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SmartFlyer this month released its third Travel Trends Report, detailing—based on insights from its global network of advisors, firsthand scouting and conversations with its peers—“the patterns, passions and pivots” shaping the way luxury travellers will explore the world in 2026.

According to the ‘2026 Travel Trends Report,’ next year “is set to be defined by intentional, joy-driven itineraries that blend cultural cachet, design-led stays, and once-in-a-lifetime moments.” The New York City-based luxury travel agency identified 10 specific trends it expects to flourish in 2026.

Those are:

1. “Transformational Travel” Is Booming

Luxury travellers are no longer waiting for “someday” to book their bucket list trips. Six-figure bookings by SmartFlyer travel advisors have increased 26% year-over-year, with safari itineraries surging by 22%.

Said the agency: “While spend alone doesn’t dictate the level at which a trip will have emotional resonance … investment of this calibre does showcase a deeply intentional approach to how our agents and clients are partnering on travel plans.”

2. Hotel Brands-Turned-Cruise Lines Are Enticing Travelers

The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Orient Express and Aman are just a few luxury hotel brands that have launched—or plan to launch—small cruise ships. SmartFlyer Head of Cruise Saul Fonseca added that “hotel brands at sea aren’t just enhancing cruise offerings; they’re redefining the category altogether. With the entry of trusted hospitality names, we’re seeing travellers who once swore off ships now leaning in with curiosity—and booking.”

3. Americans Are Travelling Together

Citing several external reports that said, among others, only 4.1% of Americans attended or hosted a social event on a typical weekend—which ius down 35% since 2004 and that over 37% of Americans feel stuck in a social rut and 44% haven’t vacationed with friends in a year. “Group travel offers a powerful antidote,” said SmartFlyer, adding that “requests for intimate destination weddings, long-term villa stays, and yacht charters are at an all-time high.”

4. Milan, Dolomites “Dominate” Ahead of Olympics

Not that Italy needs any help retaining its top spot on many travellers’ wish lists, but the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo and Salone del Mobile in Milan are driving added desire for northern Italy. Here, said SmartFlyer, “fashion, design and alpine adventure are stealing the spotlight.”

The agency added that “the 2026 Winter Olympics are sparking early demand for prime ski-in/ski-out stays and private chalets, often paired with Milan’s cultural scene for itineraries that blend alpine adventure with Italian glamour.”

5. The Rise of “High-Touch, Boutique Air Operators”

The demand for private aviation is surging—which is something SmartFlyer’s Beth Washington told LATTE recently at Virtuoso Travel Week—especially as commercial airfare continues to rise in cost, maintaining top-tier status in loyalty programs becomes increasingly difficult and the actual product quality diminishes.

In the report, SmartFlyer Founder & CEO Michael Holtz explained, “Private aviation has gone from being a once-in-a-while indulgence to a strategic part of how our clients travel. It’s not just about the privacy these charters provide—it’s about efficiency and access.”

6. Global Cultural Events Are a Major Draw

The mantra of “right place, right time” is a purposeful attitude among travellers, said SmartFlyer. This could include, for instance, “aligning a trip with the buzziest moment of Art Basel, or arriving in Paris just as a major retrospective opens at the Fondation Louis Vuitton or being invited to join a brand dinner during Milan Design Week.”

Hotels, too, are taking advantage of this trend, hosting their own seasonally and culturally driven programming on property.

7. The “Commodification of Experience” Continues

As explained by SmartFlyer COO and Managing Partner Erina Pindar, hotels are becoming brands with their own cultural cachet—especially in the luxury consumer cohort. “Hotel Esencia’s striped totes, Le Bristol Paris’ Sporty & Rich sweats, and Ritz Paris’ FRAME capsule collections are worn as lifestyle statements, not just souvenirs,” said Pindar.

This “commodification of experience” is changing the way clients interact with hotels.

8. Tennis and Golf Take Centre Court

Despite the seemingly surging popularity of pickleball at resorts globally, tennis and golf still share the spotlight, said the luxury travel agency. These sports “are fuelling a new wave of destination-driven itineraries,” it added. Not only are travellers seeking world-class courts and courses, memberships and private coaching, but trips are being planned about marquee events like Wimbledon and The Masters.

9. Big Brands Fuelling “Seemingly Independent Hotels”

Big hotel brands, said SmartFlyer, “are leaning into indie aesthetics to attract a new generation of travellers who crave authenticity over uniformity.” Examples of this include Hyatt’s Unbound Collection and Marriott’s Luxury Collection.

