Fred. Holidays unveils 2026 travel trends
Fred. Holidays is starting 2026 with its annual trends campaign guide, bringing together the key insights that it says will shape travel this year.
The 44-page guide reflects growing demand for longer, more immersive journeys plus expedition cruises.
The Fred. Holidays [un]packed guide features 40 products across five categories: independent touring, rail holidays, river cruise, cruise and stay, and expedition cruise.
The collection focuses on what it says today’s travellers value most.
Key findings include:
Independent touring: Europe was the most popular region in 2025, with Spain, France and Italy the top-selling destinations. Consumers are visiting an average of three cities in one break
Rail holidays were the top travel choice in 2025 with the Bernina Express the most popular rail journey. Fred. Holidays says bookings are up 42% year on year
River cruise: Bookings are up 10% year on year with Kerala Backwaters upstream and the Lower Mississippi selling well. As GSA for Amadeus River Cruises, Classical Rhine bookings have seen exceptional growth, with demand now more than three times higher.
Cruise and stay: North America is the number one cruise and stay destination and 15+ nights is the preferred duration. It says 90% of cruise and stay bookings are made by the trade
Expedition cruise: Citing its GSA partnership with National Geographic–Lindblad Expeditions, the Galapagos is the stand out expedition destination.
Julie Berry, Managing Director of Fred. Holidays, said: “We’ve spent the past year analysing what matters to travellers and the answer is clear – experiences that go deeper.”
To coincide with the launch, Fred. Holidays introduced a new year-round trade incentive offering up to £1,000 per booking.
Valid until 31 December 2026, the incentive applies to all new Fred. Holidays package bookings made and rewards agents with Amazon vouchers based on booking value.
The campaign guide is being distributed to 400 strategic partners, with business development managers visiting agents.
A digital version, along with supporting sales assets, is also available via the Agent Portal at www.agentfred.co.uk.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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