Expedia data: short city breaks 2026

Expedia Group said on May 22 that summer 2026 travel demand is tilting toward shorter-distance breaks, with travelers staying closer to home and building trips around flexibility and price. The company’s latest “Unpack ’26 Summer” report said domestic travel is dominating summer planning, while a separate Expedia research package for 2026 highlighted “hopping between hotels” as part of changing traveler behavior. Tornos News, citing Expedia’s findings on May 22, said short-distance trips and multi-day city breaks were among the dominant patterns for the season. Expedia said the trends were based on first-party data from Expedia and Hotels.com, along with traveler insights and social listening. ### What exactly did Expedia say about summer 2026 travel? Expedia Group said in its May 22 summer report that “travel isn’t slowing down - it’s being reshaped,” with major events and rising costs affecting decisions. The company said travelers are either staying closer to home or choosing destinations where their money goes further. In the same report, Expedia said demand for domestic travel was dominating summer holiday planning. (hospitalitynet.org) Tornos News reported on May 22 that Expedia’s data pointed specifically to short-distance trips and multi-day city breaks as leading summer patterns. That framing fits Expedia’s broader 2026 research, which says travelers are changing not only where they go but how they structure trips. ### Where does “hotel hopping” fit into this? Expedia Group’s Unpack ’26 research says travelers are “hopping between hotels” and booking multiple hotels in one trip for “more value and flexibility.” The company presented that as one of two trends redefining the hotel experience in 2026. (hospitalitynet.org) That language helps explain why short city breaks can stretch across more than one property. (tornosnews.gr) Expedia did not describe hotel hopping as a niche behavior in the research page; it listed it alongside other named 2026 travel patterns and tied it to changing consumer preferences. ### Why are shorter city breaks gaining ground? Melanie Fish, a travel expert and spokesperson at Expedia Group, said in the summer report that travelers are gravitating toward nearby escapes rather than far-flung destinations. (partner.expediagroup.com) The report said rising costs were one factor reshaping decisions, and it described the move toward closer destinations as “understandable.” The same pressure shows up in other travel coverage published on May 22. A city-break cost comparison cited by travel outlets said Lille and Strasbourg stood out as affordable options for British travelers, with the Post Office measuring a basket that included two nights of accommodation, meals, drinks, transport and attractions. Laura Plunkett, head of travel money at the Post Office, said those cities were attractive for travelers who wanted a short European break and preferred surface travel. (hospitalitynet.org) ### What numbers did Expedia put behind the shift? Expedia Group said social conversation about domestic holidays increased 77% year over year globally. The company also said 45% of Britons were more interested in UK breaks than they were last summer. The report added destination-level examples. Expedia said searches for coastal towns such as Scarborough and Tenby were up 40% for the summer, while interest also rose in rural destinations and places with easy access to national parks. (lasvegasnews.media) ### Where can travelers and businesses see the underlying reports? (hospitalitynet.org) Expedia Group published the May 22 “Unpack ’26 Summer” update through its investor relations channels, and the company’s partner research page carries the broader Unpack ’26 travel trends material. Those pages set out the company’s data sources, including Expedia and Hotels.com booking information and survey research, and they remain the main reference points for the summer 2026 city-break and hotel-hopping trends. (hospitalitynet.org) (ir.expediagroup.com)