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Travel Horizons

2026 SEPTEMBER EDITION

Unpacking the rise of AI-powered holiday-maxing.

How AI, changing budgets and shifting priorities are reshaping the way Europe travels

Overall demand for travel remains strong since our last report in April, with departures up 5.4% in volume year to date (end of August 2026).

One in five people say they are taking more holidays abroad and 18% say they place higher priority on travel than they used to. These are the findings of consumer research across five key European markets for lastminute.com, involving 5,001 people across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain conducted in August 2026.

Family departures are growing fastest at 9.6% year on year. While the later booking trend has remained sturdy this year, there is also evidence of a return to planning further out, with bookings made more than six weeks before departure up by 7.9%.

The research, together with lastminute.com’s own data, provides a powerful predictor for how consumers are continuing to evolve how they travel through shoulder season and into 2027.

The biggest trend that has emerged in the last six months is how AI is helping us to optimise every element of a trip. From experience to value, from time to comfort, consumers are demanding more than ever from AI. The technology is moving from discovery into the holiday experience itself.

The four new rules of travel

Holiday-maxing is really about getting more of what matters from every trip. Travellers are becoming smarter about where they spend, how they use their time and the experiences they prioritise. Increasingly, technology is the tool helping them do it – turning more choice into better, more confident decisions.
Alessandro Petazzi, CEO, lastminute.com
Cover of Travel Horizons 2026 report
Download the complete report for the full analysis and supporting findings
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Inside the data

This edition combines lastminute.com’s first-party booking and departure data with consumer research across five European markets – the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

5001

Consumers surveyed

5

European markets analysed
UK, DE, FR, IT, ES

Throughout the report, the designation *CD refers to consumer data from research conducted by Censuswide among 5,001 adults aged 18+ across the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany between 25 August and 1 September 2026. The designation *LD refers to lastminute.com own proprietary data, based on year-on-year comparisons to the end of August 2026.

PROMPT TO PARADISE

Ask AI, but don’t let it book.

AI moves from inspiration to influence, playing a bigger role in the holiday journey.

Overall, almost half of people (45%) surveyed have used AI to plan a holiday in the last 12 months*CD.
AI is no longer just a planning or discovery tool but is increasingly being used on trips by over a third of respondents (37%)*CD.

Our own data shows AI referrals are growing quickly, particularly in Germany (+130%), France (+79%) and the UK (+41%)**LD.

AI travel pioneers are more likely to be found on the continent than the UK, with almost twice the proportion of travellers in Spain and Italy (57% and 51% respectively) using AI to plan a holiday, versus 30% in the UK*CD.

ChatGPT dominates AI referral traffic, accounting for around 95-97% of AI referrals**LD across markets.

AI visitors appear highly engaged, with lower bounce rates and AI baskets higher than general traffic, underlining how important it is to serve AI-enabled travel interactions.

AI referrals are surging

Germany +130%
France +79%
UK +41%

ChatGPT accounts for around 95–97% of AI referral traffic across markets.

45%

of people surveyed have used AI to plan a holiday in the last 12 months

57%

of travellers in Spain use AI to plan their holiday.

37%

now use AI on the trip itself, not just to plan it beforehand

The AI Adoption Gap

There are signs of a massive generational AI adoption divide. AI usage for holiday planning drops sharply with age, with 73% of Gen Z and 68% of Millennials using AI to plan trips in the past 12 months, compared to 38% of adults over 55 years old. Similarly, 65% of Gen X actively use AI while on holiday, whereas 74% of over-55s refrain from using AI while travelling*CD.

For UK travellers, translating languages is the highest use of AI on holiday of all the choices, the only country out of the five where this is the case*CD, showing that Brits need the most help when it comes to having conversations and ordering when abroad.

What AI is praised for

Spent less time planning17%
Built a holiday tailored to my interests16%
Felt more confident about my choice16%
Booked a destination I hadn’t considered11%

Trust stops at the book button

When it comes to trusting AI to take on the booking journey, there is still work to do for. Share of respondents happy for AI to take on each part of the booking journey:

Compare prices40%
Recommend29%
Inspire me27%
Build itinerary25%
Resolve issues16%
Book my holiday12%

TRAVEL, TAILORED

Save on the flight, spend on the night

Travellers are becoming more intentional about how they build their holidays.

Customers are continuing to pair low-cost flights with higher-star hotels at scale, while selectively adding extras that make holidays smoother, more flexible or more comfortable. A parking space is now a must-have as part of package holiday add-ons, with demand more than doubling.

