Tourist Behavior Analysis

Mass Tourism is dead. Hilton 2026 trend report says what's next for the industry. For decades, the tourism industry was built on volume. Crowded resorts. All-inclusive packages. Selfie sticks and bucket lists made on Instagram. But that era is fading fast. The next wave of travel isn’t about where people go, it’s about why. According to Hilton’s new 2026 Trends Report, travellers around the world are making a radical shift: from mass tourism to meaningful tourism seeking connection, calm, and authenticity instead of crowds and checklists. Here are the key trends reshaping the future of travel: 1. “Hushpitality”: Seeking Silence and Stillness In an overstimulated world, travellers crave peace. Hilton found that almost half of travellers now add extra days to disconnect before or after family trips and many are choosing destinations where they can simply breathe. Wellness, mental clarity, and calm have become new luxury. 2. Home Comforts Are the New Carry-On The modern traveller wants familiarity. From favourite streaming shows to pet-friendly rooms, people are bringing their routines with them. Even abroad, 77% of travellers enjoy browsing grocery stores, proof that comfort and local discovery can coexist beautifully. This is also why long-stay travel and remote-work destinations are booming: people want a “home away from home” they can trust. 3. Generation Remix - Families Are Redefining Travel Family vacations aren’t what they used to be. Children help plan itineraries. Grandparents take grandkids on “skip-gen” trips. Families are seeking shared play, not screens. Travel is becoming a tool for bonding and shared growth across generations. 4. Inheritourism: Travel With Legacy and Meaning People no longer travel to escape their lives, they travel to understand them. More than half of families now plan trips to connect with their roots and local traditions. “Cultural immersion” isn’t a buzzword anymore — it’s a priority. 5. Purposeful Journeys: The Rise of the “Whycation” The biggest transformation is philosophical Travellers are asking why they travel. To rest. To reconnect. To grow. This emotional motivation — rather than location — is now the foundation of modern tourism. And This Is Why We’re Transforming Roatán At the Roatán Tourism Bureau, we see these shifts as a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We’re helping local businesses evolve from mass tourism to meaningful tourism, from quick visits on cruiseships to long-term value. That means: - Supporting hotels and hosts to create spaces that feel like home. - Training local operators to attract digital nomads and wellness travellers. - Promoting authentic cultural experiences that connect visitors with the island’s people and traditions. - Partnering with communities to ensure growth benefits everyone. Travel is changing — fast. And Roatán is getting ready to lead this new chapter: quieter, deeper, and more intentional.

I’ve visited 40+ countries, and one shift feels impossible to miss: Travel is no longer being planned around places. It’s being planned around outcomes. Not “Where should I go?” But “What do I want to feel, do, learn, or experience?” That is a much bigger shift than it looks. Because when travel becomes experience-led, the destination stops being the product. It becomes the setting. You can see it in the data: 63% of travelers are willing to pay more for room upgrades or special extras, 42% say AI helps save time planning, 37% use it for personalized recommendations, and 36% use it to find new destinations. At the same time, word of mouth remains the most influential travel research source at 36%, while user-generated video follows at 26%. That tells us something important: Travel discovery is becoming more personalized, but trust is still deeply human. People are using AI, reels, creator content, Reddit, and recommendations together, not separately. Amadeus calls this “Travel Mixology”, a multi-source planning behavior that blends machine speed with human authenticity. And on the experience side, the shift is just as clear. American Express found that 79% of Millennials and Gen Z are likely to seek out local workshops or destination-specific activities, 76% of global respondents say skills gained on a trip stay with them longer than material souvenirs, and 83% of Millennial and Gen Z travelers prioritize unique, authentic experiences over popular tourist attractions. So the real trend is not just “personalized travel.” It is the redefinition of travel value. Earlier, value meant, more landmarks, better hotels, tighter itineraries. Now, value increasingly means, better stories, local immersion, memorable skills, and trips that feel personally designed. 📍That is why smaller destinations can win. 📍That is why curated itineraries are growing. 📍That is why social discovery matters more. 📍And that is why AI will shape planning, but probably won’t replace human taste. My view: The next phase of travel will belong to brands, creators, and platforms that understand one thing well: People are not buying a destination. They are buying a version of themselves in that destination. What kind of travel do you think is growing faster now, destination-led or experience-led? #TravelTrends #TravelIndustry #ConsumerBehavior #ExperienceEconomy #TrendAnalysis #BusinessInsights #TravelPlanning #AI #DigitalConsumer #TourismTrends #ResearchInsights

