Booking.com Puts a Number on the Off-Script Holiday
Booking.com published its 2027 Travel Predictions on 14 October 2026. The Australian reading puts appetite for an uncharacteristic trip at 73 per cent, the share of Australian travellers interested in a holiday that is completely out of character. Travel Daily carried the item on 16 October 2026.
The same reading puts 38 per cent of Australian travellers wanting to surprise their friends and family with their travel choices. A further 28 per cent said they had deleted or avoided posting about a vacation because it felt too predictable.
What the Research Measures
Booking.com fielded the survey in July and August 2026 among 28,230 adults across 32 countries and territories. Australia contributed 1,009 respondents, and the release states a margin of error of plus or minus 0.6 per cent. Respondents plan to travel for business or leisure within the next 12 to 24 months.
Every figure in this piece is Booking.com's own, and the release presents the set as stated intent. It publishes no booking conversion figure behind the intents.
Destination Choice Runs on Feeling
Seventy-eight per cent of Australian travellers said they would choose a vacation destination primarily on how they want to feel. Seventy-three per cent said they were likely to use a search tool that recommends destinations on their mood.
That pair moves the discovery step onto the guest's own description of the stay they want. The property page, the photography and the named facilities are the fields a hotelier controls in that exchange.
Paranormal Interest Is a Published Figure
Sixty-two per cent of Australian travellers said they were interested in seeking out paranormal experiences. The figure sits inside the same Australian reading.
The demand line it gives a day-use desk is local programming: after-hours access, a dark-history walk, a scheduled item a property names and sells. A day-use booking covers the hours an evening walk occupies.
The Long-Haul Case Rests on Arrival
Ninety-three per cent of Australian travellers said they would take a long-haul journey if it guaranteed they would arrive rested and refreshed. On the flight itself, food and drink menus or caffeine timing guidance designed to support sleep ranked highest among Australian respondents at 37 per cent. Lighting designed to reduce jet lag followed at 26 per cent and skincare kits at 24 per cent. Twenty-eight per cent wanted a designated no-children quiet zone on board.
The action figure is the arrival promise. The guarantee is decided in the hours after landing, where the room at the door, the blackout, the quiet floor and the early check-in carry it. A day-use block covers the morning arrival ahead of a standard check-in time.
The Signals and the Quarter They Land In
The research covers trips planned inside the next 12 to 24 months and was fielded in July and August 2026. The demand it describes sits in the 2027 booking year.
Four Australian readings are the ones a hotelier can act on now: the 73 per cent who want a holiday out of character, the 78 per cent who pick a destination on feeling, the 62 per cent who want a paranormal experience, and the 93 per cent who would fly long-haul for a rested arrival.
The listing language answers the feeling. The experience menu answers the paranormal interest. The arrival product answers the rest promise. The shareable moment answers the 38 per cent who book to surprise the people they know.
What the Set Does Not Carry
The predictions report intent. Booking.com publishes no conversion figure against the Australian readings and no rate data. A revenue desk can use the set as a calendar signal for 2027.