Tripadvisor Trendcast 2026 Introduces The Year of Meaningful Travel Experiences

Core Insights - The 2026 Trendcast report by Tripadvisor highlights a significant shift in travel planning, emphasizing experiences over destinations [3][5] - Key trends include a rise in pet-friendly travel, extreme adventure experiences, and child-led trip planning, reflecting changing traveler priorities [3][10] Trend Analysis - Pet-Friendly Travel: Bookings for pet-friendly experiences have surged by 260% year-on-year, indicating a growing trend of incorporating pets into travel plans [13] - Extreme Adventure Experiences: There is a notable increase in high-impact adventures, with glacier tours growing by 29%, lava field excursions by 79%, and heli-hiking by 56% year-on-year [8] - Child-Led Trip Planning: Experience bookings with children's tickets have risen by 19% year-on-year, particularly in heritage tours (+40%) and cooking classes (+47%), showcasing a shift in family travel dynamics [10] - Active Travel: The trend of "Sweat Jetting" is gaining traction, with major marathons attracting significant visitor increases, such as +300% for the Chicago Marathon [6] - Soft Clubbing: Nightlife is evolving towards bookable music experiences, with DJ sets on the water seeing a 29% increase in bookings and listening bars surging by 64% [11][12] Methodology and Data Insights - The Trendcast is based on extensive data from over one billion reviews and contributions, combined with behavioral insights from travelers, providing a comprehensive view of evolving travel trends [2][15]