The biggest luxury travel trends of 2026 are ultra-luxe stays, wellness and longevity trips, multi-city itineraries, private flying, and travel that gives something back. This guide replaces our old 2016 list with the trends the industry is reporting this year, plus the ones that never went away.
| # | Trend | 2026 marker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ultra-luxe stays | $1,500+ a night bookings up 37% in H1 |
| 2 | Wellness and longevity | Wellness hotel bookings up 32% |
| 3 | City-maxxing | Network sales up 20.8% year on year |
| 4 | Destination-maxxing | Italy in about 2 of 5 regional pairings |
| 5 | Private aviation | Millennials lead requests |
| 6 | Yacht and gulet charters | Gulets carry 6 to 16 guests |
| 7 | Bucket list and space | Virgin Galactic seat: $750,000 |
| 8 | Travel that gives back | 74% of Gen Z favour sustainable choices |
| 9 | Michelin Keys | Hotel awards launched in 2024 |
| 10 | Set-jetting | Film and TV locations as destinations |
In 2016 we wrote that luxury travel was about once-in-a-lifetime experiences, split between high-tech trips and back-to-tradition ones. Ten years later the split is still there, but the money has moved. Trend figures below come from the 2026 reporting of Virtuoso, the luxury travel network, unless noted.
1. Ultra-luxe stays
Bookings at $1,500 or more a night are growing twice as fast as cheaper stays, up 37% in the first half of 2026. The ultra-high-net-worth population is expanding seven times faster than the general population and is set to grow another 34% by 2030, with North America holding two fifths of it. Expect more suites, more villas and a longer waiting list.
2. Wellness and longevity
Wellness is now a reason to board the plane. Wellness tourism is on track for $1.4 trillion by 2029, growing 9.1% a year, wellness-segmented hotel bookings rose 32% in 2026 and one in four luxury travellers cites health as the reason for a leisure trip. Sleep clinics, spa programs and medical check-ups now sit next to the pool.
3. City-maxxing
Travellers are stringing cities into one long trip instead of picking a single base. Network sales are up 20.8% year on year. A weekend in Paris, three days in Milan and a quick stop in Vienna is no longer unusual, and the bookings reflect it.
4. Destination-maxxing
Roughly one in two of those multi-city trips crosses an international border. Italy appears in about two of every five regional pairings, while sales from Greater China are up 34.4% and from the UK and Ireland up 25.5%. Our read: the classics won, and people want more of them in one go.
5. Private aviation
Private flights are what make multi-stop trips work, because nobody enjoys a connecting flight in Frankfurt. Millennials are driving private aviation requests, ahead of the global average by six points. If you are weighing it up, see our piece on private jet routes and the reasons not to buy a jet.
6. Yacht and gulet charters
Waking up on the water has not gone out of style. On the Turkish and Greek coasts, traditional wooden gulets typically take 6 to 16 guests on crewed multi-day charters, which is the budget-friendlier end of the yacht life. If the dream is bigger, our list of the most expensive yachts ever built is the other end, and the French Riviera remains the classic setting.
7. Bucket list and space
The bucket list now includes the sky above the sky. Virgin Galactic paused commercial flights after the last powered flight of VSS Unity in June 2024 and is developing its Delta-class ships. It resumed taking reservations in 2026 with a $1,000 fee for a seat priced at $750,000, up from $450,000 in 2022. For more earthbound options, the Great Wall and the Maldives still work.
8. Travel that gives back
72% of Virtuoso members and 82% of its partners say climate change already shapes their business or their clients’ plans. Among Gen Z, 74% favour sustainable choices, compared with 51% of Boomers. Practical form: choose lodges that employ locally, pick slower itineraries and join conservation work such as turtle tagging.
9. Michelin Keys
The Michelin Guide began awarding Keys to hotels in 2024, after anonymous stays judged on five criteria: architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, personality and character, value for the price, and contribution to the neighbourhood or setting. In 2016 travellers chased celebrity chefs. In 2026 they also check the hotel’s Key count.
10. Set-jetting
Travelling to places you saw on screen has a name: set-jetting, a term that traces back to a 2007 newspaper article. London’s King’s Cross, where the Harry Potter platform 9 3/4 sign draws queues, is a famous example of film-induced demand, and Alnwick Castle reported a 120% jump in visitors after the films. Check which series filmed near your next destination.
Keep reading
- 20 luxurious things to do in Canada: a destination to build a trip around
- 15 mindsets travel teaches you: why we do all this
FAQ
What are the luxury travel trends for 2026?
Ultra-luxe stays, wellness and longevity trips, multi-city itineraries, private aviation and travel that gives back lead the 2026 trends.
How fast are ultra-luxury hotel stays growing?
Bookings at $1,500 or more a night were up 37% in the first half of 2026, growing twice as fast as cheaper stays.
What is city-maxxing?
It is Virtuoso’s name for stringing several cities into one long trip, with network sales up 20.8% year on year.
How much does a Virgin Galactic seat cost?
The company resumed reservations in 2026 at $750,000 per seat with a $1,000 reservation fee, though commercial flights have been paused since June 2024.
What are Michelin Keys?
Michelin began awarding Keys to hotels in 2024, based on anonymous stays judged on five criteria including architecture, service and value.
How we put this list together
We replaced the 2016 list with trends supported by 2026 industry reporting, official award programmes and verified company pages. Trends we could not support with current data were dropped.
Last updated: October 2026.
