Around 370 travel industry professionals gathered in Calvia Beach, Majorca, for this year’s ABTA Convention for two and a half days of panel discussions, keynote speakers, breakout sessions and networking. Here are some of our key takeaways from the event.
Relying on AI
The number of people who use Artificial Intelligence to decide where to go on their holiday has doubled to 8% and is expected to double again in the next year. Data from ABTA’s Holiday Habits 2025-26 report found younger generations are leading the way in using AI – 13% of 18–24 year olds sought inspiration from the technology, rising to 18% of 25–34 year olds, and compared with just 3% of 55–64 year olds.
But while the number is rapidly rising, the most common ways to choose a holiday destination is still via internet searches (48%) and recommendations from friends and family (41%). Surprisingly, 25% of holidaymakers still use a holiday brochure.
Going it alone
Travelling solo has reached the highest levels since ABTA started tracking the trend. Nearly one in five people (19%) took a holiday on their own in the past year compared to 13% in 2014 and higher than 17%, which was the peak last year. And it’s the under 45s who are driving the increase – 23% of 25 to 34-year-olds and 20% of both 18 to 24 and 35 to 44-year-olds.
ABTA believes the shift is down to people wanting to take the trips they personally want, without compromising or waiting for them to align with other people’s plans, while technology is also making it easier to stay in touch with friends and family while abroad. The research didn’t ask respondents if they travelled completely alone or joined a group with other solo travellers. Over half of solo travellers (52%) opted for a European city break.
The full package
Based on ABTA’s research, there seems to be some confusion among British holidaymakers about what constitutes a package holiday. ABTA’s Holiday Habits report says 34% of Brits say they book their travel with a travel agent or tour operator, and yet 61% say they’ve booked a package holiday.
When questioned on the discrepancy, an ABTA spokesman said: “On a package, often people will have booked a package without necessarily appreciating that’s what they did. This means that people could book a package through say a hotel booking website, and then be offered additional services, which then makes it a package. But that wouldn’t necessarily be classed as through a travel agent or tour operator.”
Cleaner living
What the younger generation want from their holidays has changed considerably over the years, according to the boss of Jet2holidays Steve Heapy.
Speaking in a panel session at the ABTA Convention, he said: “When I was young, you took a 14-night holiday which was spent mainly going out and getting drunk and then having a kebab. Today the younger generation is more sophisticated. They want to see a different culture, experience different things, they want to spend the time becoming a more rounded person. They don’t want to just spend two weeks getting drunk!
Overtourism
The topic of overtourism was high on the agenda at the conference, particularly as many of the recent protests have been in Majorca where the event was hosted. Speaking on the first morning of the two-day event, ABTA CEO Mark Tanzer said: “You have to be blind not to see the protests and our consumer reseach shows customers are very away, although they are not yet changing their habits.
“Overtourism is something that has to be addressed and the key is to find a way for tourism to embrace the residents of a destination – the people who live and work in that destination – to show them the value of tourism and that it’s important.
“We need to find that sweet spot, the right balance where the local communities don’t feel tourism is an imposition.”
He said ABTA was now working with the Spanish Tourist Office to find ways to achieve this balance and he hope this joint prooject would be developed into a centre of excellence about best practice to be shared with other destinations.
Trust issues
Nathalie Nahai, an expert in human behaviour, persuasive technology, and ethical innovation, warned travel agents and tour operators to be careful when using AI to help with their marketing and communications. When customers suspect the use of AI, it can turn them off a brand, she said. “Don’t let go of that human contact. Trust is earned through authenticity. Consumers want to be able to cut through the noise,” she said.
Missing agents
The “dearth” of agents at the Convention was raised by a member of the audience in an open discussion in the final session of the event called ‘Reasons to be cheerful’. Your Holiday Booking agent Neil Smith said: “There are probably fewer than 20 agents attending this year. It seems there is a dearth of agents – the people on actually on the ground selling holidays.”
Lisa McAuley, MD World Travel Holdings, said with many agents now working for themselves, they need to justify the cost and time away from the office. She pointed out that many of the larger agency, franchise or homeworking groups now hold their own conferences and agents often prioritise these.
“ABTA is fighting against conferences which are more business related,” she said. “It’s just an evolution of the industry that we no longer have ABTA Conventions in destinations like Orlando with 1,500 or 2,000 agents.”
One supplier in the audience said it had offered to sponsor six agents but had ended up with just two because of the lack of interest.
Strong desire to travel
While research shows that the majority of British people are aware of the risks of protests, extreme weather, conflicts and political shifts, it’s not putting them off travelling overseas. ABTA’s survey of 2,000 British adults found 77% were aware of the challenging and changeable global environment, and the figure rose to 81% of those who had been abroad in the previous 12 months.
Despite this high awareness, 71% of respondents plan to go overseas in 2026, up from 68% from 2024, and nearly half (46%) have already booked. However, ABTA said feedback from its members shows frontline agency staff are reporting growing concerns among customers and are having to give reassurance.
“Despite a challenging and changeable global environment, people are still heading overseas, and even more so this year. It shows we have a resilient sector, and that is often down to the work the travel industry does to help people feel confident to travel,” said ABTA Chief Executive Mark Tanzer.
Full of cheer
The theme of this year’s Convention was ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ and despite the challenges, panelists agreed there was plenty of optimism in the industry. ABTA’s Holiday Habits report found that 65% of Brits say holidays are the most important time of the year and 80% say they are vital for their mental health.
World Travel Holdings new Managing Director, Lisa McAuley, told the audience: “No matter what report I read, the people I speak to or whether it’s ABTA, the demand is there. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a travel agent, tour operator, cruise line, hotel company, if that demand stays there, we will be okay.”
Host unveiled
The 2026 ABTA Convention will be held in Madeira and it will be the first time the island has hosted the event. The Convention will take place on October 12-14 in Funchal and will be jointly hosted by Visit Portugal and Visit Madeira.
Visit Portugal President, Carlos Abade, said: “The UK remains one of our most important tourism markets, and we greatly value the strong and long-standing relationship between our two countries.
