Global tourism is growing, but entering a more demanding phase
International travel is growing again, but the global tourism industry no longer looks like a sector merely recovering from the pandemic shock. According to UN Tourism data, around 1.52 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded in 2025, which is about four percent more than a year earlier. This confirmed that global demand remains strong, but also that the market is changing rapidly: instead of a race for the sheer number of travellers, more and more companies and destinations are seeking a more sustainable model in which revenue per guest, greater system resilience and more precise capacity management are more important.
Such a shift can be seen simultaneously in aviation and hospitality. Major airlines are increasingly investing in premium cabins, loyalty programmes and fleet modernisation, while global hotel chains are expanding luxury and lifestyle brands, strengthening direct sales and trying to maintain contact with guests outside internet intermediaries. On the other hand, the operational picture remains fragile: delays, cancellations, lack of capacity in air traffic control, geopolitical tension, climate risks and rising regulatory costs continue to remind us that tourism is not growing in a stable vacuum, but in an environment of permanent uncertainty.
Air transport: more revenue from the premium segment, but with thin margins
The International Air Transport Association IATA estimated that the revenues of the global aviation industry in 2025 should exceed one trillion US dollars for the first time, with an expected 5.2 billion passengers. At first glance, this confirms the industry’s strong momentum. But the same source also warns of something equally important: the profit margin remains very low, and the average net profit per passenger is still modest compared with total operating costs. This means that even small operational disruptions, regulatory changes or disturbances in supply chains can quickly erode results.
That is precisely why companies are seeking revenue that is not so sensitive to price pressure in the basic economy class. In its results for the first quarter of 2026, Delta Air Lines announced that its premium segment revenues had risen by 14 percent compared with the same period of the previous year, while loyalty-related revenues had risen by 13 percent. The company openly emphasises that its goal is to increase the share of revenue from higher-margin products, namely premium service, corporate travel, card partnerships and service activities. This is no longer a side upgrade, but a central part of the business model.
A similar direction can also be seen among other carriers. In 2026, United Airlines is announcing accelerated fleet renewal and the introduction of new premium products on domestic and international routes, including a greater number of higher-class seats and cabin products that were once associated almost exclusively with intercontinental flights. Lufthansa continues to develop the Allegris concept on long-haul aircraft, with an emphasis on greater privacy, seat choice and a differentiated premium offer, while Air France is expanding the new La Première service as a distinctly luxurious product intended for the most affluent part of the market. The message is clear: at the top of the industry, competition is no longer based only on price and route network, but also on how much a passenger is willing to pay for a better experience.
Loyalty programmes have become a key business tool
Loyalty programmes were once viewed mainly as a marketing add-on, but today they are one of the most valuable parts of the tourism business. Delta directly links its loyalty revenues to the growth in cardholder spending and the expansion of the member base. In hospitality, that trend is even more visible. Marriott announced that during 2025 it added around 43 million new members to the Bonvoy programme and reached nearly 271 million members at the end of the year. The company also states that programme members generated 75 percent of room nights in the USA and Canada and 68 percent globally, which clearly shows how strongly loyalty affects occupancy and direct bookings.
At the beginning of 2026, Hyatt reported that its World of Hyatt has more than 63 million members, with strong spending growth and a higher number of frequent guests. According to the published data, programme members in Hyatt’s network stay more often and spend significantly more than guests who are not members. Hilton, on the other hand, with a record development pipeline and continued brand expansion, is further connecting its Honors ecosystem with experiences outside the classic hotel stay, including luxury travel partnerships. In practice, this means that loyalty is no longer built only through a free overnight stay or a better room, but through an entire system of benefits that seeks to keep the guest within the same network for as long as possible.
For companies, this is extremely important because of distribution costs as well. The more direct bookings there are, the less reliance there is on online agencies and other intermediaries that take significant commissions. In the era of generative artificial intelligence and automated recommendations, that relationship is becoming even more sensitive, because major hotel chains and carriers are fighting not to lose direct contact with the customer and data about their habits.
Hotels are expanding premium and lifestyle portfolios
The hotel sector is not counting only on existing demand, but is aggressively building future growth. In its annual results for 2025, Marriott highlighted the expansion of its luxury and lifestyle portfolio, the integration of the citizenM brand and the continued strengthening of its presence in markets where it sees long-term potential. Hilton announced that at the end of 2025 it had a record development pipeline of 520,500 rooms, with 97,000 rooms opened during the year and expected continued growth in 2026. Hyatt, meanwhile, ended 2025 with a record global development pipeline of around 148,000 rooms, showing that investors and hotel owners still believe in strong international demand.
But more important than the numbers themselves is the structure of that growth. The largest chains are increasingly investing in luxury, extended-stay, residential and lifestyle products, that is, in segments that can attract guests with greater purchasing power, extend stays and increase additional spending within the property. Such an approach also corresponds to changed consumer behaviour. Guests who travel less often but spend more are more attractive to chains than a large volume of bookings that bring lower margins and greater operational sensitivity. That is why more and more is being built around experience, exclusivity, personalisation and branded service, and less around the mere fact that a room is occupied.
Operational pressures have not disappeared
Despite growth, the reality of the industry remains complex. In an analysis published at the beginning of 2026, IATA warned that delays in European air traffic control during the last decade had grown significantly faster than traffic itself. The estimate is that from 2015 to 2025 such delays cost passengers and carriers around 17.5 billion euros, with more than 70 percent of the cost linked to lack of capacity and staffing problems. In other words, demand growth is not worth much if infrastructure cannot follow it without disruptions.
