Tripadvisor Trendcast 2026 Introduces The Year of Meaningful Travel Experiences
Tripadvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) released its 2026 Trendcast on Jan 28, 2026, analyzing 1+ billion reviews and platform behavior to identify travel patterns.
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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.
Details
News Market Reaction – TRIP
On Jan 28, the day this news came out, TRIP closed 0.38% below the previous close.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus for the Jan 28 session.
Key Figures
- 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
Historical Context
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Release of 2026 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Destinations rankings.
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Corrected details for 2026 Travelers’ Choice destination awards methodology.
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Cruise Critic honor for Holland America’s service and itineraries coverage.
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Publication of Cruise Critic’s 2025 Best in Cruise Awards across categories.
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Winter Travel Index showing strong trip planning, longer stays, and higher spend.
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
New Analysis of 1 Billion+ Reviews and Contributions Shows Experiences Driving Travel Planning
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
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
Where: Discover Cycling Adventures in Marrakech, join the Tokyo Marathon or push your limits with an Olympic Games Small-Group Workout and Race in
The Trend: Extreme and on the Edge
Travelers are flocking to high-impact adventures that test limits while making the extraordinary accessible. Glacier tours (+
Where: From Snow Leopard Trek in Ladakh to Derinkuyu Underground City tours in
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 +
Where: Explore kids-focused itinerary experiences in
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 +
Where: Explore different types of nightlife like a Silent Disco London Thames Boat Party, a wellness music experience at the Salt Sauna,
The Trend: VIP (Very Important Pet) Tourism
Pet-friendly travel has exploded, with bookings for dog-welcome experiences up +
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
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
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