Spring Summer 2026 Travel Pulse 1.pdf
Spring/Summer 2026 Travel
Pulse
GLOBAL
In 2026, travel demand isn’t the problem. Converting it is.
The path to booking has grown more complex. Economic
pressure, geopolitical tensions, and regional disruptions are reshaping where people go and how they decide.
Today’s travelers rarely move in straight lines. They compare more
of travel and hesitate longer. They move across channels, revisit
decisions, and weigh trade-offs with greater scrutiny. The result is a more deliberate, but far less predictable, path to purchase.
Insights on behaviors, budgets, and booking trends
Drawing on data from hundreds of travel providers, alongside insights from more than 6,000 consumers worldwide, this report unpacks what’s shaping traveler behavior now, and what it takes to turn intent into bookings in an increasingly fragmented landscape.
The State of Booking Today’s Budgets Meet Travel Behavioral Traveler Bucket List
Demand Shifts
01 02 03 04
The State of Travel Demand
Travelers are back, but deliberate in how they book.
In Q1 2026, global travel demand increased, with traffic up across most segments. This supported gains in bookings and revenue, driven primarily by air performance.
More travelers are exploring options online
In Q1 2026, online traffic increased +8% YoY, driven primarily by air demand. The Americas led growth, with air traffic up +20%, alongside gains in hotel and OTAs.
Conversion softens across travel categories, with air more resilient
Conversion rates declined across most travel categories and regions in Q1 2026, with OTAs seeing the steepest drop (down of 12% in the Americas and -10% in APAC). Hotel followed a similar trend to OTAs.
Travel demand is growing, led by air in the Americas
In Q1 2026, air bookings increased +8% globally, driven by strong growth in the Americas (+17%). In contrast, APAC saw declines (-12%), while EMEA remained slightly negative.
Travel revenue is rising, but unevenly across categories
Global travel revenue increased +10% YoY in Q1 2026, led by strong air performance in the Americas (+19%). In contrast, EMEA and APAC declined across most segments, pointing to uneven regional demand.
Spending per trip remains stable despite shifting demand
In Q1 2026, global average order value remains relatively stable, with most segments remaining flat or negative.
Travelers continue to show strong interest in air travel but booking behavior varies
Global air traffic shows consistent growth throughout the period, reaching a peak of over +20% YoY in later weeks.
In the Americas, air demand is outpacing bookings
Air travel in the Americas shows sustained growth, with traffic consistently rising and reaching mid-20% YoY growth in the later weeks.
In EMEA, air demand is rising but not translating to bookings
Air traffic in EMEA shows strong growth, with a peak exceeding +40% YoY in later weeks.
In APAC, hotel demand strengthens but conversion remains modest
Hotel traffic in APAC increases over the period, with a late spike nearing +30% YoY.
Geopolitical disruption sharply impacts Middle East travel
Geopolitical tensions triggered a sharp decline in air travel to the Middle East, with bookings dropping as much as 78% versus early February levels. While nearby markets like Turkey remain more resilient, demand overall has yet to fully recover - highlighting uneven regional impact and continued sensitivity to disruption.
Travel outperforms retail during peak summer
From early July to mid-August, travel bookings outpaced retail sales by 4 index points on average.
In EMEA, travel leads during peak summer
Travel bookings in EMEA outpaced retail for over two months, by 6 index points on average.
In the Americas, travel starts strong but softens over time
Travel bookings in the Americas outpaced retail early in the year, with stronger performance through Q1 and early Q2.
In APAC, travel maintains a longer seasonal lead
Travel bookings in APAC outpaced retail from early July through mid-October, by an average of 8 index points.
02 Booking
Behavioral Shifts
Travel shifts towards mid-distance trips globally
Across all domestic and international flights, medium-haul travel is rising across regions. Long-haul travel declines most notably in APAC (-2.8 pts), while short-haul trends vary, indicating a broader shift away from long-distance travel rather than toward a single flight type.
Trips are moving closer to home among APAC travelers
International travel share declines in APAC (-4.7 pts) and slightly in the Americas (-0.5 pts), while EMEA increases (+1.4 pts) year-over-year. This suggests a shift toward more domestic and regional travel in some regions, rather than a uniform global trend.
International travel distances diverge by regions
Within international travel, distance preferences diverge by region. The Americas shift toward long-haul trips (+2.2 pts), while APAC shifts toward mid-haul (+1.2 pts) as long-haul declines (-1.3 pts), and EMEA remains stable.
Travelers who browse more plan smarter
Globally, 42% of travelers enjoy extended browsing when planning trips. This group plans with intent - booking earlier, traveling off-peak, and comparing providers - reflecting a more deliberate and optimized approach to travel decisions.
Travelers compare more hotels before they commit
Travelers evaluate a wide range of options before booking, browsing an average of 25 hotel listings prior to purchase. This sustained evaluation highlights a highly competitive landscape, where multiple interactions influence the final decision and conversion is rarely immediate.