✈️𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟑-𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 Geopolitical shifts, civil unrest, and sudden global events are making business and leisure travel more unpredictable than ever. You can't eliminate risk, but you can build resilience. My advice for navigating uncertainty isn't about avoiding travel—it’s about being an informed, prepared traveler who can pivot when the unexpected hits. 1️⃣ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨-𝐁𝐚𝐠 (𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐆𝐨) 🛡️ You have a physical Go-Bag, but what about your digital one? 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Store digital copies of your passport, visa, insurance policy (especially the emergency medical evacuation number), and key contacts in a secure, offline folder (like Google Drive or a password manager). 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬: If there is an option, utilize a tool like ISOS or Global Rescue to ensure that you receive vital security alerts and are easily located in an emergency. 𝐕𝐏𝐍: Use a reliable VPN, especially when connecting to public Wi-Fi, to keep your business communications secure from potential monitoring. 2️⃣ 𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐩) 🧭 Your best tool is not technology—it’s your instincts. 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬: Don't just rely on global news. Follow local, trusted media (in-language, translated if necessary) and sign up for official travel alerts. 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐬: In a high-risk area, avoid protests, political gatherings, and large crowds, no matter how peaceful they seem. If you find yourself near one, calmly and deliberately walk away in the opposite direction. During a recent trip to Istanbul, a group of men approached me when I was walking back to my hotel on a desolate street. After asking an initial harmless question, they started to get a bit pushy asking for local currency. I had to diplomatically get out of the situation and hastily walk back to my hotel before things escalated. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 "𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧": At your hotel, a meeting venue, or a restaurant, take 30 seconds to identify two distinct exit routes. Knowing your way out keeps you calm under pressure. 3️⃣ 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 & 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐬) ♟️ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐦, 𝐆𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐰-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞: Panic clouds judgment. Breathe, assess, and move with purpose. Wear neutral, conservative clothing and avoid displaying expensive jewelry or electronics that draw attention. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦-𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤: Keep your phone fully charged and have a physical power bank. A dead battery is a communication failure when you need to contact your travel security provider or family. In today's travel environment, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥. Do you have any tips from your travels? Please share! #BusinessTravel #TravelSafety #RiskManagement #GlobalMobility #TravelTips

People don’t travel to escape anymore, they travel to belong. We’re living in a time where you can find the cheapest flights, read every blog, and plan a trip in five minutes but what you can’t Google is connection. I’ve seen this over and over again. Someone books a Dose of Travel Club trip because they want to see Bali or Morocco or South Korea but what they really want (even if they don’t say it) is to feel something. They want to remember what it feels like to be curious again, to laugh until it hurts, to have conversations that go beyond “what do you do?” and to be part of something that feels bigger than them. By day three, I can always tell who came on the trip to find themselves again. It’s the one who’s been quiet at breakfast but suddenly dances at dinner, the one who came solo and leaves with a group chat that’s still active months later or the one who says, “I didn’t know I needed this.” Travel gives people permission to start over. To rewrite their story in a new city, to meet versions of themselves they thought they lost and that’s why I believe the next era of travel isn’t about itineraries or luxury. It’s about belonging. It’s about shared identity... the way a group of strangers from around the world can sit in a villa in Bali and realize they grew up listening to the same songs, had the same strict parents, and were told the same things weren’t possible. They look around and realize: I’m not the only one. That’s what we do — we create spaces where people find each other again where they remember that joy is a practice, not a privilege and that connection is so important. We pull them out of the matrix that social media and a busy, hyper individual life keep us in. Travel isn’t an escape anymore. It’s a return to yourself, to your inner thoughts, to your people, and to possibility.

The Evolution of Modern Tourism: Why Experiences Matter More Than Destinations Tourism is no longer defined by passive sightseeing alone. Modern travelers are shifting from simply “visiting places” to actively engaging with destinations through immersive, personalized, and experience-driven journeys. Today’s tourism industry is being shaped by travelers who seek authenticity — whether it’s participating in local culture, wellness retreats, culinary exploration, adventure activities, sustainability initiatives, or community-based experiences. This evolution is transforming the global tourism ecosystem. Hotels are becoming experience hubs, travel companies are curating meaningful itineraries, and destinations are investing in cultural storytelling rather than traditional attraction-based promotion. Technology, social media influence, and changing consumer expectations have accelerated this shift, pushing the industry toward deeper emotional connections and memorable interactions. For tourism businesses, the opportunity lies in designing experiences that create value beyond accommodation and transportation. Travelers increasingly remember how a destination made them feel, not just what they saw. The future of tourism belongs to brands and destinations that can combine authenticity, personalization, sustainability, and engagement into a seamless experience economy. The tourism industry is no longer selling trips — it is creating transformative experiences.

After 20 years of building Black Tomato, I still find the most interesting question is not where people are going next, but why they choose to travel. We have just released ‘Future Fuel 2026’, which brings together what we are seeing and feeling across travel right now. It is shaped by real journeys, shifting client behaviour, and conversations across culture and design, guided by the same instincts we have followed since day one. This is not prediction for prediction’s sake. It is about how travel is evolving emotionally. Nine trends. Seven destinations.  Not just where we will go in 2026, but why. All of the trends resonate for me personally and a few really stand out: 1. The Gift of Boredom Doing less is becoming the point. Time away from screens feels especially important for children, but matters just as much for adults. Boredom is often where creativity and connection begin. 2. Family Wellness Wellness is now shared. From Nordic saunas to star sleeping in Utah, families are reconnecting through rituals designed to restore togetherness. 3. Wild Waterways Harbour baths, cenotes and geothermal pools are where culture, nature and wellbeing collide. 4. Humate™ Human and AI Technology is not replacing human intuition. It is elevating it, making journeys feel more personal and emotionally intelligent. 5. Proof of Purpose Regenerative travel is moving from promise to practice, with meaning and joy genuinely built in. And the places we are most excited about for 2026: Brazil’s reborn Amazon. Panama’s biodiverse isthmus. England’s Jurassic Coast. Hidden Switzerland. Valle de Guadalupe. Taiwan. And a new take on the American Grand Tour. If you are curious, the full Future Fuel 2026 report is linked in the comments. #FutureFuel2026 #FutureOfTravel #LuxuryTravel #TravelTrends #TravelInsights #FounderPerspective #BlackTomato