This approach works on multiple levels for the hotels: They can “maintain the illusion of independence,” while having the financial backing and other infrastructure of the parent company to carry out renovations, implement sustainable initiatives and ensure consistency in service.

10. Families Pivot Festive Travel to Europe

Instead of flying to the beaches of the Caribbean or Mexico in the winter—Americans, according to SmartFlyer, are now opting for European mainstays like Paris, London and Rome. Chasing value, clients are skipping the five-figure beach resort “that may feel like a rinse-and-repeat” and are instead seeking the “culture, history and holiday magic” of Europe’s capitals.

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More than three-quarters of Virtuoso travel advisors have observed more interest among their clients in booking sustainable travel experiences when compared to five years ago. In developing its sustainability initiatives, Virtuoso determined three pillars it would focus on: supporting local economies, protecting the planet and celebrating culture—which, in that order, are of most to least importance according to Virtuoso clients.

Nearly two-thirds of advisors (64%), said their clients are moderately to very informed about the sustainable practices and projects of the destinations or suppliers they are traveling to or with. An equal number of advisors said their clients are willing to spend more money if they know about a partner or destinations sustainability initiatives.

While that’s all great, what caught our eye is the way different generations value certain sustainable practices. Among Virtuoso’s clients, Baby Boomers are most interested in avoiding overtourism; Gen X wants to give back to locals and contribute to the local economy; and Millennials and Gen Z alike are willing to pay more for companies that have adopted environmentally friendly philosophies and practices.

Why this is great: It means there isn’t just one path to becoming a more sustainable business.

Executive Insight

Like Matthew Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso, whose mantra is “automate the predictable so you can humanize the exceptional,” Jessica Hall Upchurch, Vice Chair and Sustainability Strategist, abides by two mantras of her own when it comes to promoting sustainability within the network: “no shame, no blame” and “start where you are.”

LATTE caught up with Hall Upchurch as well as Javier Arredondo, Vice President of Sustainability, to learn more about the growing—but diverse—interests in sustainability among travelers.

To “really drive sustainability,” Virtuoso needed to determine “how do you get people to narrow their minds, to focus?” said Hall Upchurch. In creating its three pillars, Virtuoso is giving people, brands and companies a few ways to think about sustainable initiatives. “People engage where they feel that they can start [with] what is most important to them,” she added.

“All of this together—this integration, this interconnectedness—makes the biggest difference,” Hall Upchurch said.

She went on to explain that the different communities and locales where Virtuoso’s partners operate need different things, so it can’t be a “one size fits all” approach. It’s up to each partner to determine how they choose to support any sustainability efforts. Then, it’s up to Virtuoso to connect them with the right advisors so they can send the “right travellers” to those destinations, Hall Upchurch said.

From there, it can have a domino effect. Once a client travels this way, they start seeing travel differently, said Arredondo. He added that it’s Virtuoso’s role to “walk with [advisors] on that journey” of discovering sustainable partners across the globe. This increasing interest among travellers, is one reason why Virtuoso earlier this year hosted its first Sustainability Summit.

Under One Sky Awards

At Virtuoso Travel Week, the network again hosted its Under One Sky Sustainability Lunch. Here, Arredondo noted that Virtuoso saw a 22 percent increase in partner participation and double the member engagement when it comes to cataloging their sustainability efforts. Clearly, there’s growing interest on all fronts.

At that luncheon, Virtuoso also awarded suppliers and members for their sustainable-focused initiatives. Winners included:

• Protecting the Planet (recognizes a partner leading the way in conservation, restoration and sustainable innovation): The Royal at Atlantis, for its Atlantis Blue Project Foundation
• Supporting Local Economies (awarded to a partner using travel as a tool for empowerment, entrepreneurship and equity): Intrepid Travel, for supporting Indigenous tourism in emerging destinations
• Celebrating Culture (honours a partner preserving heritage, uplifting communities and expanding cultural understanding): Journey Mexico, for reviving the Chinampas of Xochimilco
• Sustainable Destination (awarded for the first time this year, this celebrates tourism boards embedding sustainability into the very identity of their destination): Jordan Tourism Board, for its Meaningful Travel Map of Jordan
• Member Sustainable Leadership Award (acknowledges a member agency that advocates for sustainability and vocally supports sustainable tourism in their words, actions and marketing): Winkaffe Global Travel, an independent affiliate of Avenue Two Travel

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Despite the perception that “travel is down,” Virtuoso is reporting that all travel categories are up when compared to 2024 numbers. Said Misty Belles, Vice President, Global Public Relations for Virtuoso: “Luxury travel just behaves differently.”

