Technology provider Amadeus has highlighted the key trends to watch out for in the travel industry in 2026.
Its new report, Amadeus Travel Trends 2026, identifies that pets, bespoke hospitality, point-to-point planes, pop culture and innovative planning are likely to be important to travellers next year.
Insights are based on Amadeus’ proprietary data and have been worked on in collaboration with travel trends forecasting agency Globetrender.
The report says ‘a wave’ of new technology, legislation, and innovation is ensuring animals’ needs are being given greater attention while traveling and that this is ‘a booming market’.
By 2030, Bloomberg forecasts the global pet industry will be worth US$500 billion, while research from Shape Insight suggests animals are traveling more than ever. In a survey of 2,896 travellers in the UK and USA, researchers found that 27% of pet owners who took their pet on their main holiday in 2025 were doing so for the first time.
China Railway Express is piloting pet-friendly journeys on its Beijing-Shanghai route, laying the foundations for a wider rollout, while in Italy, medium and large-sized dogs were upgraded to the passenger cabin following new rules from the civil aviation authority, ENAC.
In 2026, SkyePets is set to roll out long-haul transpacific in-cabin pet flights between Australia and the US, while AKA Hotels has integrated pets into its loyalty program with the launch of a Canine Club.
Amadeus expects travellers will flitter between platforms and technologies to build their perfect trip in what it is dubbing ‘travel mixology’.
It predicts they might leverage the hive brain of AI large language models to gauge consensus and big-picture thinking, then turn to Reddit or YouTube for nuance and lived experience.
From there, they could lean on brands’ conversational AI assistants to get suggestions based on past search behaviour – or skip that step entirely, combining their own custom recipe of tools to conjure up the perfect journey, Amadeus says.
Whatever their technique, the company says the intended result is the same: ‘a more layered, resilient approach to trip planning that blends machine speed with human authenticity’.
Google Flight Deals uses Amadeus’ inventory to surface destinations and the most affordable flight options from an open-ended user prompt. There is no need for a traveller to even have a destination in mind when asking the chatbot; they can just describe the intended vibe and atmosphere, and the tool pulls up near-perfect pairings.
Trip Matching from Expedia is another example, allowing Instagram users to decode reels instantly, translating visual content into full itineraries with booking links.
In 2026, Amadeus expects the world to ‘feel that much smaller’ as new fleets of long-haul narrow body jets take to the skies.
Airbus’ A321XLR is fitted with an extra rear centre fuel tank which increases the jet’s range by 700 nautical miles, (compared to the long range version). When the design was announced in 2019, global carriers placed 500 orders – the first of which were delivered in the latter half of 2025. More extended-range models are set to take to the skies in 2026.
IndiGo is to launch the first non-stop service between India and Athens in January 2026, while Air Canada prepares to connect Montréal and Mallorca for the very first time.
According to Amadeus Travel Intelligence, by early 2026 these narrowbody aircraft will account for nearly 10 per cent of Iberia’s flights by operating seven long-haul routes between Madrid and the Americas.
Qantas’ ultra long-range Project Sunrise will link Sydney to London and New York with non-stop journeys up to four hours shorter than traditional routes on board an A350-1000ULR aircraft.
Amadeus says 2026 will mark ‘a new dawn for air travel’ with ‘journeys once considered marathons will feel more like sprints, opening up second cities and far-flung destinations to new visitors’.
Amadeus also expects pop culture to inspire travel choices into 2026. It says some shows have been ‘driving fans into a frenzy’.
An estimated US$1 billion-worth of Labubus were sold in 2025, the report highlights, while Visit Bath expects Netflix drama Bridgerton to contribute approximately £5 million per year to its local economy.
The Seoul Tourism Organization offered an end-to-end traveller journey revolving around the film KPop Demon Hunters. Across the city, fans can forge connections while making traditional knot bracelets worn by characters in the film, eating featured meals, or joining a ‘Learn K-Pop dance’ program near the scenic Cheonggyecheon Stream.
Established fandom events are also seeing increased interest according to data from Amadeus Travel Intelligence. International flight searches for travel to San Diego, USA, made across the Comic-Con window are up 9 per cent for 2026 versus 2025.
Universal Studios Great Britain starts construction in 2026.
Bespoke hospitality is also expected to grow in 2026. Powered by new technology, hotels are giving travellers the freedom to choose every detail of their room, whether they want a reformer Pilates machine and blackout blinds, wrap-around monitors for deep work, or a room just steps from the breakfast buffet.
Amadeus says the evolution of the typical central reservation system (CRS), the core hotel software that manages reservations, room availability and rates across all distribution channels is behind this shift towards personalisation.
It says new iterations, such as Amadeus’ iHotelier reservations and booking engine, are ‘transforming’ how hotels keep tabs on availability. Design elements once hard to specify at booking – such as a spacious room that doubles as a VR gaming or at-home cinema space, or superior soundproofing that turns a suite into an ideal remote workspace – are now being reframed as high-value selling points.
Amadeus says the rise of “Pick ‘n’ Stays” reflects a broader consumer shift. As AI accelerates, it expects personalisation will no longer be a nice-to-have but the default operating system of choice.
‘Once generative AI reaches mass adoption, fuelled by in-app integrations from Meta and Google, scrolling through vague categories like “standard” or “premium” will feel increasingly outdated,’ the firms says.
Maher Koubaa, executive vice president, EMEA at Amadeus, said: “Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, we are seeing travelers embrace new possibilities that redefine how journeys are experienced.
“From the rise of pet-friendly travel and AI-powered planning tools to the expansion of point‑to‑point routes connecting our region more directly with the world, innovation is reshaping expectations.
“Pop culture is inspiring new forms of tourism, while hotels are offering unprecedented personalisation that reflects individual lifestyles.
“These trends highlight a future where travel is more inclusive, connected, and tailored than ever before, and EMEA will play a central role in leading this transformation.”
Jenny Southan, chief executive of Globetrender, added: “The future of travel is on ‘spin mode’ – with technology, culture and innovation propelling it into hyper-drive.
“At Globetrender we continuously hunt for shifts in consumer behaviour in relation to our framework of ten globally relevant mega trends, which range from Climate Contours to Youthquake.
“The broader pace of change that is now happening in the mid-2020s is feeding into an accelerated loop cycle within the travel industry, as differing influences nudge and ignite what both companies and individuals do in response.
“Although people’s fundamental human needs don’t change from year to year, what does change is how they react to marketing, news cycles and pop culture. As we enter the latter half of the decade, 2026 will feel more ‘science fiction’ than any year that has come before.”
