Travellers are fitting more tours, activities and attractions into their holidays than ever before, even as spending per person remains flat in the US and has edged down in Europe, according to Travel Experiences 2026: Market Sizing, Operator and Consumer Behaviour Highlights, a new report from Arival and Phocuswright, sponsored by Civitatis.

The report, based on a survey of 2,550 travelers across the US, UK, France, Germany and Spain, examines how consumers choose, book and pay for travel experiences.

It builds on the organisations’ global market-sizing research released earlier this year.

US travellers who booked experiences averaged more than four tours, activities or attractions per category during a single trip, exceeding their European counterparts despite taking shorter holidays.

Americans spent an average of 7.1 nights away compared with 8.3 nights for European travellers.

The findings suggest consumers are prioritising the number of experiences they enjoy rather than upgrading to higher-priced options.

The research also highlights differing preferences between the two markets.

 “We see that cultural sites and landmarks topped the interest list for Europeans (47%), while sightseeing tours (42%) and culinary tours and classes (40%) lead among Americans,” said Bruce Rosard, co-founder of Arival. “Culinary experiences were a standout US preference (40% versus 32% in Europe), while spa and wellness activities were far more popular among Europeans (33% versus 23%).”

Despite continued digital growth, traditional booking habits remain widespread.

Fewer than half of travellers in the U.S. and Europe booked their most recent tour, activity or attraction online.

Nearly one in five travellers under 55, and almost a quarter of those aged 55 and over, simply purchased tickets by walking up to a provider or ticket office.

However, travellers are increasingly securing experiences before departure.

Between 27% and 34% booked in advance because they feared availability would sell out, while same-day bookings accounted for just 18% to 24% of experiences, down sharply from as much as 60% in 2023.

Rosard said the trend reflects a shift in travel planning. “This shows us that more travellers are choosing destinations based on the why of travel and booking those experiences in advance then ever before”.

He added: “The size and growth of this sector is now well established, and this research shows the behaviour behind it: travellers are doing more in destination than ever before. But with spend per person flat and two out of three bookings still offline, the opportunity is not just finding new customers. It is capturing more of the demand that already exists, from the traveller stacking four activities into a week to the one still queuing at the ticket office.”

The report comes as the experiences sector continues to expand.

The market returned to its pre-pandemic value of $253 billion in 2024, grew 17% to $271 billion in 2025, compared with 6% growth across the wider travel industry, and is projected to reach $342 billion by 2029.

Yet online bookings still account for only 33% of experiences, well below the 64% online share across the broader travel market, reflecting the sector’s fragmented structure, with more than 70% of operators classified as small or micro-businesses.

Civitatis CEO Andrés Spitzer said: “This report confirms what we see every day: travelers want more from every trip, and in a market this fragmented, curation is what makes that possible. At Civitatis, every experience we list has to earn its place through quality, not just availability. As the sector moves online, the platforms that make that trust easy to find will be the ones that capture this growth.” -TradeArabia News Service