Diving into the Numbers

To that point, global network sales are up 12.1% (from January to June 2025) over last year’s numbers. (For reference, the first half of 2024 was up 14% compared to 2023.) When looking at each category, hotels are leading the way (up 25.5%). Performing at roughly even levels were cruise (+9.3%), service (8.7%) and on-sites (8.4%); trailing the cohort is tours at 2.9%.

When considering the latter half of the year, those numbers are even better: Hotels are up 33.1%, on-sites are up 16.9%, cruise 15.9%, tours 13.6% and services 6.1% (which Belles noted are typically booked closer in to travel, so she expects this number to be higher by year’s end). Breaking it down by season, fall bookings are up 30% over 2024 and festive bookings are up 35% when compared to last year.

The hotel numbers jump out even more when you learn that the Virtuoso network’s global leisure preferred ADR in the first half of the year was 8.1% higher than 2024 (which was up only 1.6% compared to 2023. Should the pacing continue, Virtuoso projected the ADR to reach $1,575 for festive season. So, the impressive sales numbers aren’t coming only from increased prices—clients are simply taking more trips.

Expanding that window from one to two years out, bookings are up 24%. And when you look at bookings of $50,000 or more in that span, they are up 35%.

Are Things Really This Good?

One hint that the market isn’t all positive is that there has been a slight increase in trips that are seven days or shorter in 2025 (along with a decrease in trips that are 14 days or more). The former saw a bump from 51.9% in 2024 to 54.2% this year, while the latter dropped from 10.4% last year to 9% in 2025.

Another interesting discovery was the level of optimism felt by Virtuoso’s network. While nearly all of the above paints a very positive picture, David Kolner, EVP of Virtuoso, shared some insight that showed some signs of caution among member and partners.

When asked how they were feeling about their business right now, just 69% of advisors in July said they were optimistic; this was down from 80% in January and the lowest since early 2022. While Kolner pointed that those who were pessimistic has remained fairly steady at just a couple percentage points since the pandemic (with a slight uptick to 3% in July), most advisors shifted from optimistic to “neutral/unsure.”

Things were even murkier on the supplier side. This cohort saw a large drop from 78% who were optimistic at the start of the year to 56% who said so in the latest survey. There was also a noticeable increase to 6% of suppliers who were pessimistic about their business, as of July.

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Despite “ongoing uncertainty in global affairs,” a recent study by Kensington found that there’s still “considerable room for optimism” among affluent travelers.

In its 2025 Mid-Year Travel Trends Update, titled “Navigating Uncertainty in Affluent Travel,” Kensington’s president Helen Giontsis said that “tariff battles and geopolitical struggles” have had “an unexpected yet real impact on travel in 2025.” With that, some trends are emerging.

Affluent Travelers Opt for the U.S.

First and foremost, Kensington noted that many Americans are traveling closer to home. While around half of affluent travelers said they are not changing how they travel this year, the number of trips that Kensington has booked within the United States has risen by almost 60% year-over-year. Among all affluent travelers, a third are either taking shorter trips or traveling within the U.S.

Not all of the travelers staying stateside reported it was due to financial reasons, however. Some noted that it allows for more time in the destination since it’s less time in transit; others are still in a “defensive mindset” following the pandemic; and others yet are traveling domestically “because of a loose political motivation.” Given the various reasons for domestic travel, Kensington projected this trend to continue.

VIP Experiences Still Top of Mind

Despite these shifts, the report also noted that “affluent travelers still crave once-in-a-lifetime experiences.” Sister companies Kensington Yachts and Kensington Villas are both “seeing ongoing growth” and no signs of slowing. The former is up 94% year-over-year, with the “ultra-luxe” segment up 47%.

One-third of respondents (36%) added that they are spending more on “VIP-style treatment” when they travel. To that point, about half of respondents are very or extremely interested in exclusive access to concerts, fashion shows and sporting events like tennis’ Grand Slam tournaments or Formula One.

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As travellers remain cautious about their budgets this year, luxury travel advisors within TravelSavers and NEST are reporting increases in shoulder season travel and last-minute bookings. The American Marketing Group (AMG) brands surveyed their advisors in spring to see how their business was shaping up for the year.

Interestingly, these trends were not just mirrored but were more exaggerated among those advisors who belong to AMG’s Affluent Traveler Collection program.

