The world’s largest consumer research on accommodation, SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2027, today reveals the desire to travel in 2027 remains strong, but travellers are becoming more purposeful about how they will make it happen.
The report surveyed more than 12,000 travellers across 14 of the world’s largest tourism markets, including China, Spain and the US. It reveals a hotel guest who is more cautious about how they will travel, and increasingly decisive about why.
According to the findings, more travellers plan to stay closer to home (29.4%, up from 23.9%), spend less to stretch their budgets (31.1%, up from 28.9%) and book more last-minute (20.9%, up from 17.7%) compared with last year. Yet, they still want to get away: 41.6% report a stronger desire to travel next year. If given the choice, more would take an extra week away than double their available travel funds (38.5% versus 29.2%).
The focus on making each moment count is also reflected in what brings guests back. Nearly two-in-five travellers (39.1%) say a memorable experience would make them return to a hotel, up from 36.7% last year.
“SiteMinder’s report once again highlights the role of travel as a fundamental human need. Travellers aren’t stepping away from travel. But against a backdrop of growing macroeconomic and socioeconomic pressures, they are making more deliberate choices to make sure that every part of their trip feels worth their time and money,” says Trent Innes, Chief Growth Officer at SiteMinder.
The four signals defining this more purposeful traveller:
- Travelling solo: 16.1% plan to venture solo, up from 13.8% last year, putting solo travel ahead of friends as the third most common choice. The rise is led by Millennials (+3.0pp) and Gen X (+3.1pp), and growing faster among women (+2.9pp). In the US, solo travel has jumped from 14.4% to 23.6%, while in Italy, it has more than doubled, from 6.6% to 14.6%.
- Looking beyond obvious destinations: Japan remains the world’s top dream destination for a second year, on the wishlist of 18.6% of travellers. But challenger destinations are gaining ground on their better-known neighbours. Perth, Ho Chi Minh City and Chengdu have each climbed 27 places in the city rankings, as travellers look beyond familiar routes for places that feel more distinctive and less travelled.
- Craving the memorable: 80.3% are willing to pay extra for at least one on-site experience, up from 77.5% last year. Among travellers who choose chain hotels, memorable experiences and unique offerings are a growing reason for doing so (39.7%, up from 28.4% last year). Simultaneously, loyalty-program benefits fell among this segment as a reason to book, from 38.5% last year to 30.8% this year.
- Saying yes to AI, but on their terms: Travellers using AI assistants to start their accommodation research has grown to 7.3%, up from 4.2% last year. Additionally, 5.9% expect to book through an AI assistant or agent in 2027. However, trust remains low. Only 13% of travellers trust AI companies with their personal data, compared with 37.5% for booking platforms and 29.6% for hotels. Three-in-four would allow AI to complete a booking on their behalf, but only if they could cancel easily, keep the booking within budget and have the option of a full refund. Chinese travellers are leading the way on the AI front, with 14.2% saying they will start their accommodation research using an AI assistant and 10.7% expecting to book through one – nearly double the global averages of 7.3% and 5.9%, respectively.
“Travellers are discovering destinations, stays and experiences through more channels than ever before, and choosing what matters most to them,” says Innes. “The opportunity for the travel industry is to be present where those choices begin, and then deliver experiences memorable enough to bring travellers back.”
“In 2027, purposeful travel will look very different from one market to the next. Supported by technology that gives them more ways to explore their options and act on their choices with speed and ease, travellers will become ever-clearer about their priorities and preferences in the year ahead.”
SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2027 is available here.
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About SiteMinder
SiteMinder Limited (ASX:SDR) is the name behind SiteMinder, the world’s leading hotel commerce platform, and Little Hotelier, an all-in-one hotel management software that makes the lives of small accommodation providers easier. The global company is headquartered in Sydney with offices in Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Dallas, Galway, London, Manila, Mexico City and Pune. Through its technology and the largest partner ecosystem in the global hotel industry, SiteMinder generates more than 140 million reservations worth over A$85 billion in revenue for its hotel customers each year. For more information, visit siteminder.com.