Tripadvisor Trendcast 2026 Introduces The Year of Meaningful Travel Experiences

Rhea-AI Summary

Tripadvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) released its 2026 Trendcast on Jan 28, 2026, analyzing 1+ billion reviews and platform behavior to identify travel patterns. Key findings: pet-friendly bookings surged +260% YoY, extreme-adventure experiences rose +79% YoY, and event-driven travel (marathons, stadium tours) shows notable spikes.

The report highlights experience-led planning across active travel, family-focused itineraries, nightlife evolution, and immersive local activities.

News Market Reaction

-0.38%

1 alert

-0.38% News Effect

On the day this news was published, TRIP declined 0.38%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Key Figures

Platform contributions: 1 billion+ reviews and contributions Pet-friendly bookings growth: 260% year-on-year Extreme adventure growth: 79% year-over-year +5 more

8 metrics

Platform contributions 1 billion+ reviews and contributions User generated content base for Trendcast analysis

Pet-friendly bookings growth 260% year-on-year Dog-welcome experience bookings

Extreme adventure growth 79% year-over-year Extreme adventure experiences

Chicago Marathon visitors 300% more visitors Increase in visitors vs usual levels

Stadium tours growth 25% growth year-over-year Stadium tours and experiences bookings

Lava field excursions 79% year-on-year growth Bookings for lava field excursions

Children’s ticket experiences 19% year-over-year Experience bookings with children’s tickets

Listening bars growth 64% year-on-year Bookings for listening bar music experiences

Market Reality Check

Price: $13.42 Vol: Volume 1,902,607 is below...

normal vol

$13.42 Last Close

Volume Volume 1,902,607 is below the 20-day average of 2,406,423 (rel. volume 0.79x). normal

Technical Price $13.06 is trading below the 200-day MA of $15.35 and 35.22% under the 52-week high.

Peers on Argus

TRIP fell 1.14% with mixed peers: TNL (-1.51%), GBTG (-1.56%), MMYT (-1.07%), PR...

TRIP fell 1.14% with mixed peers: TNL (-1.51%), GBTG (-1.56%), MMYT (-1.07%), PRSU (-0.03%), while LIND rose 0.75%. No peers appeared in the momentum scanner, pointing to a company-specific move rather than a sector-wide trend.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Jan 13 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Jan 13	Destinations ranking	Positive	+0.1%	Release of 2026 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Destinations rankings.
Jan 13	Destinations correction	Positive	+0.1%	Corrected details for 2026 Travelers’ Choice destination awards methodology.
Dec 03	Cruise service award	Positive	+1.2%	Cruise Critic honor for Holland America’s service and itineraries coverage.
Dec 03	Cruise awards coverage	Positive	+1.2%	Publication of Cruise Critic’s 2025 Best in Cruise Awards across categories.
Nov 25	Winter demand index	Positive	+3.0%	Winter Travel Index showing strong trip planning, longer stays, and higher spend.

Pattern Detected

Recent demand and brand-focused travel reports have coincided with modestly positive price reactions, suggesting the stock often responds constructively—though not aggressively—to upbeat travel data.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, TRIP’s news flow has centered on demand indicators and brand platforms. The Winter Travel Index on Nov 25, 2025 highlighted strong winter demand and saw a 2.95% gain. Awards and destination rankings in early Dec 2025 coincided with gains of about 1.19%. The Travelers’ Choice destination releases on Jan 13, 2026 saw flat-to-slightly positive moves. Today’s Trendcast continues this pattern of leveraging proprietary data and traveler reviews to spotlight evolving travel behavior.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights evolving traveler behavior, with strong growth in categories like pet-f...

Analysis

This announcement highlights evolving traveler behavior, with strong growth in categories like pet-friendly travel and extreme adventures, all grounded in over 1 billion reviews and contributions. In recent months, similar data-driven reports and demand indices have showcased robust travel interest and coincided with modestly positive stock reactions. Investors tracking this theme may focus on how these experience trends translate into booking activity, revenue mix, and longer-term platform engagement metrics over time.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

New Analysis of 1 Billion+ Reviews and Contributions Shows Experiences Driving Travel Planning

NEEDHAM, Mass., Jan. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tripadvisor^®, the world's largest travel guidance platform, today announced the launch of its second annual Trendcast report, exploring the trends defining travel this year.

Informed by Tripadvisor's global insights, the 2026 Trendcast is based on search, booking and behavioral data, along with user generated content from the platform's more than one billion reviews and contributions.

Key trends for this year include a surge in pet-friendly travel bookings (up 260% year-on-year) and the growth of extreme adventure experiences (up 79% year-over-year). But the real story is the value placed on experiences themselves. Travelers aren't just visiting destinations anymore, they're intentionally planning trips around the activities, experiences and connections they want to have.

From 'Sweat Jetting' marathoners racing through mountain paths to families embracing child-led trip planning, these trends reveal how travelers are seeking out experiences that spark real connection with places, passions, local experts, and their travel companions.

"This year's Trendcast continues to reflect a shift in how people are approaching travel, with experiences increasingly leading travel decisions," said Laurel Greatrix, chief communications officer at Tripadvisor. "Across searches, bookings, and reviews, we see consistent patterns: travelers are prioritizing experiences that create local connection, offer physical challenge, and make it easier for the whole group to say yes. These aren't fringe behaviors — they're reshaping how trips get planned."