Shoulder Season Trending Up

Forty-one percent of advisors affiliated with the Affluent Traveler Collection said their shoulder season bookings are up from last year. Just over one in 10 (13 percent) said their shoulder season bookings were up by 10 percent or more compared to last year.

percent of advisors, however, said they saw a normal amount of last-minute bookings. One-third (32 percent) say they are not seeing last-minute bookings this year.

Hotels Up Their Offers; Travellers Willing to Wait

LATTE recently spoke with Ed Donaldson, Vice President, Sales, Affluent Traveler Collection, and Kelly Mickens, Director, Supplier Relations, Hotels & Resorts, Affluent Traveler Collection, to dive into some of these and other trends.

Said Donaldson: “The biggest thing [we’re seeing] is that unsureness and instability in the market, as to what consumers are going to do. Hotels have kind of gone back to their old playbook of, basically, offering two kinds of promotions. You’re either going to get an extra commission or you’re going to get an extra night stay complimentary. That seems to be pretty systemic.”

pipeline by any means necessary. Donaldson’s response? “Yes.”

No longer are we seeing the ‘revenge travel’ that was spurred by the pandemic; now, people are slowing their travels and are more reactive to the market. These incentives, said Mickens, are “a big, big carrot” for advisors.

Donaldson added that even consumers who may not be as affected by fluctuations in the market or exchange rates are sitting and waiting for the best deal because they know it’s coming. To that point, he said the pre-sell for this festive season “is anywhere near what it’s been for the last three” years. People are willing to wait to get the best rate.

Trending Destinations: Eastern Europe, Asia

According to Donaldson and Mickens, Eastern Europe (including Istanbul, Türkiye) and Japan are two of the top-selling destinations for the group. They added that Kyoto is almost outpacing Tokyo in terms of traveller interest.

With this being the case, Donaldson mentioned the importance of always growing the Affluent Traveler Collection’s hotel and resorts program. One recent addition is an off-the-beaten-path, four-bedroom hotel that has a Michelin-starred chef helming the dining room.

Similarly, Mickens pointed to a hotel in Montenegro—Heritage Grand Perast by Rixos—which offers luxury travellers a hotel in a lesser-visited part of a popular destination. With this hotel located within the Bay of Kotor, off the Mediterranean, it’s possible to visit in peak season (or high shoulder season) and still have an “insider, more authentic experience.”

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In travel—like in most other walks of life—there is such a thing as ‘too much of a good thing.’ A recent report published by Sabre argues that the abundance of booking systems (something that “agents of yesteryear could have only dreamed of!”) is taking a toll on travel agency operations.

The survey found that, shockingly, 91% of agencies use four or more unaffiliated booking systems. Further, more than half of agencies reported using seven or more systems and over 10% now manage 10 or more booking systems. This “sprawl,” according to Sabre “is directly impacting productivity, profitability and agent satisfaction.”

What’s worse: The number of systems used by advisors continues to grow. Rather than consolidating these extra content sources to streamline operations, agencies are instead adding systems to gain access to more content. Specifically, over 70% of agencies reported growth in system count over the past three years. (This number is 77% in APAC and “only” 53% in the Americas.)

“Our clients expect a seamless experience. Fragmentation threatens that expectation – it can lead to missing content, inconsistent information, and, ultimately, a loss of trust.” — Survey respondent at a TMC in Argentina

More than three-quarters of respondents said they use the GDS, supplier-managed portals, in-house proprietary booking systems and third-party content aggregators.

Despite opting to use all of these systems, more than half of responding agencies said that using multiple systems leads to unwanted complexity, drives up operational costs, creates inconsistent customer experiences, slows the onboarding of new advisors, contributes to advisor frustration and more.

Even APIs—which Sabre calls “a modern, ‘lightweight’ way to connect to content”—are becoming overused. Nearly two-thirds of agencies have increased API integrations over the past three years and over half of all agencies claim managing multiple API connections has become a burden. Again, APAC has the highest proportion of agencies with 10 or more APIs.

Sabre’s Response to Fragmentation

As a response to these mounting challenges, Sabre has introduced SabreMosaic Travel Marketplace, which “brings together the industry’s widest breadth of travel content in one place, with built-in AI efficiencies and flexible connectivity.” This “modern, cloud-native, and content-agnostic marketplace” supports Offer- and Order-based workflows.

“AI can be a double-edged sword. It helps me keep up with fragmented content across platforms, but it also contributes to the noise.” – Survey respondent at a travel agency in Australia

Benefits of the SabreMosaic Travel Marketplace, according to Sabre, include:

• The industry’s broadest content portfolio—currently leading with 38 NDC airlines, 2-plus million lodging options, and 70-plus car and rail providers—accessed through a single connection.
• AI capabilities to surface relevant content faster, automate key booking and servicing workflows, and help agencies convert more efficiently across air, hotel, car and rail.
• Enterprise-grade reliability through a cloud-native architecture, with modular integration and auto-scaling to support high-volume transactions.

