Travel Industry Monitor: Q1 2026
A quarterly online survey capturing industry sentiment on tourism trends and travel outlook.
Global travel faces a complex landscape, with economic uncertainty and policy pressures challenging near-term growth. Even so, steady long-term confidence, major events, and accelerating AI adoption signal continued momentum for the industry.
Key Findings
Current Economic View: Consistent with recent quarters, views on global GDP growth remain largely negative fueled by geopolitical uncertainty
Key Challenges: Government regulations perceived as largest barrier to growth, followed by business sentiment due to trade or foreign policies
Spending and Pricing: Costs remain a significant barrier due to consumers spending larger proportions of income on living costs. Consumers are expected to continue seeking better value for money while traveling
Key Opportunities: Leisure events are a key opportunity with major events including the Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup.
Iran War Impacts: The conflict is projected to significantly weaken inbound tourism for the next 12 months, primarily due to price increases. However, some experts believe that the conflict will strengthen domestic tourism.
AI in Tourism: Optimism around AI development remains high and it is seen as a benefit to the industry. It is already being widely used, most notably in marketing and visitor targeting.
Travel Activity and Growth Confidence: Growth confidence remains stable on medium and long-term horizons, but has fallen sharply for short-term. Visitor numbers and hotel occupancy have subdued compared with last quarter, but are still expected to increase slightly in 2026.
Every quarter, Tourism Economics’ Travel Industry Monitor (TIM) surveys industry professionals, evaluating the health of tourism and areas of risk and opportunity.