Luxury travellers are choosing the autumn season for their holidays and visiting multiple cities over a single break in 2026 trends dubbed the ‘Fallcation’ and ‘Citymaxxing’.
Autumn bookings were up 59 per cent on last year, with sales up 69 per cent, figures from global luxury travel network Virtuoso show. September and October bookings were each up by more than half year-on-year, while November rose by more than 70 per cent. Sales for September alone were up by 77 per cent on last year.
‘Fallcation’ drives up bookings in Europe over fall/autumn
‘The entire autumn window has shifted from afterthought to headline season,’ said a Virtuoso spokesperson, a shift the group dubs ‘Fallcation’. It claims the shoulder season – between peak and off-peak – has now ‘shed its bargain reputation’.
The pattern is clearest in Europe, where sales at ‘preferred’ hotels in Virtuoso’s invitation-only network were up 39 per cent through June. Bookings to Europe climbed 49 per cent, even as rates rose more than 7 per cent, Virtuoso reported, claiming travellers were choosing the autumn season ‘for what it offers rather than what it saves’.
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The shift comes after successive extreme heatwaves across Europe since May, pushing temperatures into the high 30s and low to mid 40s, with western Europe experiencing its hottest June-to-July period on record. Wildfires have devastated areas in Greece, Portugal, France, Spain and Italy this summer while parts of the continent remain in drought.
But not only are travellers booking later in the year, they are also booking further ahead, with sales for holidays in one or two years’ time surging by 50 per cent, a pattern that only continues as the price rises – bookings of $117,000 are up 49 per cent.
‘Citymaxxing’ trips fuelled by private flights
Another trend shaping luxury travel this year is ‘Citymaxxing’, which sees tourists ‘stringing destinations together into longer, multi-city itineraries’ said a Virtuoso spokesperson, with about half of these trips crossing into another country.
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France–Italy is the most common pairing, followed by France–UK, then Italy–Switzerland. Italy is a popular destination for Citymaxxing, appearing in two out of five trips of this nature, anchoring corridors such as Florence, Rome and Venice.
Citymaxxing for HNWs and UHNWs runs on private flights, often using a second home as a base camp with branded residences and private villas part of the mix. It also skews younger, with millennials leading private jet requests.
It looks set to continue as the wealth behind it grows. Over the last five years, the equivalent of 89 people a day have crossed the threshold into UHNW status, with the global population worth more than $30 million now upwards of 713,000, per estate agents Knight Frank’s Wealth Sizing Model 2026.
Demand grows for luxury hotel bookings despite rate rises
And it’s just as well, because rates are also rising along with demand. Luxury international hotels now charge an average of $1,653 a night, a 4 per cent rise on last year and up from $985 a night in 2019. Luxury US hotels now average $1,445 a night, a 16 per cent rise on last year and up from $790 in 2019 – with rates almost doubling over seven years.
Virtuoso reports annual sales of $35 billion across its network and says this is set to climb nearly 21 per cent year-on-year. Growth is concentrated at the top of the market, with bookings at hotels charging $1,500 or more per night increasing 37 per cent and growing at more than twice the rate of lower-priced properties, it reports.
Travellers are booking their holidays further ahead
The festive season has also seen a surge in interest, with bookings up 65 per cent and sales up 56 per cent. Some 60 per cent of clients of Virtuoso’s travel agents and advisors are prioritising bucket-list trips, with 42 per cent booking further ahead to secure their preferences, and 30 per cent taking fewer, but longer and higher-quality trips.
The figures are drawn from Virtuoso’s own data, as well as advisor and consumer surveys, with the latest luxury travel trends revealed at its Virtuoso Travel Week, held in Las Vegas in August.
The luxury travel network comprises more than 1,200 travel agencies and more than 20,000 travel advisors across 58 countries, drawing upon ‘preferred relationships’ with top hotels, resorts, cruise lines and airlines to provide clients with rare and exclusive travel experiences.
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AI travel advice ‘reaches its limits’ in 2026
AI appears to have reached its limits for travel in 2026, with Virtuoso’s advisers – two-thirds of whom use AI in their business – finding that, because the technology draws on similar sources, it’s producing itineraries that are ‘repetitive rather than tailored, and contributing to overcrowding at the destinations it keeps recommending’.
Instead, human experts are coming into their own again as three in four Virtuoso clients point to their travel advisor’s accommodation and destination expertise as a key benefit, with eight in ten luxury travellers saying they are open to using an advisor for future trips.
Half of advisers reported clients ‘steering away from over-touristed destinations’, the travel firm’s spokesperson said. ‘Algorithm inspiration is giving way to analogue escapes, with time, privacy and the ability to disconnect emerging as the ultimate luxuries.’
Travellers want wellness and family trips in 2026
Further trends for 2026 see wealthy travellers increasingly choosing ‘wellness’ hotels, with bookings up 28 per cent and sales up 44 per cent year-on-year, outpacing the broader hotel portfolio. There has also been an increase in multi-generational and family trips.
Baby boomers continue to drive the demand for cruises, while millennials prefer beach escapes and luxury products and experiences, the luxury travel trends report shows.
Some 60 per cent of wealthy travellers are prioritising bucket-list trips, with 42 per cent booking further ahead to secure their preferences, and 30 per cent taking fewer, but longer and higher-quality trips, the data shows.
‘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,’ said a Virtuoso spokesperson.
