2026 Travel Trends: The Journey as the Experience

Experiential travel has been on the rise for several years now. In 2026, it’s still going strong and taking new forms, as the definition of “experience” evolves. This article highlights “Journey as the Experience,” one of the key trends of our 2026 Travel Trends Report, a free-to-download resource for global travel distributors.

According to this trend, the journey is no longer just a way to get from point A to point B but an important part of the travel experience, whether that’s through a road trip or a scenic ride. 

To capture bookings from travellers looking for trips that align with this notion of the “Journey as the Experience” trend, travel distributors can design itineraries that focus not only on the destination, but on the journey as a whole.

Travel trends for Distributors: What does “Journey as the Experience” Mean?

For the journey to be seen as an experience, it needs to be positioned that way. 

For travel distributors, catering to this travel trend means rethinking how itineraries are presented and packaged:

• Highlighting how transfers and car hire (bus trips, rail journeys, or self-drive) add to the trip: whether that’s with a scenic view, comfort, or excellent service.
• Designing journeys with stopovers: in authentic, lesser-known destinations.
• Diversifying activity and destination portfolios: to appeal to different travel styles, so you’re able to offer the most suitable accommodation, activity, and transfer options.

Travel experiences to highlight for journey-centric trips

This travel trend is all about scenic routes over the fastest ones. Travellers want to enjoy memorable views and a stronger sense of place along the way, not just at the destination.

Here is how this applies to different types of trips and segments:

Multi-modal and multi-location trips

According to recent statistics, over half of travellers were more interested in exploring new places compared to two years ago. This suggests that they would be more willing to embrace the journey, whether that means taking less direct routes, adding stopovers, or discovering destinations along the way.

Case in point: if you’re planning a trip from Paris to Lyon for your clients, think about how the experience changes if you choose a scenic route over the fast train. Along the way, you can organise vineyard visits in Burgundy, a tour of the Palace of Versailles, and stops in lesser-known villages. 

For transportation, you can then select a mix of buses, shuttles, or transfers that fit your clients’ travel style and needs. As a result, you get a journey filled with experiences, instead of one journey which might skip over memorable in-destination moments, which are all-important to today's traveller.

How Hotelbeds can help: Our travel distributor partners get to choose from 150+ car hire suppliers, worldwide transfer routes, and 23,000+ in-destination experiences to enrich and extend any trip.

Slow travel and responsible experiences

As destinations invest in expanding their off-season tourism offers and travellers prioritise responsible experiences, slow travel remains prominent. 

Similar to the previous years, travel is less about visiting the most popular places and more about meaningful experiences.

Along their journey, travellers will be interested in responsible travel experiences that align with their interests. Some examples are:

• Visiting local markets and buying authentic souvenirs.
• Staying in eco-friendly accommodation.
• Connecting with nature: such as stopping for a hike or visiting a waterfall on the way.
• “Live like a local” experiences: such as participating in local events that aren’t necessarily known by tourists.

How Hotelbeds can help: Hotelbeds operates in 170+ countries, both across major cities and lesser-known places. By signing up, travel distributors can access a broad inventory of accommodation, transfers, and activities.

Access a global travel portfolio as a Hotelbeds partner

Luxury at Sea

Recent years have also seen renowned luxury hotel brands expand further into the cruise segment. If your clients are luxury travellers, cruises that go beyond the usual hotspots might be of particular interest.

A good example comes from Four Seasons Yachts, which prides itself on combining exploration and exclusivity. Besides spacious suites, gourmet dining, and personalised service, it has created itineraries beyond the expected. Its Greek island cruises don’t just go to Santorini and Mykonos, they take visitors to spots like Hydra, Paros, and Milos, which enriches both the journey and the experience.

How Hotelbeds can help: Through The Luxury Collection, our exclusive portfolio of exceptional stays and experiences, complete with guaranteed booking benefits and concierge services, Hotelbeds offers carefully vetted luxury hotels around the world, including in cruise departure cities. 

Discover more about how Hotelbeds empowers you to cater for luxury travel.

Opportunities for travel distributors

Here are four steps to position the journey as the experience and capture more bookings from experiential-driven travellers as part of this growing travel trend.

1. Create narrative-driven journeys

Think about what’s unique in the route you’re offering and build a narrative on top of it. It can be the views from the bus, the scenic villages you’ll visit, or the bucket list activities on the way. This will help you tell a story that resonates with travellers.

For example, instead of “bus and shuttle transfers from Paris to Lyon,” you could say “a journey from Paris to Lyon through the French countryside, with rolling vineyard landscapes, village dinners, and boutique hotel accommodation.”

2. Plan for personalised, authentic travel experiences

There are many personalisation opportunities in journey-driven trips. For example, on a Tuscany trip, wine lovers would love visiting the region’s vineyards, while culture-focused travellers would be interested in UNESCO-listed sites like Val d’Orcia.

3. Position the journey as the highlight

Instead of focusing only on destinations, let the journey take the spotlight in your “Journey as the Experience” packages. Consider working these into your offer:

• What will travellers see, do, and eat on the way?
• How does this help them slow down and enjoy new experiences?
• Why is this experience richer compared to a single-destination experience?

4. Offer seamless packages with travel partners

For the “journey” part of the trip to be smooth, you need reliable car hire, shuttle bus, and transfer partners in various destinations. Partnering with an expert in global travel distribution solutions, just like Hotelbeds as part of HBX Group, helps you find reliable partners around the world.

Hotelbeds as your “Journey as an Experience” partner

As a provider of B2B distribution solutions for travel and tourism, Hotelbeds connects you with industry partners and offers a wide range of benefits. These include:

Exclusive hotel prices and availability: When you join Hotelbeds, you access hotels that are part of our Preferred Partner Programme. These hotels have special deals with Hotelbeds, meaning they agree to offer exclusive rates and availability to our partners.

Brand reputation and excellent customer service: We carefully vet all our travel partners, including hotels in our Preferred Partner Programme. This minimises last-minute availability issues and rate discrepancies, while improving your clients’ experience.

Thousands of global transfer routes: Access our transfer portfolio, which includes private cars, shuttle buses, and VIP options. We also offer car hire services, with our partnerships extending to 150+ suppliers.

23,000+in-destination travel experiences: From guided tours to museum passes, offer a wide range of activities around the world to enrich your customers' stay and streamline their booking journey.

A central point for all your operations: Book accommodation, experiences, and transfers in one place. In addition to this, access data and insights on what's performing in your market and tools to increase your profitability with Insights.

Sign up for Hotelbeds to access partner-only benefits

Become a Hotelbeds partner to access our worldwide inventory, data tailored to your market and business, and expert advice from our destination experts. 

You can also benefit from access to the expert services offered as part of the wider HBX Group ecosystem, designed to reduce friction and empower travel businesses across the industry.

Become a Hotelbeds partner today