Booking forecasts more mood-led travel for Australians in 2027 - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Australian travellers are expected to place greater emphasis on how a holiday makes them feel, who joins them and which services they actually use in 2027, according to Booking.com’s latest Travel Predictions. The platform’s Australian findings identify nine themes spanning wellbeing, social connections, unconventional experiences and the use of artificial intelligence to reduce work-related pressure around time away.

Now in its 11th edition, the research draws on responses from more than 28,000 travellers across 32 countries and territories, including over 1,000 in Australia. The Australian release describes a shift towards more deliberate travel choices, with desired moods influencing destination selection and financial compatibility becoming a consideration when deciding whom to invite on a group trip.

For travel suppliers, the findings suggest opportunities to organise products around personal interests and emotional expectations alongside destinations and itineraries. They also point towards demand for greater flexibility in package inclusions. The release presents these themes as predictions for the coming year, but does not provide individual trend percentages, survey fieldwork dates or detailed methodology in its summary.

Wellbeing shapes the journey

Booking.com’s “Hotel in the Sky” theme anticipates greater interest in an onboard experience that supports rest and wellbeing. Examples include sleep-supporting menus and lighting designed to help reduce jet lag, extending the focus on comfort beyond the accommodation itself.

Physical activity features in two further predictions. “Sweat Synergy” describes solo travellers forming connections through sport, shared challenges and athletic communities. “Trailside Therapy” centres on outdoor activities such as hiking as a setting for more open and meaningful conversations between travelling companions.

“Travel is no longer one-size-fits-all. Aussies are putting wellbeing first and becoming far more intentional about how, why, and with whom they explore the world,” said Todd Lacey, Booking.com’s Regional Manager for Oceania and Korea.

Budgets influence the guest list

The company’s “Social Currency” prediction places financial compatibility at the heart of group travel planning. Rather than allowing different spending expectations to become a source of tension during a trip, travellers may increasingly consider budgets when choosing their companions.

A related theme, “The All-Exclusive”, envisages packages that remove unwanted services and better reflect individual health or dietary choices. The implication for suppliers is a potential opening for more adaptable products, with clearer choices about what customers pay for.

Destination selection is also becoming more closely associated with a desired emotional state, according to the “Vibe Check(In)” prediction. Meanwhile, “Plot Twist Trip” describes holidays deliberately chosen to break with a traveller’s usual habits and surprise friends or family.

Unusual experiences meet practical technology

Interest in paranormal encounters, haunted histories and experiences associated with beliefs about the afterlife forms another theme. Presented as “Trip to the Beyond”, it adds a more unconventional dimension to the forecast alongside the emphasis on wellbeing and personalisation.

The final prediction concerns the relationship between holidays and work. “PTO: Powered by AI” anticipates travellers using artificial intelligence to handle emails and administrative tasks while they are away, aiming to make the return to work less stressful.

Together, the Australian findings portray a market in which familiar holiday categories increasingly overlap with personal goals, relationships and practical constraints. For operators, that creates scope to explain more clearly whom an experience suits, what it includes and how it fits the way customers want to travel.

Image Credit: © AI generated illustration