WTTC forecasts 3.1% growth for European Travel & Tourism in 2026
The council's 2026 outlook puts Europe at 3.1% growth and international visitor spending up 5.8%. WTTC issued it at the opening of its 26th Global Summit in Valletta.
Market Pulse
RoomPriceGenie Survey: 53 Percent Price With AI, 10 Percent Cede the Rate
RoomPriceGenie's 2026 survey of 450 revenue decision-makers finds 53 percent using AI for pricing recommendations and 10 percent letting it set most rates.
India's Pipeline Reaches 1.61 Lakh Rooms Against 2.09 Lakh Operating
Hotelivate-Savills reports 68.1% occupancy and a record INR 8,962 ADR for 2025/26, with a 1,61,074-room pipeline equal to 77% of the 2,09,180 branded rooms in operation.
US Air Arrivals Fall 6.1% in Q2 as the World Cup Adds 471,000 Visitors
NTTO recorded 10.3 million international air arrivals in the second quarter of 2026, 6.1 per cent below 2025, with the World Cup adding an estimated 471,000 visitors.
Local Dishes Lead Marriott's Asia Pacific Food Trends for 2027
Marriott International surveyed F&B teams in 284 properties across 20 Asia Pacific markets in July 2026. 95 per cent name local signature dishes the biggest trend in their market, and 58 per cent put the average fine-dining meal at 1.5 to 2 hours.
Hotel Casualty Costs: Liability Rates Up, Carrier Pool Down to Three
General liability rates rose 5 to 15 per cent for operators with clean loss histories and 15 to 30 per cent without one, and the carrier pool fell to about 10 insurers.
Booking.com 2027: 73 Per Cent of Australians Want an Off-Script Trip
Booking.com's 2027 Travel Predictions put Australian appetite for an out-of-character holiday at 73 per cent, on a survey of 28,230 adults.
Tourism Ireland Puts a Number on Its Share of AI Answers
Tourism Ireland's chief executive says its content shapes close to one in five AI answers about Ireland. The agency's May 2026 survey puts AI among the top three trip-planning sources at 16 per cent.
All-Inclusive Demand: 87 Per Cent Have Stayed or Considered a Stay
A Hyatt-commissioned Skift survey of 2,206 consumers in the United States and Canada puts repeat guests at 84 per cent, with 42 per cent of Gen Z respondents staying at an all-inclusive resort in the past year.
Jeddah RevPAR Climbs 53.3% in September on Gulf Cup Demand
CoStar's preliminary September 2026 read puts Jeddah occupancy at 65.5 per cent and ADR at SAR601.49, with the Gulf Cup opening day setting the month's peak on all three measures.
Council Bluffs hotels take $47.6m as the tax take hits third-highest
Council Bluffs hotels produced $47,604,342.86 in the fiscal year to 30 June 2026 and the city collected $3,332,304 in hotel and motel taxes, both up 4.65 per cent on Unleash Council Bluffs’ own report.
Melbourne Sets September ADR and RevPAR Records
Melbourne's hotels posted their highest September average daily rate and revenue per available room on record, CoStar preliminary data shows: occupancy 75.6 per cent, ADR AUD242.11 and RevPAR AUD182.99, with the AFL Grand Final night at AUD420.50.
Milan Posts Its Second-Highest September ADR and RevPAR
CoStar preliminary data puts Milan's September occupancy at 84.2 per cent, ADR at EUR310.04 and RevPAR at EUR261.17, with the Grand Prix night at EUR444.75 and Fashion Week peaking four nights later.
Mews: 63 per cent would let AI monitor room rates
A Mews survey of 3,250 travellers in eight markets found 63 per cent would use AI to monitor room-rate price drops, 56 per cent for real-time translation and 57 per cent would rather keep control of the trip.
AI Travel Shortlists Stay Narrow, Skift Research Finds
Skift Research ran one set of travel prompts through ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude under repeated traveller personas. The wording changed with each persona and the destination list held.
AIB: Ploughing and Irish Open Lift Accommodation Spend
AIB's September Spend Trend puts County Clare accommodation card spending 64 percent above last year during the Amgen Irish Open and accommodation transactions near Tullamore 6 percent above the 2025 Ploughing Championships. The figures come from 75.2 million AIB card transactions in September 2026.
