The consortium said summer holidays were “leading the way” so far, with bookings for the 2026 season up 27%, taking a 49% share of 2026 travel.
While some people are still booking last-minute deals, the dominant trend for 2026 appears to be shifting towards ultra-early bookings for increased value for money, the body said.
Advantage is already seeing bookings for 2026/2027 winter holidays up by 24%, comprising 6% of overall bookings.
The consortium said cruise is “exceptionally well placed to outperform” in 2026’s off-peak and shoulder seasons, reporting that despite it representing only around 3% of global leisure travel by passenger numbers, demand is “accelerating” as the “standout growth segment for the next 12 months”. Advantage attributed this to new ships and sustained marketing investment. Tours and touring bookings are also likely to be popular in 2026 with Advantage member bookings up by 25%.
While 2025 has been a complicated year for travel to the US, Advantage said bookings for 2026 were up 20%, largely driven by major events such as the FIFA World Cup which will feature both England and Scotland as well as an increase in immersive experience destinations such as the deep south states.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership said: “Across our membership of independent travel agencies we have seen a strong performance throughout 2025 and it’s great that we’re ending the year on a high.
“The strength of trading throughout 2025 reflects the resilience of both our travel agent partners and the broader travel sector.
“For 2026, world events, competitive pressure from other source markets, and shifting consumer confidence will all shape travel bookings. What will matter most is value, and ensuring agents deploy strong value-led messaging that drives enquiries while helping customers understand what a genuinely good deal looks like.
“Consumers are continuing to focus on getting the best deal from their spend, it’s not just about booking the cheapest bargain available, but they want to see the most value from what their budget can afford. In the year ahead our travel agency partners will be working hard to elevate the booking experience and showcase this value.”
Meanwhile, Advantage has also revealed its most popular destinations for travel over the festive period.
Festive trips to Lapland in particular are proving extremely popular with bookings up 30% on last year, whilst city breaks to destinations with popular Christmas markets such as Prague, Krakow and Berlin have taken 13% of overall bookings.
Additional holidays that have become more popular in 2025 include cruise, which has risen in bookings by 5%, as well as ski holidays, which have risen by 6%. As always, the search for winter sun remains strong with bookings up 10%.
Advantage also reports that the usually popular Dubai and the Caribbean have seen a decline in bookings compared to last year. Nonetheless, due to the rising trend in consumers favouring more value focused trips, the Far East has continued to remain popular with a 13% rise in bookings.
For short-haul festive travel among Advantage member clients, the Canary Islands remains the most popular winter destination for British travellers, with bookings rising by 16% in 2025.
B2B accommodation booking platform RateHawk meanwhile, has found bookings to various destinations within Europe account for 35% of the total bookings made by European travel agents worldwide.
Its top five outbound long-haul destinations for European travellers were the US, Thailand, the UAE, Japan and Mexico.
Despite an overall decline in visitors to the US throughout the year, it remains one of the top requested Christmas destinations among Europeans booking their holidays with travel agents.
Astrid Kastberg, managing director of RateHawk, said: “This year, we see more travellers looking for new experiences and choosing less crowded cities, even within well-known destinations.”
