Fall is the new Summer according to new data from Virtuoso

During its 38th annual Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, Virtuoso released its latest travel trends, drawn from the network’s proprietary data and ongoing advisor and consumer surveys, with findings offering a clear view of what is driving the industry now and what to expect through the rest of the year and beyond.

Toward the end of 2026, travellers are proving that timing is the ultimate luxury, choosing to travel later, linger longer and invest more to enjoy destinations at their best, without the crowds.

The Virtuoso network is on pace to see a nearly 21 percent increase in year-over-year sales, which builds on top of an already strong 2025.

Growth is broad-based: every traveler-origin region is up, led by Greater China at 34 percent, the United Kingdom and Ireland at 26 percent, the Middle East and Africa at 24 percent and Continental Europe at 23 percent, with the United States up 21 percent.

By partner type, hotels lead at 25 percent, followed by cruise at 22 percent, on-site partners (destination management companies) at 18 percent and tour operators at 11 percent. Growth is concentrated at the top of the market, with bookings at hotels charging $1,500 or more per night increasing 37 percent and growing at more than twice the rate of lower-priced properties.

Rates are climbing alongside volume: luxury international hotels now average $1,653 a night and luxury U.S. hotels $1,445, up from $985 and $790 in 2019.

Noting that Fall is the new Summer, Virtuoso reported that Fall 2026 bookings are up 59 percent and sales up 69 percent.

September leads on sales, up 77 percent with a 55 percent increase in bookings, while October bookings are up 59 percent and November is up more than 70 percent on both measures. The entire autumn window has shifted from afterthought to headline season.

Europe shows this shift most clearly. Year-to-date sales at Virtuoso’s preferred European hotels are up 39 percent through June, with every month of the first half up strongly on both bookings and sales. September booking volumes on the continent have climbed from 79 percent of August’s in 2023 to 92 percent in 2025, growing nearly three times faster than August across that span. Virtuoso’s pacing data suggests September could outsell August this year.

Shoulder season has officially shed its bargain reputation. Bookings to Europe this fall climbed 49 percent even as rates rose more than seven percent, lifting overall sales 64 percent and showing that travellers are choosing the season for what it offers rather than what it saves. Rate growth was sharpest along the French Riviera, up 179 percent, followed by Puglia, up 78 percent, and the Greek Isles up more than 130 percent. The “coolcation” has become the “fallcation,” and festive season is following the same arc, with bookings up 65 percent and sales up 56 percent.

Also of note is the fact that one city is no longer enough as luxury travellers are stringing destinations together into longer, multicity itineraries – a phenomenon that Virtuoso has described as “city-maxxing,” and in roughly one in two of these trips crosses an international border.

France and Italy is the most common pairing, followed by France and the U.K., then Italy and Switzerland. Italy appears in two of every five multicity routings, anchoring corridors such as Florence, Rome and Venice and confirming its role as both premier destination and connective hub. The average luxury stay has lengthened, and the rise of the second home as base camp is bringing branded residences and private villas into the mix.

These itineraries run on private aviation, and the demand is skewing younger. Advisors report millennials leading private jet requests, running six percent ahead of the global average. The wealth behind that demand keeps expanding: according to Knight Frank, 89 people cross the ultra-high-net-worth threshold every day, and the global population worth $30 million or more has reached 713,626, up 29 percent since 2021.

Not only are travellers booking later in the year, they’re also booking further into the future. Global future leisure sales one and two years out are up 50 percent. The pattern strengthens as the price rises: bookings of $50,000 or more are up 47 percent, cruise bookings at that level are up 49 percent, and production of $100,000 and above is up 49 percent.

Advisors also report a bifurcating market, with 45 percent citing an uptick in requests for ultraluxe travel, from hotels-within-hotels to private members’ clubs with rooms.

As for wellness, it has moved from amenity to itinerary. Wellness-segmented hotels are outpacing the broader hotel portfolio, with bookings up 28 percent, sales up 44 percent and average daily rates up 23 percent. The category now spans sleep optimization, metabolic health and mental-health retreats, with longevity tourism the breakout segment, pairing medical diagnostics with five-star hospitality. Advisors describe three distinct wellness travellers: the performance optimizer, who wants data and measurable outcomes; the restoration seeker, who wants stillness, nature and a digital detox; and the meaning seeker, drawn to mindfulness and retreats built around a life transition.

And AI can’t be forgotten here, with Virtuoso noting that advisors in its network have adopted artificial intelligence quickly, with 74 percent now using it in their business, alongside 70 percent of preferred partners and well above the 59 percent industry adoption rate reported by Phocuswright.

They have also found its limits. Because the technology draws on similar sources, much AI-generated travel content overlaps, producing itineraries that are repetitive rather than tailored, and contributing to overcrowding at the destinations it keeps recommending.

The result is that human expertise is the beneficiary. Three in four Virtuoso clients cite their advisor’s accommodation and destination expertise as a key benefit, versus fewer than half of travellers advised by others, and three in five point to an advisor’s ability to curate experiences tailored to them, versus roughly one in three elsewhere.

Interest runs broad, with 79 percent of luxury travellers saying they are open to using an advisor for future trips. Half of advisors report clients steering away from over-touristed destinations. Algorithm inspiration is giving way to analog escapes, with time, privacy and the ability to disconnect emerging as the ultimate luxuries.

As for where the demand is building, Virtuoso reports in its July survey of nearly 800 advisors across the world, that multigenerational and family travel led the trip types clients are asking for more of, cited by 69 percent, followed by premium and luxury ocean cruising at 63 percent and celebration travel at 60 percent.

The generational split is sharp: baby boomers drive cruise demand, at 76 percent for ocean and 68 percent for river, while millennials lean toward beach escapes and new luxury products and experiences.

And that same survey points to a shift in how clients book. Sixty percent are prioritizing bucket-list trips, 42 percent are booking further ahead to secure preferred options and 30 percent are taking fewer but longer, higher-quality trips. Luxury travel continues to evolve as travellers look beyond where they go and toward how they want to feel when they get there. What they seek is a deeper sense of well-being, longevity and the freedom to travel on their own terms.

Go to www.virtuoso.com for more.