Holiday Inn Study of 750 German Parents Finds Simpler Holidays
A Holiday Inn by IHG survey of 750 German parents finds 86 percent feel responsible for special family holidays and 40 percent seek their children’s input.
APF report: developers turn to conversions and PIPs as new starts stay low
Access Point Financial’s report on hotel construction lending finds developers shifting from ground-up building to brand conversions and PIPs. The Turner cost index reached 1552 in the second quarter of 2026, and the report tracks this year’s supply growth at 1.3 per cent.
HAMA Fall 2026 Survey: 97 Percent Expect RevPAR Growth Into 2027
HAMA's Fall 2026 Industry Outlook Survey counts 72 asset managers, and 97 percent of them expect RevPAR growth to continue into 2027. Insurance cost has returned to the leading concerns.
Operto Counts 1.1 Million Predatory OTA Ads Against 204,000 Hotels
Operto's analysis of the Google Ads Transparency Center covers a 31-day window and counts about 1.1 million predatory OTA ads across 204,000 hotels in 205 countries.
Net Affinity: Guests from Asia Cancel 53-56 Per Cent of Europe Bookings
Net Affinity's Channel Manager data puts cancellations by guests from Asia at 53 to 56 per cent of European hotel bookings, against 28 to 29 per cent for other markets.
WTTC Puts Europe's Travel Economy at USD 3 Trillion With Eight Priorities
WTTC puts Europe's Travel & Tourism sector at almost USD 3 trillion and 40.7 million jobs in 2025, with eight priorities for governments and an outlook to 2036.
Delhi Hotel Occupancy Falls to 25 Per Cent as Protests Halt Bookings
Delhi's hotels are running at around 25 per cent occupancy against the 75 per cent the Delhi Hotel Association expects in October, with restaurant sales down 20 to 30 per cent at Le Meridien New Delhi and MICE bookings deferred by two weeks.
UK Outbound Travel Adds GBP 57 Billion a Year and 865,000 Jobs, ABTA Reports
ABTA's outbound travel research puts the sector's annual contribution to the UK economy at GBP 57 billion in gross value added and 865,000 jobs, up 9.6 per cent and 5.7 per cent since 2019.
International Visitor Spending in the U.S. Falls 5% in August
International visitors spent nearly $19.9 billion in the United States in August 2026, down nearly 5% year over year, NTTO data show. Travel spending on lodging, dining, recreation and local transport fell nearly 9%.
India Wins the 2027 WTTC Summit as the Council Puts Its Travel Economy at $527 Billion
WTTC forecasts India's travel and tourism economy almost doubles to US$527 billion by 2036, from US$263.6 billion in 2025, and picks Delhi to host its 2027 Global Summit.
Caribbean Pipeline Passes 200 Projects With 103 in the Dominican Republic
HVS counts more than 200 Caribbean hotel projects, 103 of them in the Dominican Republic, with 58.9 per cent of new projects in the luxury and upper-upscale classes. The Dominican Republic holds 53.1 per cent of all pipeline keys.
WTTC Members Pledge USD 2 Billion for Malta With No Project Named
WTTC announced a collective USD 2 billion investment commitment in Malta on behalf of its members. The release names no investor, no project and no timetable, and the council's research puts Maltese tourism GDP growth at 16.8% for 2025.
91% of hotel chains use AI; 13% report a measurable return
Are Morch's column counts one to two days a week of manual reporting across more than 80 per cent of hotel commercial teams. h2c finds 91 per cent of chains using AI, with 13 per cent reporting measurable returns, and Otelier puts manual reporting at 91 per cent of operators.
Broome-Perth and Kalgoorlie-Perth rose 43% on FCM's first-half data
FCM Travel's first-half 2026 booking data puts Broome-Perth and Kalgoorlie-Perth each up 43 per cent and the three Golden Triangle routes down, with mining, oil and gas its most-booked sector. Dayuse's Perth search listed 13 day hotels from US$86.12 on 14 October 2026.