Research among 14,744 travellers across 14 countries suggests flexibility, trusted human advice and meaningful experiences are gaining ground over the pursuit of a “perfect” holiday.
Hilton’s 2027 travel research found strong interest in restorative experiences and nature, with 79% of surveyed travellers saying fresh air and the outdoors are essential to how they relax while travelling.
- Morning Consult surveyed 14,744 adults planning to travel in the next 12 months across 14 countries for Hilton’s 2027 Trends Report.
- Hilton groups the findings into five themes covering flexible “good-ish” travel, trust, personal growth, wellness and shorter trips.
- Some 65% of respondents said they actively seek experiences that calm the body and reset the nervous system, while 79% described fresh air and the outdoors as essential to relaxation when travelling.
- Two-thirds of respondents, 67%, said they like trips that allow them to experience a lot in a short period, while definitions of a short trip vary significantly by market.
(NEWS) MCLEAN, Virginia, United States, 2026-Sep-29 — /Travel PR News/ — The pressure to engineer a flawless holiday may be losing some of its appeal as travellers put more emphasis on flexibility, personal growth, restorative experiences and making better use of limited time, according to new international research commissioned by Hilton.
The hotel group’s 2027 Trends Report, titled The Great Rebalance: How Travelers Are Expecting to Reset and Recalibrate in 2027, draws on a Morning Consult survey of 14,744 adults who expect to travel within the next 12 months. Respondents came from 14 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Rather than presenting one dominant shift, Hilton organises the research around five themes: The Rise of ‘Ish,’ The Travel Trust Equation, Growth Getaways, Wellness, Rewired and The Micro-Travel Mindset. Together, the findings suggest that travellers are reassessing what constitutes a worthwhile trip, from whom they take advice and how travel fits into everyday life.
Less pressure to create the perfect holiday
One of the clearest tensions in the survey is between aspiration and expectation. More than half of respondents, 54%, said they feel some pressure to have the perfect trip, while 24% reported trying to accommodate a group and keep others happy.
Hilton describes the emerging alternative as “perfect-ish”: a willingness to define a successful trip more personally instead of following an idealised itinerary. A related finding suggests that solo travel is also becoming more fluid. Nearly one-third of respondents, 31%, said they have travelled alone in order to meet friends or family at the destination, combining independence with social connection.
Human advice retains weight alongside digital planning
Another part of the study examines trust at a time when artificial intelligence is becoming more prominent in trip planning. Despite increasingly sophisticated digital tools, 70% of respondents said they trust hotel staff as a travel-planning resource.
Loyalty status also appears to influence perceptions of expertise. Half of respondents said they would be more likely to trust a recommendation from someone holding loyalty status than from someone without it, while 29% reported feeling jealous of friends whose travel loyalty status exceeds their own.
Chris Nassetta, Hilton’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said the findings indicate that travellers are becoming less interested in other people’s definitions of perfection and more focused on trips that fit their own lives. Hilton argues that a blend of human service and digital tools will remain important as those expectations evolve.
Travel as an investment in growth and wellbeing
The report also identifies personal development as a motivation for getting away. Three-quarters of respondents, 76%, agreed that having a trip scheduled gives them a purpose to work toward, while 42% said travel had helped them discover new interests or passions.
Hilton labels one expression of that behaviour “skillcations,” referring to trips that incorporate opportunities to learn something that can continue after returning home. The research found Gen Z travellers were nearly twice as likely as Baby Boomers to want to return with a new hobby or interest.
Wellbeing findings place particular emphasis on restoration and nature. Nearly two-thirds of respondents, 65%, said they actively seek experiences that calm the body and reset the nervous system, and 76% said travel allows them to recharge mentally and physically in ways they cannot easily achieve at home.
Outdoor environments appear especially important: 79% said fresh air and the outdoors are essential to the way they relax while travelling, and 54% reported spending more time immersed in nature during trips than at home.
Shorter trips reflect the value of time
Hilton’s final theme focuses on shorter, more frequent travel. Some 67% of respondents said they like planning trips that let them experience a lot within a limited period, and 63% prefer accommodation in central locations with plenty to do nearby.
What qualifies as a short break varies substantially between countries. According to the survey, 88% of US respondents regard a trip of fewer than three to four days as short, while 86% of respondents in Japan and 59% in South Korea define a short trip as fewer than two days. Respondents in Saudi Arabia and Germany were comparatively more likely to regard stays of five to six days or longer as short.
The research was conducted by Morning Consult on Hilton’s behalf between May 18 and June 1, 2026, among travellers aged 18 and over in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, United Kingdom, Germany, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Australia, China, India, Japan and Korea. Hilton reports an overall margin of error of approximately 1%, rising to about 3% on average for individual markets.
As a commissioned survey, the report reflects Hilton’s framing of the findings, but its underlying results offer a broad snapshot of how travellers across those 14 markets say they are thinking about time, wellbeing, advice and the purpose of travel heading into 2027.