In an increasingly connected world, more travelers are intentionally setting boundaries with technology to be more present on vacation — a trend some are calling “screen detox.” Hilton's 2026 Trends Report found that nearly half of travelers are extending trips with extra days before or after family vacations to carve out time for themselves. Even business travelers are embracing the trend, with more than a quarter seeking solitude on the road, whether that means choosing a quiet dinner over a group outing or prioritizing rest over socializing. Honestly, I'd argue this instinct is timeless. Travel has always offered a chance to step away from the demands of everyday life and reconnect with what matters most. What’s changed is the sheer volume of those demands. In an always-on world where work, notifications and digital distractions travel with us, the line between being away and being available has become increasingly blurred. A screen detox reflects travelers’ desire to reclaim that boundary and be more intentional about how they spend their time. For hospitality brands, the opportunity lies in striking the right balance: using technology to remove friction from the travel experience while allowing guests to remain fully immersed in the moments that matter. The best technology doesn't demand attention — it fades into the background. We've spent the last few years advancing the digital tools and capabilities that make this possible, from mobile check-in to personalized planning to AI-powered assistance that can resolve a question in seconds, so our Members and guests can be present the moment they arrive. Ultimately, the goal is simple: technology should enhance the journey, not compete with it. If we've done our job right, the only reason left to reach for a phone is to capture the sunset. #HGV #TravelTrends #TravelTech

Escape vs. Reinvention Did you know that many people who crave travel aren’t just looking to escape their home country, but rather to experience themselves differently? Your brain doesn’t just store memories, it predicts how you should behave based on past experiences and surroundings. This concept, known as predictive coding, means that in familiar environments, your brain constantly reinforces the same version of “you.” But when you’re in an unfamiliar country, these automatic self-perceptions weaken, because your brain doesn’t have enough past data to rely on. This is why you may suddenly feel bolder, more adventurous, or even more confident in a foreign place, your brain isn’t as bound by past expectations. The Default Mode Network (DMN) is the part of your brain responsible for self-referential thinking, your inner dialogue about who you are. Neuroscientific studies show that when people engage in novel experiences (like traveling), their DMN activity decreases, meaning they experience less self-focused rumination. This explains why travel often makes people feel lighter, freer, and more open to change.

Why rigid traveller segmentation will fail in 2026 For decades, the travel industry has fixated on narrow market segments. We’ve categorised people as "The Luxury Traveller," "The Digital Nomad," or "The Budget Backpacker." For SEO it makes things easier but for proper connection with the modern traveller it's outdated. People are more fluid and complex where a single trip now often looks like a mixology of experiences. Some scenarios we see through One Planet Journey: The nomad-luxury blend: Working from a high-end suite in the morning, then heading to a local, hole-in-the-wall canteen for lunch. The high-low contrast: Spending on a private, expert-led gallery tour, then taking the local bus to a remote village to find a specific artisan. The purpose-driven hybrid: Seeking a "Quiet-cation" for mental clarity, but ensuring the stay contributes directly to a local regenerative project. What is the common thread? You guessed it, deep travel. When we stop trying to box travellers into a single category, we realise that they are looking for depth. They want several things at once: comfort, productivity, and authentic local connection. Sustainability and luxury. Fine dining and streetfood. If your marketing only speaks to one side of a traveller, you are missing the full picture. The $520 Billion Shift to deep travel we outlined in the Deep Travel Report is driven by people who refuse to choose between luxury and local. They want both, and they want the experience to mean something. Are you ready to start talking to a "mindset"? How are you adapting to the rise of the multi-faceted traveller? #Deeptravel #Traveltrends #Travel #Travelmarketing #Destinationmarketing

This is how you get people onto public transport. Upon checking into an apartment in Switzerland, the municipality hands you a free travel card valid for your entire stay. No applications, no hassle. It’s just there, part of the welcome (tourist tax). It’s a small gesture with a profound effect. It immediately removes the biggest barrier to using a new city’s transit system: the friction of figuring it out. You are incentivized to explore sustainably from minute one. This reminded me of a similar nudge back in Malaysia. At a government conference, I (/every participant) was given a pre-topped-up Touch 'n Go card that can be used across any mode of public transport throughout Kuala Lumpur. Before that, I rarely used public transport. But with the card already in my hand, I was encouraged to try it. That single card changed my habits; today, I use public transport more than ever. These small investments build familiarity, break down psychological barriers, and cultivate long-term habits. The lesson is universal: The most effective public policy makes the right choice the easiest one. I love these examples in behavioral design. You don’t just tell people to make better choices; you actively make the better choice the easiest one. And it works.