Amadeus travel trends

Amadeus says the 2026 trip is no longer just a flight plus a hotel room. Its new report, published on December 3, 2025 with trend forecaster Globetrender, says travel companies are now selling around pets, fandoms, artificial intelligence tools, nonstop narrowbody routes, tech landmarks and highly customized rooms. (amadeus.com) The first shift is pets moving from cargo problem to paying customer. Amadeus calls it the “Pawprint Economy,” and the report says hotels, airlines and apps are building services around animals as part of the trip itself, not as an exception bolted on at the end. (amadeus.com) That changes what booking means in practice. A traveler choosing a weekend in Miami or Milan may now compare pet-sitting, in-room dog beds, airport pet relief areas and veterinary access alongside the nightly rate. (amadeus.com) The second shift is that artificial intelligence is not replacing travel agents so much as becoming a first draft. Amadeus labels this “Travel Mixology,” with software handling search and comparison while humans still step in for judgment, reassurance and unusual itineraries. (amadeus.com) The third shift starts with the airplane itself. Amadeus says newer long-range narrowbody jets are opening more nonstop city pairs, which means airlines can profitably fly thinner routes without filling a giant widebody aircraft. (amadeus.com) That is the report’s “Point-to-Point Precision” trend. Instead of changing planes in London, Dubai or Atlanta, more travelers can go directly between smaller cities, which turns the route map into something closer to a web than a hub-and-spoke wheel. (amadeus.com) A fourth shift is tourism built around fictional worlds and celebrity universes. Amadeus calls it “Pop Culting,” where screen locations, concert circuits and franchise landmarks pull travelers the way museums and beaches used to dominate destination planning. (amadeus.com) A fifth shift is “Innovation Tourism,” which means people are traveling to see places known for futuristic infrastructure, design or public technology. In this version of sightseeing, a smart city district, autonomous transit system or famous sustainability project becomes part of the attraction. (globetrender.com) The sixth shift lands squarely on hotels. Amadeus calls it “Pick ’n’ Stays,” a model where guests expect room features to be selected more like toppings on an order, with preferences for layout, wellness gear, entertainment and in-room services set before arrival. (amadeus.com) Amadeus is a travel technology company, so this is partly a forecast and partly a sales pitch for the systems that help airlines and hotels package these extras. But the report’s basic claim is concrete: the money is moving from the seat and the bed toward everything wrapped around them. (hotelmanagement.net) For travelers, the practical change is that the cheapest fare may no longer be the simplest comparison. In 2026, the better question may be whether the booking includes the dog, the direct route, the fandom stop and the room setup you would otherwise spend three separate apps trying to assemble yourself. (hospitalitynet.org)