June–July 2025.

SOURCE Skyscanner