In its latest results, Delta specifically highlighted improving operational resilience as one of its priorities, terminology that other carriers are also using increasingly often. The reason is simple: passengers today are more willing to pay more for schedule security, fewer connections, more reliable service and clearer customer support when things go wrong. A premium ticket is no longer only a matter of seat and meal, but also the question of whether the passenger will actually arrive on time. In that sense, the quality of operations becomes part of the premium product.
The operational picture is further affected by weather extremes, labour disputes, bottlenecks in aircraft and engine supply chains, and regulatory requirements related to decarbonisation. In its documents for the 2026 – 2028 period, ICAO explicitly lists geopolitical tensions, climate emergencies, cyber risks, and pressure on air navigation and infrastructure as the main obstacles to global air transport. All of this means that the tourism industry is entering a phase in which growth in itself is no longer a sufficient indicator of the system’s health.
Geopolitics and security are reshaping the tourism map again
Geopolitical risks are no longer a marginal variable, but one of the fundamental planning factors in tourism. Conflicts, airspace instability, trade tensions and changes in regulatory regimes can almost overnight change the profitability of a route, the dynamics of bookings or the perception of a certain destination. In its estimates for 2026, IATA explicitly warned that geopolitical conflicts and general economic uncertainty are among the greatest risks for the industry. This is reflected not only in fuel costs or insurance, but also in traveller behaviour, especially in the segment of international business and long-haul leisure travel.
For destinations, this means they can no longer count only on a mechanical return of volume. Many are turning to a model that emphasises quality of spending, length of stay and better distribution of guests throughout the year. For years, UN Tourism has warned that managing tourism flows must take into account the interests of the local population, infrastructure and the environment, and not just the number of arrivals. In practice, this increasingly leads to strategies that discourage excessive same-day pressure and reward guests who stay longer, spend more and create less operational chaos.
From mass recovery to more selective destination growth
Examples from Europe and Asia show what that shift looks like on the ground. Venice set the dates for the application of the entry fee for same-day visitors for 2026, continuing a model with which it is trying to ease pressure on the historic centre and better manage peak loads. Kyoto changed its accommodation tax rates from 1 March 2026, whereby the tax increases with the growth in accommodation price, and the most expensive categories pay significantly more than before. Neither example means closing destinations, but rather sends the message that ever greater emphasis is being placed on sustainability, flow control and greater economic value per guest.
Such policies should not be oversimplified as a mere hunt for wealthier travellers. It is above all an attempt to align the interests of residents, public services, heritage and the tourism sector. But at the same time, it is difficult to ignore that the market is moving towards greater reliance on the premium segment, luxury accommodation, longer stays and guests who place less burden on space per unit of revenue. Combined with rising costs of labour, energy, maintenance and security, this gives destinations a strong financial incentive to think more selectively than in the period of classic mass recovery.
What all this means for travellers and the industry
For travellers, the new growth cycle means more choice at the top end of the offer, but also greater market segmentation. Travel will still be able to be purchased at the basic price, but real differentiation is increasingly shifting to additional services, lounge access, change flexibility, a better cabin, personalisation and digitally connected benefits within loyalty programmes. For companies, this is a way to stabilise revenues in a sector where costs are high and disruptions frequent. For destinations, this is an attempt to extract greater value from tourism with less social and infrastructural pressure.
Global tourism is therefore advancing today on two tracks that cannot be separated. On the one hand, airlines and hotel groups are investing in premium services, loyalty and strategic expansion, convinced that this is precisely where the more resilient and profitable part of future demand lies. On the other hand, cancellations, delays, geopolitical risks and operational limitations remind us that growth cannot be taken for granted. From that combination emerges a new logic of global travel: less reliance on sheer volume, and more on precise management, higher-quality revenue and careful selection of where, how and for whom tourism is developed.
Sources:- UN Tourism – data on the growth of international tourist arrivals in 2025 and the recovery of global demand (link)
- UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer – statistics on international arrivals and regional trends throughout 2025 (link)
- IATA – financial outlook for the global aviation industry for 2025, including revenues, passenger numbers and profitability risks (link)
- IATA – analysis of delays in European air traffic control and their economic consequences (link)
- IATA – assessment of the main economic and geopolitical risks for 2026 (link)
- ICAO – overview of the main structural threats to aviation, including geopolitical, climate and infrastructure pressures (link)
- Delta Air Lines – first-quarter 2026 results with data on premium and loyalty revenue growth (link)
- United Airlines – announcement of accelerated fleet renewal and new premium products during 2026 and 2027 (link)
- Lufthansa – official overview of the Allegris concept and the new premium offer on long-haul routes (link)
- Air France – official presentation of the new La Première service and premium strategy on long-haul routes (link)
- Marriott International – 2025 results with data on Bonvoy membership growth, the integration of citizenM and portfolio expansion (link)
- Hilton – annual results for 2025 with data on the development pipeline, openings and growth projections in 2026 (link)
- Hyatt – announcement on a record development pipeline and the role of the World of Hyatt programme in network growth (link)
- City of Venice – official information on the city access fee and the application calendar for 2026 (link)
- Kyoto Travel / City of Kyoto – official information on the change in accommodation tax from 1 March 2026 (link)
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