From a time-out with the dog to individually configurable hotel rooms: in 2026, travel will be more personal, technological and experience-oriented than ever before, as the Amadeus platform predicts. Falstaff TRAVEL presents the six most important trends.
How will we be traveling this year? According to the latest trend report from the travel portal Amadeus and the trend researchers at Globetrender, the answer lies somewhere between high-tech playground, pop culture pilgrimage and all-round feel-good program - for humans and animals. Six developments are emerging that are likely to noticeably change travel in 2026. And they have one thing in common: they are less about places than about needs, identity and experience.
What was long considered cumbersome is becoming a growth market: traveling with pets. New transport solutions, adapted rules and specialized services make it possible for large dogs to travel in comfort. Hotels are thinking beyond the bowl at reception - with their own check-ins, special room concepts and even bonus programs for four-legged friends. The background is clear: pets have long been part of the family. When you travel, you don't want to leave them behind, you want to take them with you - without compromise.
The classic one-click booking has had its day. Instead, travelers combine different tools: artificial intelligence for an overview, social media for inspiration, forums for honest assessments. The final decision is still made by the human being. This new way of planning is more fragmented, but also more creative - and it shows how confidently travelers are now using digital helpers. Expedia's Trip Matching, for example, has enabled Instagram users to decode reels directly and create complete travel plans from them since June 2025.
New fleets of long-haul jets enable non-stop connections between cities that were previously only accessible via detours. This saves time, is easy on the nerves and suddenly puts smaller cities in the spotlight. The journey no longer starts at the hub, but right on the doorstep - and this is precisely what makes destinations that were previously under the radar attractive. Wizz Air" is already testing the model in the budget segment - for example on the London - Jeddah route. In the premium segment, "Qantas" connects Sydney non-stop with London and New York with "Project Sunrise" - up to four hours faster than previous routes.
From Labubus to Bridgerton: series, films and music have long been more than just entertainment. They become the reason to travel. Fans don't just want to see film locations, they want to be part of a world - at events, workshops or culinary experiences. Cities like Seoul show how strongly this form of travel binds people. The metropolis is riding the wave of success of the Netflix film "KPop Demon Hunters" and invites fans to special menus and a singalong bus tour - a vacation as an immersive film experience.
Simply answering the question "standard, double room or suite" - without knowing exactly what awaits the guest - is a thing of the past. Thanks to new technologies, hotels are relying on Pick 'n' Stays: guests can determine every detail of their room themselves - from Pilates equipment and blackout blinds to work set-ups with monitors or proximity to the breakfast buffet. Personalization is thus becoming the standard in the hotel industry. Smart booking systems make it possible to offer rooms not as a category but as individually configurable rooms. Hotels are responding to a lifestyle that does not want to do without flexibility when on the move.
After all, there are travelers who don't want to switch off, but think ahead. Innovation centers such as Shenzhen are becoming destinations for curious people who want to experience autonomous mobility, biometric services or AI applications rather than read about them. These places function like open laboratories - and that is precisely what makes them so appealing.