This year's forecast explores the holistic experience of travel, from active adventures to meaningful connections. See below for a selection of the top trends. The full report including all trends identified can be found on Tripadvisor Trendcast.

The Trend: Sweat Jetting 
Active travel has shifted from hobby to identity as travelers chase personal bests and outdoor adventures. "Mara-cations" and "race-cations" (also known as fitness tourism) are booming, with athletes running mountain paths in Chamonix and ultra-marathons in Patagonia. Major marathons bring in more visitors than cities usually see: +300% for the Chicago Marathon, +228% for the Boston Marathon, and +222% for the Berlin Marathon. Sports fandom is driving +25% growth in stadium tours and experiences bookings, year-over-year.

Where: Discover Cycling Adventures in Marrakech, join the Tokyo Marathon or push your limits with an Olympic Games Small-Group Workout and Race in Athens.

The Trend: Extreme and on the Edge 
Travelers are flocking to high-impact adventures that test limits while making the extraordinary accessible. Glacier tours (+29%), lava field excursions (+79%), and heli-hiking adventures (+56%) are seeing significant year-on-year growth as visitors seek experiences at the edge, from tracking snow leopards in Ladakh to exploring underground catacombs in Rome.

Where: From Snow Leopard Trek in Ladakh to Derinkuyu Underground City tours in Turkey, explore everywhere from high altitudes to the depths of the earth.

The Trend: It's a Kid's World 
Child-led trip planning is revolutionizing family travel, with kids picking where to go and what to do, while parents handle logistics. Experience bookings with children's tickets are up +19% year-over-year, with particularly strong growth in heritage tours (+40%) and cooking classes (+47%) as families seek meaningful immersion together.

Where: Explore kids-focused itinerary experiences in London with a Harry Potter Tour, Seoul K-pop Hunters tours, or Rome Pizza-Making Classes designed specifically for kids.

The Trend: Soft Clubbing
Nightlife is evolving beyond traditional club scenes toward bookable music experiences that feel restorative and communal. DJ sets on the water have seen +29% year-on-year booking growth, while listening bars have hit the mainstream, surging +64% as travelers seek intentional music experiences at vinyl-focused venues like Tokyo's Bar Martha and New York's Public Records.

Where: Explore different types of nightlife like a Silent Disco London Thames Boat Party, a wellness music experience at the Salt Sauna, Oslo or a Soundbath under the stars, Joshua Tree.

The Trend: VIP (Very Important Pet) Tourism 
Pet-friendly travel has exploded, with bookings for dog-welcome experiences up +260% year-on-year. The days of leaving pets at home are over and travelers are building entire vacations around what their four-legged family members will love, from luxury pet amenities to animal encounters.

Where: Center your trip around your furry friend with a Monterey Bay Famous Dog Friendly Electric Bike and Sidecar Tour, Dog Friendly Sedona Outlaw Trail: 3-Hr 4x4 Tour of Western Canyons or get cozy at Cat Cafe Mocha Harajuku located across Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

To explore the full report and learn more about the trends visit: http://tripadvisortrendcast.com/.

Methodology 
The Tripadvisor Trendcast is grounded in the global behavior of the millions of travelers who turn to us to plan their trips and share their experiences. To uncover this year's trends, we partnered with Stylus, a leading consumer trend forecaster, blending broader cultural shifts with changes observed across our proprietary data—spanning experience bookings, hotel demand, and review mentions. The result is a forward-looking perspective on how travel is evolving in the years ahead. All data attribution: Tripadvisor Group Internal Data: 2024-2025.

About Tripadvisor Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel guidance platform*, helps millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travelers across the globe use Tripadvisor's website and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than a billion reviews and contributions, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby.

Tripadvisor LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP). The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps.

* Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, January 2025
** Source: Tripadvisor internal log files

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SOURCE Tripadvisor

FAQ

What are the top TripAdvisor Trendcast 2026 trends affecting travelers and TRIP stock?

The report identifies experience-led travel, pet-friendly trips, extreme adventures, and family-focused itineraries as top trends. According to Tripadvisor, data from 2024–2025 shows pet bookings up 260% YoY and extreme experiences up 79% YoY, indicating shifting consumer preferences.

How significant was the increase in pet-friendly bookings in Tripadvisor's Trendcast 2026?

Pet-friendly bookings increased substantially, registering a +260% year-over-year jump. According to Tripadvisor, this surge reflects travelers building vacations around pets, with more dog-friendly tours and accommodations listed across the platform.

Which adventure categories grew most in Tripadvisor Trendcast 2026 and by how much?

Extreme and outdoor adventures showed strong growth, including lava field excursions +79% YoY and heli-hiking +56% YoY. According to Tripadvisor, glacier tours also rose +29% YoY, signaling appetite for high-impact experiences.

What marathon and event-driven travel spikes did Tripadvisor report in the 2026 Trendcast?

Major marathons drove large visitor increases: Chicago +300%, Boston +228%, and Berlin +222%. According to Tripadvisor, these event-driven surges illustrate how sports events can multiply local demand and experience bookings.

How is family travel changing according to Tripadvisor Trendcast 2026 and what grew most?

Family travel is shifting to child-led planning with experience bookings that include children rising +19% YoY. According to Tripadvisor, heritage tours grew +40% and cooking classes +47%, reflecting demand for meaningful, shared activities.