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As the Asia Pacific region continues to be the growth engine for luxury travel, a new report from the Luxury Group by Marriott International has identified new expectations and travel preferences among high-net-worth (HNW) travellers in Asia Pacific.

Across the region, 68% are planning to spend more on travel over the next 12 months – 89% among Indians – with 74% planning to travel within Asia Pacific and 88% prioritising gastronomy as the reason to travel. One in four of all holidays planned (25%) are celebrations.

The report found three distinct new groups of luxury traveller have emerged – the ‘Venture Travelist’ who seeks business opportunities when travelling, ‘Experience Connoisseur’ Millennials who are travelling for enrichment and ‘Timeless Adventurer’, over 65s who are building their own itineraries and exploring places before they become popular.

“Our New Luxe Landscapes Report provides deeper behaviour insights and motivations into elite travellers from Asia and the Pacific,” says Oriol Montal, Managing Director, Luxury, Asia Pacific (excluding China), Marriott International.

“Whether it’s discovering new culinary experiences, travelling with their family or friends, or looking to forge connections with the local community, our research has identified new traveller archetypes, and provides Marriott International with new understandings in catering to this discerning traveller segment.”

Deeper Extended Experiences With Their People

The research among HNW travellers in Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and India reveals they are traveling frequently with longer holidays especially across the Asia Pacific region. An average of six leisure trips are planned within the next 12 months while 33% of respondents are planning at least seven holidays this year.

On average, a short stay comprises three nights while a long stay is two-and-a-half weeks. For many, the kinship and connection within a group enhances the richness of the travel experience, with over 70% choosing to travel with family or friends.

Australia is the destination of choice (46%), above Japan (42%) and Hong Kong, China (27%). Sixty-nine percent of India’s HNW tourists are planning a trip to Australia and it is the top destination of choice for Indonesian, Japanese and Singaporean travellers.

Australia was also named the destination people are most looking forward to visiting in the next year with 24% ranking it as their most-anticipated trip.

Additionally, Australians are the most likely to holiday longer. With Aussies entitled to a minimum of four weeks annual leave,  73% are planning a minimum two-week getaway and 33% taking over three weeks. Similarly, a third of Indonesians expect their trips will extend beyond three weeks.

Increasing Demand in India

The most active and engaged travel market, 89% of Indian HNW say they are planning to spend more on travel. Families and friends are touring together to mark key milestones, attend a private function or event, with 38% planning a trip with friends and 33% making theirs a celebratory trip.

A Fascination for Food

Nearly 9 out of 10 people (88%) are picking their holiday destination based on discovering a new food or culinary experience. Acutely aware of dining trends, almost half of the respondents (49%) describe a fine dining experience as an ideal night out. Reinforcing this point, 83% will choose a destination to visit an award-winning restaurant and 35% agreed they would spend more on unique culinary experiences. When choosing a hotel, 81% of HNW travellers make their selection based on fine dining options and 83% choose a destination so they can visit a celebrated restaurant.

Of the six markets, Australian travellers were the least likely to be swayed by new food or culinary experience in their choice of destination, at only 27% saying it would influence their choice, half that of the Indian market (55%).

New Traveler Personas

With more disposable income for holidays and a growing population of ageing travellers, the research has identified three new categories of affluent travellers. These include:

The ‘Venture Travelist’
The next-generation Bleisure tourist, the Venture Travelist prioritises holiday destinations that will generate business opportunities. While they enjoy their vacation with their family and loved ones, they are always on the lookout to secure a deal. Entrepreneurs at heart, they explore a location, shopping for local products and antiques, and looking to forge business connections with members from the local community.

The ‘Experience Connoisseur’
Predominantly millennials, Experience Connoisseurs plan their leisure travel as an opportunity for personal enrichment. They travel extensively and see the experience as an investment in their mental and physical wellbeing. They want to deeply explore a destination, they value personalization and actively seek exclusive one-of-a-kind experiences.

The ‘Timeless Adventurer’
Debunking every stereotype of the over-65 ‘silver set travellers’, Timeless Adventurers are keen explorers who want to immerse themselves in a destination. They’re less interested in tourist attractions and more drawn to what gives the destination a sense of place, what makes it unique and memorable.

Other interesting facts gathered from the survey found:

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