Every year a few travel patterns quietly reshape how we move, where we go and when. This article looks at what is shifting in the market for 2026: where Danes are heading abroad, why Copenhagen Airport is busier than ever, why cooler destinations are drawing more attention in summer, and why more people are setting out alone.Some of these shifts are backed by hard figures, others are still open questions. We separate the two, so you can see which trends are worth planning around and which ones are still waiting to prove themselves.

Travel trends 2026: what is moving in the market

A trend is not a fashion. It is a signal that many thousands of people have made the same choice at the same time – and you feel it whether you join them or not. When more people want the same place in the same week, prices rise and calm disappears. When a market grows, new routes, new offers and new ways of travelling follow.

Annonce

That is why we watch what is shifting. Here is what we see in 2026 – with figures where they exist, and an honest note where they do not.

Spain is still number one for the Danes acc. to latest travel trends reports

The steadiest pattern in Danish travel habits is also the least surprising. According to Statistics Denmark, Spain was again the most visited country on long holidays abroad in 2025 – trips of four nights or more. Italy came second, Greece and Germany shared third place, and France and Sweden shared fifth.

The interesting part is not the top but what sits below it. Sweden in shared fifth place says the neighbouring country is more than a weekend away. On short holidays – one to three nights – Germany was the most popular foreign destination, and roughly one short holiday in three went abroad.

The aeroplane carries the long trips: 68 per cent of long holidays abroad were by air.

Spain

Note: Statistics Denmark introduced a new questionnaire and new methods in 2025, so 2025 cannot be compared directly with earlier years. The ranking can be read; the change from year to year cannot.

More travellers through Copenhagen than ever

2025 was a record year at Copenhagen Airport: 32.4 million passengers, nine per cent more than the year before and above the previous record of 30.3 million from 2018. July 2025 was the busiest month in the airport’s history, with almost three million passengers.

Two things follow. There are more routes and departures to choose from than in many years. And the peak summer weeks are full – at the airport and at the places the planes land. Whoever can move a trip a couple of weeks out of high season gets not only a lower price, but a different place to be.

Denmark

When summer gets too hot: the cool destinations. Travel trends 2026 for sure

Heatwaves in southern Europe have given a new trend a name: the coolcation, a holiday somewhere the summer is bearable. Searches point the same way. Trip.com has reported 74 per cent more searches for cooler destinations since the start of 2026 compared with the year before, and a Polarsteps survey from April 2026 found that 35 per cent of British travellers had chosen a cooler place for their summer holiday.

It gets more interesting when you look at who wins. Iceland, Finland and Norway top the lists of Europe’s coolest summer destinations, and the Baltic states are in the top ten. So this is not only the Nordic countries’ own travellers heading north – the rest of Europe is too, and it shows in prices and availability in the fjords and on Lofoten.

Not everyone thinks it will last. The Swedish tourism researcher Stefan Gössling points out that every European country has had more visitors, and that no clear link to the heat can be seen. Whether it is a shift or a response to a few hot summers, nobody knows yet. But if you have plans for Norway or Iceland in July, book before the rest of Europe does.

Alone, not lonely: solo travel

More people travel alone – not for lack of company, but because they will not wait for it. That goes for younger travellers and for those who have the time and the wish, but not a travel companion with the same calendar.

The market has noticed. More tour operators now run group trips for people travelling alone, and the single room is moving from a supplement you pay to a product that is sold. The supplement for travelling alone can still be considerable, and it is worth asking directly before booking – but that is exactly where competition has begun to move.

We have found no verified figure for how many people travel alone. So we print none.

Slower and longer that is a strong travel trend

The old tour – a new city every other day – is losing ground to its opposite: one place, for several weeks, in a neighbourhood where the locals live. Slow travel has gone from an idea to something people plan around. Part of the reason is that more people can take their work with them; part is that more want to feel a place rather than have seen it.

What will change the pattern later: the Fehmarn Belt

The Fehmarn Belt tunnel between Denmark and Germany is not a trend. It is a change waiting to happen. When it opens, the route from Scandinavia to Germany and on to the rest of Europe gets shorter by both train and car, and that will change how many Nordic travellers reach the continent. The timetable has slipped: according to the latest reports, drivers can use the tunnel in 2032 at the earliest. Until then, it is the ferry.

What it means before you book

Trends are not a map of where you should go. They are a map of where everyone else is going. Use them that way: if you want what many others want, book early. If you want something else, there have never been more routes and options to choose from – and the place everyone else passes over is often the one you remember longest.

We keep watching and update when new figures come in. Travel Trends 2027 will land soon. Stay informed!

More Leisure Media Group publications: World Sports anyone?

365 ways to travel the world

Travel the world through our films — a new place every week.

Boracay — Shangri-La of the Philippines

Japan beyond Tokyo, Osaka & Kyoto

Provence — the Mediterranean dream

7 Unknown Beaches in the Philippines

Jungle holidays — wilder, greener

Cruising the open water

Watch more on YouTube →

The Leisure Family

Eight sites, one family — travel, wine, sport and sharper thinking. Explore the rest of the universe.

Rejser · DK Traveltalk.dk Rejser med dybde — for den nysgerrige rejsende. Travel · Intl Traveltalk.travel Travel with depth, the world over. Inspiration Vacation-Talk Travel inspiration, destinations & ideas. Vin Winetalk.dk Vin som hverdagens luksus. Sport WorldSportTalk Global sport, up close. Ideas · AI Think Smarter Clearer thinking — and AI in particular. The Group Leisuretalk The whole family, in one place. For business Gadvisory Is your business AI-ready? Take the test.