Our survey suggests reassurance and flexibility remain big draws in terms of how travellers personalise their packages. Insurance was the top holiday extra respondents considered essential at 31%. For Italians, seat selection matters even more with 36% of respondents putting this first.

PARKING IS HAVING A MOMENT

Branded fare +169.7%
Parking +156.6%
Service Package +106.2%
Priority Boarding +60.9%

WINNING COMBINATIONS

Low-cost + 5-star + Parking+455.9%
Low-cost + 4-star + Parking+211.5%
Full-service + 4-star + Parking+212.5%
Full-service + 4-star + Service Package+173.8%

Hand Luggage, High Thread Count trend still holds: bookings pairing a low-cost flight with a 4-star+ hotel

59.5%2025 59.6%2026

31%

rate insurance the top essential holiday extra overall

36%

of Italians put seat selection first — the top pick in that market

CFAR

A brand-new product for 2026, Cancel For Any Reason has already attracted good volumes and performs best on bookings with shorter lead times and shorter stays — suggesting it’s bought for more time-pressured or less certain trips. Most demand has come from travellers in Spain and Italy.

WEEKEND WORTH IT

Save on the flight, spend on the night

Short breaks are becoming a regular part of how people travel, not just something sparked by one-off events. Friday is fast becoming the new getaway day.
That Fri-yay feeling is alive and well when it comes to short breaks, with Friday departures jumping +10.1% year on year. With Fridays now the single largest weekday for short breaks, travellers are adding shorter breaks and maximising their weekends with just a single day’s annual leave.

+10.1%

year-on-year rise in Friday departures – the single largest weekday for short breaks, as Thursday’s share fell.

IN THE NEXT 2 YEARS, TRAVELLERS EXPECT…

More off-season travel27%
More holidays tailored to my interests19%
More frequent trips16%
to be greater users of AI16%

MOST POPULAR
SHORT BREAKS

Ranked by booking volume.
  • 2
    London
  • 2
    Malta
  • 3
    Dublin
  • 4
    Marrakech
  • 5
    Costa del Sol
Sun and beach departures are also becoming more short-stay, suggesting that short-break behaviour is spreading beyond classic city breaks.

EVENT-LED TRAVEL STILL MATTERS…

+32.8%

Eurovision week, Vienna

+11.6%

Bad Bunny tour cities, YoY

+5.9%

Roland Garros

+12.6%

US Open, New York, YoY

+0.8%

Wimbledon, London, YoY
…but not every major event creates a booking spike.

HOLIDAYING AGAINST THE HEAT

The rise of the “Coolcation”

Extreme weather is now the second-biggest factor consumers say will change how they travel over the next five years, behind cost.

Coolcation bookings are climbing faster than the market as a whole. Spain is adopting the coolcation faster than any other market: 17% of Spanish respondents pick coolcations as their most appealing holiday type – just behind the beach at 20%.*CD Dublin also breaks into the top 10 on the Growth Hotlist, outpacing Sharm El Sheikh, the Algarve and Malta. **LD

+9.3%

YoY bookings to Scandinavia & the Baltics – ahead of +5.4% overall departure growth **LD

DUBLIN

is now the single most-booked coolcation destination, ahead of Vienna, Copenhagen and Edinburgh **LD

+18.9%

YoY growth in family coolcation bookings – the fastest-growing groups, ahead of solo travellers, couples and adult group **LD

WHAT WILL CHANGE TRAVEL MOST

Rising cost35%
Climate change & extreme weather15%
Political instability abroad11%

The Growth Hotlist

The latest movers and shakers show the value / sunshine combination continuing to have a moment, with Mediterranean favourites joined by North African and Red Sea destinations.

The Emerald Isle is catching with the eye, as Dublin breaks into the top 10 Growth Hotlist for the first time, outpacing Sharm El Sheikh, the Algarve and Malta in terms of growth in bookings.

It’s a case of “go where you know”, from Malta and the Algarve to Marrakech and Sharm El Sheikh, travellers appear to be favouring proven destinations that offer an easy combination of affordability, sunshine and experience.

Want to know more?

Look at where our customers have been and where they’re heading next.
Discover Destinations

TOP 10

FASTEST-GROWING DESTINATIONS
  • 1
    Malta
  • 2
    Marrakech
  • 3
    London
  • 4
    Sharm El Sheikh
  • 5
    Hurghada
  • 6
    Dublin
  • 7
    Hammamet
  • 8
    Algarve
  • 9
    Rhodes
  • 10
    Costa Blanca

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