L uxury travel has stopped asking “where next?” and started asking “why now?” That might sound soft, but the data is hard. American Express Travel says 40% of global respondents plan to spend more on travel in 2026, while 74% of Millennials and Gen Z surveyed describe travel as a “non-negotiable” expense. Audrey Hendley, President of American Express Travel, says travellers are being “incredibly intentional” about how they spend their holiday time. For luxury brands, destinations and travel advisors, that is the brief. Stop selling more. Start selling meaning. Globetrender’s Experiential Travel Trends 2026 report, produced in partnership with Accor, found 97% of travellers say travel helps them recharge emotionally. The direction is clear: the luxury guest is no longer simply buying the suite, the spa or the private transfer. They are buying the feeling. This is important to the Middle East as it evolves its destination offering. The region has plenty of hardware – desert resorts, island projects, wellness retreats, cultural districts and some of the world’s most ambitious hotel developments – but luxury is also shifting towards clarity over excess and depth over display. The next opportunity is softer, but more powerful, turning that infrastructure into trips with emotional pull. THE WHY BEFORE THE WHERE Purpose is becoming a defining part of luxury travel, but that doesn’t mean worthy or earnest experiences that make a holiday feel like homework. The new version is lighter, more personal and more enjoyable. It’s travel that leaves guests
Right: Power trip examples include eVTOL flights across Utah canyon landscapes
feeling they have learned something, contributed something, reconnected or seen the world differently. In other words, it’s transformational. Concierge service Scott Dunn Private reports growing demand for journeys that are “thoughtful, relevant and meaningful”. Affluent travellers are choosing trips that feel considered and connected, not simply luxurious. Black Tomato’s Future Fuel 2026 report makes a similar point, focusing on the “why” behind a journey and the desire to reconnect with people and planet. Purpose does not have to be solemn. It can be joyful, beautiful and, deeply commercial for the travel companies who understand it and execute it well. ACCESS IS THE NEW ADDRESS In old luxury, the flex was the presidential suite. In new luxury, it is the door nobody else can open. Private museum access, after-hours cultural sites, behind-the- scenes sporting moments, a dinner cooked somewhere impossible, a guide who knows the right person and the right story. Across the market, access is being packaged as a form of status: private cultural encounters, behind-the-scenes sporting moments and time with craftspeople or experts. The point is not name-dropping, but rarity. Loyalty is moving in the same direction. Globetrender’s research found 72% of travellers place access to unique or unforgettable experiences at the heart of what they value most in loyalty
programmes. Points are no longer just about upgrades. They are becoming emotional currency. POWER TRIPS FOR THE BUSY Slow travel is still important, but not every high-net-worth traveller has three weeks to disappear. Enter the power trip: short, intense, expertly choreographed and almost aggressively frictionless. Cookson Adventures is one operator responding with short, high-intensity “Power Trips” that compress expedition- style experiences into long weekends using private aviation, specialist guides and rare access. Managing Director Nick Davies says clients want a “seamless rhythm to the day” that removes waiting around and replaces it with high-impact experiences. The format can range from canyon flights and helicopter-supported adventures to tightly edited cultural journeys and itineraries. This is not about paring back, but doing the impossible efficiently. Increasingly, ease itself is a marker of luxury. MOODBOARD TRAVEL Luxury travel used to be planned around destinations. Then experiences. Now, increasingly, emotions. Do guests want awe? Joy? Serenity? Prestige? Surprise? The itinerary starts there. This is being framed as vibe-led travel, with research revealing 25% of travellers would like searches to start with mood rather than destination, signalling a fundamental shift in how trips are chosen.
Below: The new luxury is the door that can’t be opened: ac- cess to unique locations, like the F1 pitlane
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