Barcelona leads British travellers’ flight bookings, London tops their hotel reservations and Greek destinations are recording some of the strongest growth. Familiar city breaks remain central to holiday plans, with fresh interest in island escapes and alternative places to spend a weekend.
These patterns emerge from eDreams ODIGEO’s newly published A Year in Travel Report 2026. The company behind Opodo in the UK has added hotel-booking insights this year, bringing accommodation choices into the picture alongside flight bookings, searches and consumer surveys. Its findings describe travel through the company’s brands, including Opodo and eDreams.
Familiar cities remain the first choice
Barcelona, Amsterdam, Malaga, Istanbul and Paris are the five most-booked destinations for British travellers in 2026. Alicante, Madrid, Lisbon, Faro and Tirana complete the top ten, giving the list a strong European emphasis with room for both established favourites and newer interests.
Amsterdam led British bookings in the company’s previous annual report, with Barcelona second. Those positions have now reversed, while the same five cities occupy the leading places. The appeal of a manageable city break, with food and culture close together, remains consistent.
London also holds its place internationally. It ranks fifth for global flight bookings and second for searches, behind Paris. Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and Palma de Mallorca take the first four booking positions, showing how strongly European destinations continue to feature in travel plans.
Greek escapes record striking growth
Preveza-Lefkada is the standout growth destination for British flight bookings, up 165% year on year. Zakynthos follows with a 123% increase, while Rhodes rises 39% and Chania 27%. Greece features repeatedly among the destinations attracting more bookings, making it a useful starting point for next summer’s shortlist.
Spain also performs strongly. Valencia bookings are up 76%, Reus 44%, Minorca 39% and Alicante 30%. These increases sit alongside the continuing popularity of Barcelona and Malaga, suggesting British travellers are widening their choices within countries they already favour.
The company interprets the British growth list as a shift towards beach holidays, even as cities retain the highest overall booking positions. Both findings can hold: an established city may attract more travellers in total, while an island destination grows faster from a smaller base.
Hotel bookings broaden the city-break shortlist
London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin lead British hotel bookings. Manchester, Rome, Lisbon, Milan and Glasgow complete the top ten, with domestic stays forming a substantial part of the list.
Manchester records the strongest growth among the UK hotel destinations highlighted, with bookings up 112%. Dublin follows at 85% and Belfast at 56%. London rises 33%, Liverpool 29%, and Edinburgh and Glasgow 26% each. The results give regional city breaks a prominent place alongside European capitals.
The global hotel figures widen the selection further. Tirana bookings increase 74% and Zaragoza 57%, while Porto Sa Ruxi in Sardinia records 78% growth. These destinations add variety to a hotel-booking market still led by Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam.
London’s range includes stays with enough character to become part of the trip themselves. Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green occupies a restored Grade II-listed Edwardian town hall, with kitchen-equipped suites, a 14-metre heated pool and neighbourhood cultural outings. It’s a concrete option for a city stay with space to settle in between exploring.
Short stays remain popular
Three- to four-day trips are the most common choice among British travellers, accounting for 36% of flight-associated stays. Seven- to thirteen-day trips come next at 20%, followed by two-day trips at 16% and five- to six-day stays at 14%.
The hotel figures are shorter still: 68% of British reservations and 69% globally are for one or two days. A hotel reservation can represent a short city break or one part of a longer journey, so these figures describe accommodation bookings rather than the duration of every holiday.
A compact break gives the hotel and its location particular importance. With only a night or two available, a property that suits the way you want to spend your time deserves close attention. The report’s hotel rankings provide a useful destination shortlist; the next decision is the individual stay.
Long-haul interest stretches south
Durban leads global flight-booking growth at 80%, followed by Melbourne at 57%, Cape Town at 55%, Johannesburg at 50% and Sydney at 48%. The company points to the combination of city experiences, beaches and outdoor activities in these Southern Hemisphere destinations.
Part of that growth comes from the introduction of its Prime subscription programme in Australia and South Africa. The figures therefore reflect both destination demand and an expanding customer base in those markets.
British travellers are also browsing well beyond Europe. Bangkok is second in their 2026 search rankings, with New York City seventh and Tokyo ninth. Long-haul journeys account for 14% of British flight bookings, while medium-distance travel accounts for 37%. A short European break remains popular, but longer journeys continue to feature in the mix.
Cooler holidays offer a different summer setting
Gothenburg, Stockholm, Zurich and Geneva attracted increased interest from British travellers following June’s heatwaves. Searches rose 33% for Gothenburg, 22% for Stockholm and 20% for both Swiss cities. Globally, Oslo recorded a 42% increase.
These search patterns support the report’s interest in coolcations: holidays built around cooler destinations, including mountain escapes. They sit alongside strong booking growth for Greek and Spanish sunshine, giving summer planners different ways to approach the same season.
The UK offers nature-led stays for travellers who want a quieter setting closer to home. Our selection of six UK coolcation stays includes Eilean Sionnach Lighthouse Cottage on a private four-acre island off Skye and Arrowdale Holiday Cottage, with approximately 100 metres of shoreline near Gairloch.
Lilypod’s floating lake pods near Dartmoor offer another distinctive setting, with no mobile-phone signal. The appeal is grounded in the place itself: an island, a stretch of shoreline or accommodation directly on a lake, each offering a different way to spend time in nature.
Independence and shared experiences shape trips
Freedom and independence are the leading motivations for solo travel in the company’s consumer survey, cited by 38% of respondents. Unavailable friends or family are the second most common motivation at 30%, followed by self-discovery or experimentation at 27%; 23% are motivated by meeting new people. Four to seven days is the ideal solo-trip length for 43% of respondents.
Those findings give solo travel a clear place among next year’s options. A trip can be organised around personal interests and an individual pace, with the choice of destination, accommodation and duration made by one traveller.
Social media also influences discovery. Globally, 39% of respondents have been inspired to visit somewhere new by social content, compared with 25% in the UK. Hidden gems and off-the-beaten-track destinations are the strongest draw, cited by 31% globally.
Concerts and sporting events create another reason to travel. Following the release of Celine Dion tickets, flight searches to Paris for the relevant autumn dates rose 52% compared with the same period in 2025. Among respondents planning sports-focused trips, 39% said they would extend their stay by one or two days to explore the destination.
Pablo Caspers, chief travel officer at eDreams ODIGEO, said: “2026 has underlined that people are increasingly making in-the-moment travel decisions, inspired by major events and once-in-a-lifetime experiences and they want complete peace of mind.” For an event-led escape, the possibility of changing plans is a practical part of choosing how to book.
What travellers are booking for 2027
Barcelona, Malaga, Rome, Dublin and Madrid lead British flight bookings for 2027 so far. Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Faro and Lisbon complete the top ten, keeping the early booking list firmly focused on European breaks.
Searches are more far-reaching. Bangkok and Tokyo take the first two places, followed by Geneva, Milan and Orlando. Sydney, Zurich, Salzburg, Phuket and New York City round out the list, offering a broader set of possibilities than the destinations already booked.
Globally, Rio de Janeiro leads early flight bookings, ahead of Madrid, Bangkok, Rome and Paris. London ranks sixth for flights and fourth for hotel reservations; Rome, Barcelona and Paris lead the hotel list. Long-haul holidays are typically booked further ahead, so European short-haul destinations may climb as closer-to-departure bookings arrive.
