The findings combine lastminute.com’s proprietary data with extensive consumer research conducted by Censuswide across five key European markets. The new research shows that AI is no longer just a planning or discovery tool, but is increasingly being used on trips by over a third of respondents (37%). While on holiday, over a third of travellers actively use AI for holiday maxing: 34% to find restaurants, bars and cafes; 33% to research places to visit; and 28% to translate languages or read signs and menus.
The latest report by the online travel company looks at how consumers are demanding more than ever from both the booking process and the holiday experience, and are using AI to get it.
Alessandro Petazzi, CEO of lastminute.com, said: “Holiday maxing is really about getting more of what matters from every trip. Travellers are becoming smarter about where they spend, how they use their time and the experiences they prioritise. Increasingly, technology is the tool helping them do it - turning more choice into better, more confident decisions. Customer adoption of AI continues to accelerate, and we’ll continue to use the technology to give them the best experience.”
While the general trend is towards using more AI than ever before as part of the holiday process, Europe isn’t completely aligned when it comes to how much they want to use it. Brits are behind their European counterparts when it comes to using AI to plan a trip. Almost twice the proportion of travellers in Spain and Italy (57% and 51% respectively) have used AI to plan a holiday, versus just 30% in the UK.
Younger holidaymakers are open to letting AI do more, with the 25-34 year-olds the most convinced (19%) about letting AI actually book a holiday, compared to just 7% of over-55s. The over-55s are keen to let AI recommend destinations, as a quarter said they’d be happy to use the technology in this way.
The four ways travellers are holiday maxing in 2026:
Prompt to Paradise – Experience
AI is becoming a genuine travel companion, helping people get more from the experience before and during a trip. Almost half (45%) of those surveyed have used AI to plan a holiday in the past year, while 37% admit to now using it while they’re away - although only 12% across Europe would let AI actually book the holiday for them. For Brits, it’s translating languages or reading signs and menus (29%), The French are using AI to find interesting places to go (34%) and the Spanish are using it to find restaurants, bars and cafés (41%).
Travel, Tailored - Value
Travellers are getting smarter about where they spend, saving on some parts of the journey so they can prioritise what matters most. Nearly six in ten bookings (59.6%) pair a low-cost flight with a 4-star-or-higher hotel, while parking is having a moment, with parking as a package add-on jumping 156.6% year on year.
Weekend Worth It - Time
That Fri-yay feeling is alive and well when it comes to short breaks - with Friday departures up 10.1% year on year, with Friday now the biggest departure day for short breaks, while 16% of consumers expect to take more frequent trips over the next two years and 27% of people expect to do more shoulder season travel. Those surveyed aged 18-24 average the highest number of annual trips abroad 2.33 per year, with Brits travelling the most, averaging 1.84 trips.
Holidaying Against the Heat - Comfort
Travellers are also adapting where and when they go to make holidays more comfortable. Bookings to “coolcation” countries, including in Scandinavia, the Baltics and Switzerland, are up 9.3% year on year, ahead of overall departure growth of 5.4%, while family bookings to cooler destinations have risen at a rate of 18.9%8. Extreme weather (15%) is now the second-biggest factor consumers believe will change how they travel over the next five years, behind cost. Almost one on ten consumers say they want to spend more on convenience 10 and our booking data shows they’re doing it with 8% of bookings now including pending on transfers, baggage and fast-track services.
Press Contact
corporatepr@lastminute.com
Press Contact
lastminute@teneo.com