How Geopolitics, Travel Inspiration, and Tech is Shaping the Summer
France tops British travel Plans for Summer 2026
(Copyright text and report Song PR and Polarsteps, reproduced with kind permission)
Boomers are Boarding, Gen Z are Cancelling, France is booming,
How geopolitics, travel inspiration, and tech is shaping the summer
Polarsteps Summer 2026 Travel Trends Report
• France tops British travel plans for summer 2026, featuring in a remarkable 21% of all planned trips
• Gen Z is six times more likely than Baby Boomers to have cancelled a planned trip, and almost four times more likely to have changed their destination due to world events.
• Over half of British travellers (57%) say the US political climate makes them less likely to visit America this summer
• Despite rising costs, nearly half of British travellers (48%) plan to spend MORE on travel this summer
May 2026: New data from Polarsteps, the travel app loved by over 20 million travellers globally, reveals the travel trends for summer in its Summer Travel Trends Report 2026.
Geopolitical uncertainty is redirecting travel and dividing generations; the thirst for (and willingness to spend more on) travel grows; and sources of inspiration are fracturing along generational lines, with AI already outpacing Instagram, and social media creating a growing gap between expectation and reality. In terms of upcoming destinations, Europe is still dominating summer trips for Polarsteps travellers, but significant shifts are taking place.
Brits turn their backs on the USA but France is irresistible
The political climate in the United States is having a measurable impact on British travel decisions. More than half of British travellers surveyed (57%) say they are now less likely to visit the US this summer because of the country's current political situation.
France has cemented its place as the destination of choice for British holidaymakers, featuring in a staggering 21% of all planned summer trips. Italy is almost as impressive, being included in 18% of itineraries, while Germany (12%) and Spain (11%) sit strongly in third and fourth position.
The surprise package in the long-haul rankings is Brazil, which has shot up 17 places to 35th among British travel plans. Japan has also made strong gains, climbing 10 places to 22nd. Not all long-haul destinations are thriving, however, Singapore has dropped 12 places and Australia has slid seven.
Generations are divided on world events, but united on safety
Geopolitical uncertainty is reshaping travel decisions across all ages, but it is hitting younger travellers hardest. Gen Z travellers are six times more likely than Baby Boomers to have cancelled their trip and almost four times more likely to have changed destination as a result of world events. Yet, across all generations there is one area of complete consensus: around half of all British respondents said safety and political stability were on their mind when planning this summer's travel.
Spending is up, despite the financial squeeze
With inflation rising and fuel prices under pressure, it would be understandable if British households were reining in holiday budgets. Instead, the opposite appears to be happening, nearly half of British travellers surveyed (48%) say they are planning to spend more on travel this summer than last, the second highest of any nation in the survey, behind only Americans. Only 10% of Brits plan to spend less, the lowest national percentage in the survey.
"We're seeing a deepening trend for authentic, real-life experiences, and travel is a huge part of that," says Clare Jones, CEO of Polarsteps. "Despite the financial difficulties of economies right now, the resilience of travel shows how important real, rather than digital, experiences still are for people in their spending planning."
Fragmented Travel Inspiration
Although word-of-mouth remains the most powerful force in travel, its grip is weakening, with just a third of surveyed travellers now saying that friends and family are their single biggest influence on where to go. Gen Z is leading this shift, with less than a quarter relying on their loved ones, while Baby Boomers sit at the opposite end of the spectrum at 42%.
AI tools are now the leading source of inspiration for 7% of all respondents, ahead of both Instagram (5%) and TikTok (6%). Millennials are the biggest adopters and users of AI tools, closely followed by Gen Z. However, TikTok remains Gen Z's preferred digital platform, chosen by one in five.
But this shift towards algorithm-led discovery comes with a risk, as more than a third of travellers, rising to 59% of Gen Z, say destinations fail to match their social media image.
AI is rapidly reshaping planning habits, with nearly 40% now using or considering it, particularly for destination ideas.
"What's interesting to me is that we're increasingly relying on one form of algorithmic influence or another. It makes it even more important for travellers to stay curious and check suggestions with their own research or, better yet, real humans," says Clare Jones.
Full travel report can be found here.
Ends
About Polarsteps
Recognised as one of Europe's hottest scale-ups, Polarsteps is the market-leading travel app that helps over 20 million travellers worldwide to plan, track, and relive their adventures in a beautiful and seamless way. Using pioneering technology and design, the all-in-one app builds itineraries, maps travellers' paths across the globe in real time, and provides a new way to share travel experiences. Headquartered in Amsterdam and powered by an international team of 100+ passionate travellers, we're becoming the essential tool for modern-day explorers — before, during, and after their trips.
Research Methodology
Traveller research for Polarsteps' Summer Travel Trends Report was conducted in April 2026 by Dynata, one of the world's largest first-party data and insights platforms. A representative sample of 2,403 adults, all of whom were actively planning at least one international trip during the summer of 2026, were surveyed evenly across four markets — the US, UK, Germany, and France.
Trip trends for individual markets are based on anonymized data from 75,000 planned trips in the Polarsteps app for summer 2026, captured on April 15, 2026.
