Far-flung locations and spontaneous city breaks are among the top travel trends to expect in 2026, according to Holiday Extras.
The ancillaries specialist has laid out six emerging trends for next year.
It predicts that UK holidaymakers will look further afield than Europe, take more spontaneous short breaks, and dial back the pace through ‘slow travel’.
Respondents suggested they are seeking ‘meaning, connection, and a little adventure’, according to the airport parking, airport hotels, lounges, car hire, transfers and insurance specialist’s team of travel experts.
The projected increase in trips to further-afield destinations could be driven by EU policy changes which Holiday Extras says ‘are about to make the airport experience slower than usual’ for arriving Brits.
The EES (European Entry/Exit Scheme) is due to come into force in October, and the ETIAS mandatory pre-travel authorisation for citizens of visa-exempt countries for short stays of up to 90 days is due to launch at the start of 2026.
“The perception of added travel hassle at European airports, combined with budget carriers offering cheap, no-frills flights as far as Jordan or even India, and 2026 will see us flying further than ever before,” Holiday Extras predicts.
“Some Eastern European, North African or Asian resorts are also keener to welcome tourists than more traditional destinations in Spain and the Med, meaning we expect to see Tunisia, the Black Sea coast and the Caucuses become the new must-visit holiday hotspots.”
Conscientious travel is also predicted by Holiday Extras, which expects holidaymakers to preference destinations whose governments ‘appear safe, stable and unlikely to trigger a crisis of conscience’.
For the second year running, UK holidaymakers told a Holiday Extras poll that they would be avoiding Trump’s America. Some 27 per cent said they have changed their plans to steer clear of the US – up from 17 per cent when he was re-elected in November 2024.
And on the other hand, destinations performing well on the Holiday Extras Good Trips Index – which takes into account ethical concerns including sustainability, human rights, press freedom and animal welfare – are seeing a surge in visitors.
These destinations include Brazil and Sri Lanka, which have voted in more liberal regimes in recent years, and are two of the index’s biggest risers of 2025.
Holiday Extras also predicts that 2026 will see holidaymakers chase the destinations used as setting for their favourite novels.
This is a shift from flying to the filming locations of popular TV shows and films, which was big in 2024, according to the company’s research.
Holiday Extras said the most popular holiday read of last year was Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, which inspired trips to Morocco and the Egyptian desert. It expects Romania’s Brasov, a gateway to Transylvania – the setting of the Count’s imposing castle in Bram Stoker’s Dracula – will be “an obvious choice for a literary-inclined traveller”.
Spontaneous city breaks are also expected to be popular in 2026, which Holiday Extras predicts off the back of upcoming changes to European airline baggage rules early next year.
Small cabin luggage (up to 100cm and 7kg) will become a mandatory inclusion for all flights to, from and within the EU, even for budget carriers.
Holiday Extras believes the new rules will leave travellers more inclined to book last-minute city breaks, without the fear of extra fees.
Destinations such as Genoa, in Italy, and Mostar, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, are touted as popular emerging destinations.
Multi-generational family trips are also expected to flourish, in part because the ongoing cost-of-living crisis means young adults have been “tagging along on parent-funded holidays much later in life than ever before”, Holiday Extras says.
Now, it suggests the ‘Bank of Grandma and Grandpa’ is “footing the bill for the big family getaway”.
To meet this demand, Holiday Extras expects to see a rise in villa holidays, cruise cabins, and large countryside rentals for bigger family groups. It expects locations along the Adriatic coast, like Istria and Kotor, to compete with classic Mediterranean family holiday hotspots.
Holiday Extras also points to an anticipated rise in demand for ‘slow travel’, with holidaymakers increasingly seeking an opportunity to switch off in a fast-paced world.
The firm says slow travel “will become easier than ever” with the European night train network expanding, sleeper services linking Paris to Berlin, Vienna, Barcelona and elsewhere, and electrification of Eastern Europe’s Western Silk Road railway routes.
UK holidaymakers are also rediscovering ferry travel as an affordable way to turn the act of getting there into an experience, Holiday Extras says, which is “opening up more destinations in Spain, Ireland, Scandinavia and beyond”.
Seamus McCauley, head of public affairs at Holiday Extras, said: “If 2025 was about grabbing bargains and returning to old favourites, 2026 looks set to be more adventurous, more thoughtful, and more personal.
“Travellers are broadening their horizons – choosing places that reflect their values, their stories, and their families’ needs.
“Regardless of your motivations for travel – from exploring a destination you fell in love with from your favourite book, to escaping from the fast pace of daily life, we hope these 2026 travel trends help you book the trip you’re looking for.”