Booking journeys are short on average, but highly variable
Travel booking windows remain relatively short on average, at 9.5 days for flights and 11.5 days for hotels. However, timelines vary widely. While some users convert within minutes, others take over a month, highlighting a compressed but highly fragmented path to purchase.
Longer trips require longer planning horizons
Booking lead times increase significantly with trip length.
Booking windows are tightening across trip types
Booking lead times remain relatively extended, particularly for longer trips, but are declining year over year across all stay lengths.
Travel stands out as a high-discovery category
Travel drives deeper discovery than most categories, with 42% of consumers globally engaging in extended browsing - on par with fashion. This makes discovery a critical stage for influencing travel decisions. However, engagement varies by market, with particularly strong discovery behavior in France (52%) and Germany (46%).
AI is expanding its role across the travel journey
AI usage now spans the full travel journey, led by discovery use cases such as activities (41%), destination ideas (40%), and accommodation planning (40%). At the same time, travelers are increasingly using AI for more complex tasks, including full trip planning (30%) and in-trip decisions such as dining (37%), indicating growing confidence in end-to-end support. This trend is most pronounced in APAC, where holistic planning usage is highest.
AI is influencing booking outcomes
AI is becoming a high-impact channel in the travel path to purchase. In March 2026, ChatGPT drove a higher share of product page landings than search (+13 pp), indicating strong influence at the discovery and consideration stages. This engagement is increasingly translating into transactions, with 72% of Criteo travel clients recording at least one ChatGPT-referred booking.
Trust and flexibility drive decisions
Good reviews are the top decision driver globally (66%), reinforcing the importance of trust when comparing travel providers. Free cancellation (48%) and special offers (45%) follow, highlighting the continued need for flexibility and value. While refundability (38%) and recommendations (30%) play a secondary role, loyalty programs and sustainability considerations remain lower priorities overall. Regional differences show stronger emphasis on reviews in the UK and Korea, and higher importance of flexibility in European markets.
Today's Traveler
Trips start with one intent, but quickly expand
Travelers often begin planning around a primary interest, with iconic attractions leading (58%). However, intent quickly expands, with strong interest in shopping (46%), nature (43%), and food experiences (36%).
Generational differences reshape how travelers spend their time
Sports travel drives fuller itineraries beyond the main event
Sports event attendees are more engaged across a range of activities compared to other travelers. They are 26% more likely to attend seasonal festivals, 19% more likely to go on food and drink tours.
Cooler destinations attract higher-spending US travelers
Peak-summer heat drives increased demand for cooler destinations. In July, travelers departing from warm US markets such as Las Vegas are 17% more likely to choose cooler destinations like Seattle compared to in October.
Choosing cooler destinations signals higher-value travel
Travelers opting for cooler destinations exhibit a clear premium profile. These travelers venture farther and spend more on flights compared to those who choose warm locations.
Niche destinations drive higher spend and longer trips
Travelers visiting niche destinations show a significantly higher-value profile than those choosing mainstream locations. They travel longer distances and allocate more budget to flights, reinforcing the link between destination exclusivity and higher-value travel behavior.
Premium travel demand translates into stronger retail spending
Premium travelers don't just spend more on travel, they also demonstrate significantly higher purchase intent across retail categories. Travelers heading to niche destinations are more likely to purchase premium goods, with uplift reaching +48% in perfume and cologne, +44% in handbags, and +41% in vitamins and supplements.
The Family Traveler
Families travel farther and spend more
Parent travelers consistently take larger, higher-value trips than non-parents. During the July 1-7, 2025 period, they traveled 8% farther on average and spent 6% more on flights.
Trips with children tend to include a broader mix of activities
Families are more likely to build fuller, diverse itineraries. Travelers with children show consistently higher interest across activities, especially nature activities (50%), food experiences (43%), and sporting events (22%).
Experience-led travel is being shaped by Millennial parents
Among traveling families, Millennial parents drive stronger demand for experience-led trips, over-indexing on food, shopping, and events. In contrast, Gen X parents lean more toward traditional sightseeing.
Family travel drives a mix of necessity and lifestyle retail spend
Parent travelers demonstrate strong retail engagement across both the US and Europe, spanning a wide range of categories. While purchases in toys and electronics reflect family-driven needs, they also over-index in categories like jewelry, skincare, and makeup.
Budgets Meet Bucket List
Travel remains a priority, even as rising costs reshape decisions
Travel remains a priority across generations, but rising costs are influencing how people plan. Rather than opting out, travelers are becoming more selective - making value, flexibility, and transparent pricing key to winning demand.
Travelers are optimizing plans to maintain travel
As costs rise, travelers adjust rather than pull back. Booking early (42%) leads the way, followed by traveling during off-peak periods (40%), and choosing less expensive destinations (35%).
Travel demand remains resilient, even among lower-intent audiences
While those who see travel as essential are the most likely to plan (79%), a notable share of those who consider it non-essential are still booking trips (38%).