Travel demand was strong in 2026, with major concerts, sporting events and a growing preference for in-the-moment, flexible travel increasingly influencing where and when people travel, according to eDreams ODIGEO’s latest ‘A Year in Travel’ report.
Why: Major events create international travel demand
Music was one of the strongest triggers of international travel in 2026. Around Bruno Mars’ Wembley dates, searches for travel to London for 22 to 24 July rose 966% year on year from Germany, 642% from the Netherlands, 442% from Ireland, 355% from Austria, 332% from the UK and 285% from Portugal.
Shakira’s Madrid residency had a similar effect, with searches for travel between 18 and 27 September up 486% from France, 463% from Germany, 365% from the Netherlands, 345% from Spain and 105% from the UK.
Sport followed the same pattern. Once Arsenal secured their place in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, UK searches for travel to Budapest between 5 and 7 May rose 119% year on year. UK searches for travel to Miami for the World Cup quarter-final on 11–12 July were up 243% year on year.
Consumers are also prepared to prioritise sports trips. A global survey commissioned by eDreams ODIGEO found 58% would travel, within their own country or internationally, for a sporting event, while 39% would extend their stay by one or two days. Almost a third (31%) would cut back on everyday luxuries to afford a sports-related trip.
Looking ahead to 2027, major events are again expected to shape demand. Searches linked to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil are up 40% year on year, while searches for travel to Bulgaria around Eurovision in Burgas (11 to 15 May) have risen 390%. Oasis’ 2027 tour announcement has already sparked interest in Glasgow (+2,380%) and Munich (+1,605%).
Where: growth across destinations and travel products
Travel demand continued to grow across a diverse range of international destinations in 2026, with South Africa leading the way. Durban (+80%), Cape Town (+55%) and Johannesburg (+50%) recorded the strongest increases, followed by Melbourne (+57%) and Sydney (+48%) in Australia, and Lima (+28%) and Mexico City (+26%) in Latin America.
Demand also strengthened across travel products, with hotel bookings rising significantly in European destinations such as Dublin (+76%) and Tirana (+74%). Madrid stood out for its strong performance across both flights (+30%) and hotels (+63%), highlighting its appeal to travellers across different trip types.
Early booking data points to another strong year. Rio de Janeiro is currently eDreams ODIGEO’s most-booked destination for 2027, followed by Bangkok and Tokyo. Tokyo and Bangkok were among the most-searched destinations of 2026, showing that interest is now turning into bookings.
How: flexible, subscription-based and AI-led
2026 is the year agentic AI emerged as a major development in online commerce: AI agents that do not just recommend but act on a consumer’s behalf, within the rules the consumer sets. Travel is one of the first sectors where it is taking shape. In July, eDreams ODIGEO, the parent company of eDreams, Opodo, GO Voyages and Travellink, announced it was working with Visa to enable AI-initiated bookings, among the first to adopt Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol and Agentic Directory, which allow verified AI agents to complete secure, bank-authorised purchases on a customer’s behalf. In October, the travel subscription platform announced a collaboration with Amazon’s Alexa+ to allow customers to ask in natural language and find and book flights, hotels and car rental by voice.
Consumers are ready, with Gen Z leading the way: nearly three in four Gen Z consumers have already used AI-powered platforms for their trips or plan to. And they want to stay in charge: among consumers who have used AI-powered booking platforms, a third (34%) most value being able to delegate the most time-consuming parts of planning and comparison while still approving the final booking themselves.
The same appetite for flexibility and value is fuelling interest in travel subscriptions. Three in four consumers say recurrent access to member-only deals across flights, hotels and rail would change how they travel, whether by saving on existing trips, getting the best value or travelling more often. eDreams ODIGEO’s Prime, the largest travel subscription programme, has grown to 8.1 million members and is on track to reach 13 million by March 2030. Subscribers are also more spontaneous: they book on average eight days closer to departure than non-subscribers, helped by access to member-only prices and flexibility benefits close to the travel date.
Dana Dunne, CEO of eDreams ODIGEO, said: “People’s appetite for travel is as strong as ever, and we expect 2027 to be another big year based on the early signs. Travellers think carefully about where, when and how they book, and they look for real value, which is why subscription travel is gaining ground.”
“This year, agentic AI has moved from idea to reality, opening up new ways for people to discover and book travel. Whether a trip begins by typing, speaking or asking an AI assistant to act, it still has to end in a real booking: live inventory, secure payment and support if plans change. That is the engine we have spent more than a decade building, and our partnerships with Visa and Amazon’s Alexa+ extend it to the places where travellers are starting to plan. For us, every new AI interface is another way to reach our travel subscription engine, so that an appealing suggestion becomes a holiday someone can actually take, wherever the conversation starts.”
