Skift Research Global Travel Outlook 2026
Consumer love for travel, rising demographics, and exciting innovation square off against unstable geopolitics, affordability challenges, and a lukewarm economic expansion
Skift Research – In-Depth Travel Industry Reports and Insights for Business Leaders
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Ask Skift is built on more than a decade of Skift Research reports as well as Skift’s original reporting and industry-leading events – as well as public financial information.
Skift + McKinsey & Company
Agentic AI could upend the travel industry. Understand the implications and potential for travel and hospitality organizations with the report Remapping Travel With Agentic AI.
Most Read This Month
AI, Google, and the Shift from Keywords to Context in Travel
You have to be at least a little obsessed with Google if you want to understand how the business of travel gets done. New data shows that AI has become dramatically more prevalent in travel search over the last six months, with significant downstream implications for travel brands.
The State of Online Travel 2025
In the post-pandemic environment, volatility returns: not from viruses, but from economic headwinds and disruption of the current distribution landscape. In 2025, the winners will be those who adapt quickly to a more fragmented, tech-driven landscape.
The Trump Effect: Skift Travel Health Index Market Analysis
Despite rising political and economic uncertainty under President Trump's second term, the global travel industry remains resilient, with a 2% year-on-year uptick. Tourism in the U.S. is slowing due to the decline in inbound travel but strong domestic travel builds optimism for the year.
Skift Travel Health Index
In 2025, travel matured from a post-pandemic sprint into a disciplined, value-driven market that prioritizes experiences and revenue quality over just driving volumes. As growth shifts Eastward and geopolitics redefine travel corridors, the industry’s success in 2026 will depend on its ability to remain tech-agile and price-resilient in a volatile world.
Latest Reports
Skift Travel Health Index: October 2025 Highlights
Global travel performance accelerated entering the final quarter of 2025, growing 3% year-on-year. The surge was driven by two major trends: a spike in car-rental demand, and the continued lead of the Asia-Pacific region.
The Future of Hotel Loyalty: Personalization, Direct Booking, and the Rise of Experience-Led Travel
Hotel loyalty is evolving into a data-driven, experience-led ecosystem where relevance and recognition define the guest relationship
Skift Travel Health Index: September 2025 Highlights
Live Tourism and emerging markets are defining the next phase of global travel growth, requiring the industry to shift focus from traditional seasonality to high-value event cycles and dispersed travel models.
Global Hotel Chartbook 2025
Hotel brands are trading ownership for scalability through asset-light models, brand diversification, and expanding loyalty programs.
Hospitality Research
Skift Travel Health Index: 2025 in Review
In 2025, travel matured from a post-pandemic sprint into a disciplined, value-driven market that prioritizes experiences and revenue quality over just driving volumes. As growth shifts Eastward and geopolitics redefine travel corridors, the industry’s success in 2026 will depend on its ability to remain tech-agile and price-resilient in a volatile world.
Rethinking Low-Cost Airlines in the United States
The low-cost airline model still works in the U.S., but only in two forms: network exclusivity or premium-lite pricing. Ultra-low-cost carriers that hesitate will end up consolidating by force, not choice.
Skift Global Travel Insights: What’s New for 2026?
Travel demand is holding in 2026, but growth will favor markets and brands that adapt as power shifts geographically and behaviorally.
Skift Travel Health Index: November 2025 Highlights
Global travel is expected to end 2025 on a high note, growing 4% year-on-year as of November, fueled by a shift toward the "experience economy" where travelers are now chasing high-impact, live events rather than just destinations.
Skift Research in Action
Skift Research analysts contribute to a wide range of in-person and online events. Watch clips from the recent Skift Global Forum East, held in Abu Dhabi in October 2025.
Consumer Habits Research
Middle East and North Africa Traveler Trends 2025
MENA travelers are redefining global tourism — blending faith, family, and cultural identity with digital fluency and a growing appetite for authentic, experience-led travel.
Hotel Technology Priorities 2025: Innovation, Integration, and Impact
The hotel technology sector is shifting from cost center to growth engine, with AI, data integration, and guest-facing tools driving efficiency and revenue, but success hinges on modernized systems, cultural readiness, and proactive risk management
U.S. Traveler Trends 2025
Americans are back on the road — guided by experiences, wooed by AI, wary of hidden fees, and booking wherever the value clicks.
State of Travel 2025
The future of travel is unfolding now; you just need the right data and insights to see it. The State of Travel report is your essential guide to understanding the trends shaping our industry and staying ahead of the modern traveler as a company, association, or destination.
Skift Travel 200 Index
The Skift Travel 200 combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. The ST200 makes it easy to track travel industry performance for the first time ever.
Learn more about the ST200 by reading our full methodology.