Hey chart friends,
Instead of the usual OneChart edition, I want to start the year a bit differently. With a personal note and one framework visual that took me well over 30 hours to build.
But first things first.
Most of you follow OneChart for a simple reason:
- You prefer data over opinion when trying to understand trends and market shifts, especially those shaping the travel and mobility sectors.
- Good charts are often the fastest way to see what’s really going on.
But I also know many of you read this newsletter for another reason.
- Because we’ve worked together.
- Because you’re a friend.
- Because you’re a former colleague.
- Or because you’ve been quietly rooting for my journey (which I genuinely appreciate more than you might think).
That’s why, going forward, I want to be a bit more open about my own professional path (not instead of data, but alongside it).
To make this concrete, here’s a short, quarter-by-quarter look at what my 2025 actually looked like.
It’s not meant as a highlight reel, but as an honest snapshot of how I’m piecing together an independent analyst career around research, writing, and data.
Q1 Highlights
Published the 2025 travel outlook for
Lufthansa Innovation Hub
’s TNMT.com, which became the most-read article on the platform last year. Currently working on a follow-up review with
Tino Klaehne
,
Dr. Ivan Terekhov
<!–> , and the rest of the fantastic LIH team.–>
My 2025 travel trend report roundup on LinkedIn unexpectedly took off (at least by my standards), reaching ~100k+ organic impressions and bringing hundreds of new readers to OneChart. Welcome again. 👋
Supported Beautiful Destinations in launching their flagship report on the state of social media in travel. Still highly relevant if you haven’t checked it out yet.
Launched my first-ever merch collection (incl. OneChart hoodies) – available if you sign up to my email version of OneChart and refer me to friends or colleagues (yes, this is my version of growth hacking).
Q2 highlights
Led a cross-research collaboration between aviation data powerhouse
OAG
and Microsoft, resulting in a deep dive into what aviation performance looks like in the AI era<!–>.–>
Wrote a major guest column for FUTURED, the magazine of the
ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research
(Germany’s leading civil aviation R&D platform), decoding the real state of sustainable aviation in 2025. Yes, obviously with charts.
Co-created the Hidden Champions research series for TNMT, by far the deepest and most extensive research project I worked on last year. Deep, nerdy, and very satisfying.
Finally made it official and hired two people at
Research+Attitude
who had been freelancing with me for years. We’re (kinda) a real business now. I even pulled in my brother and dad to help shoulder the operational load, because if you’re going to build something, you might as well do it with people you actually enjoy working with. That part was always the dream.
Q3 Highlights
After many polite nudges over the years, I finally committed to my first full-blown client workshop: 10 Principles of High-Impact Data Visualization, delivered for a leading travel-tech unicorn. Painfully time-consuming to prepare, but a lot of fun, especially working hands-on with sharp analysts and strategists who actually care about charts.
Enjoyed one of the biggest perks of being independent: spent all of August working remotely from Florida with my family. Strongly recommend.
Discovered two AI tools that became daily staples: Wispr Flow (for audio transcription) and Julius AI<!–> (for literally talking to Excel). Both workflow game changers.–>
Q3 was also conference and keynote season with two highlights:
Skailark
‘s Insight Hub in Munich (including a very scientific Oktoberfest visit), and a keynote on the future of travel tech at
AurumCars GmbH
(Check24’s car rental arm).
Q4 Highlights
Launched the new Research+Attitude website (with
Kai Nicolaides
<!–> and the brilliant newnow–> boys). Now with real case studies, a proper team section, and a much clearer explanation of what we actually do. Took longer than expected (as these things always do), but it definitely feels right.
Supported
GlassDollar
in creating the Startup Advantage Report<!–>, showing how systematic corporate–startup collaboration correlates with market outperformance. A data-backed contribution I genuinely believe moves the corporate innovation debate forward.–>
Kicked off my 2026 trend report curation, reviewing and comparing the first wave of outlooks and forecasts. And yes, I’ll wrap this up in today’s OneChart edition. Scroll on. 👇
This Year
Looking ahead to 2026, I’m leaning into depth over growth. Staying intentionally small with Research+Attitude while raising the bar on insight quality.
Speaking of insight quality, let’s apply that lens to something very concrete: my 2026 assessment of all the travel trend reports that came out over the past few weeks.
The Best 2026 Travel Trend Reports
December and January are trend-report season, especially in travel.
Almost every major travel brand, provider, and media house publishes its take on what 2026 will bring.
- Like last year, I tried to read and assess every relevant report I could get my hands on.
- I stopped counting at 37.
- From those, I selected my 15 favorite reads and mapped them into a simple framework.
A quick note on intent: this is a personal and subjective assessment meant to be constructive, not dismissive.
I’m deliberately NOT using AI to summarize all reports into three generic takeaways (and you shouldn’t either).
- While many reports talk about similar themes, these 15 approach the travel industry from very different angles (some focus on changing consumer behavior, others on B2B implications, others on technology specifically).
- A shallow AI summary wouldn’t do that diversity justice.
- Instead, the framework below helps you quickly see how different reports think (not just what they say).
Below the visual, I’ve added a two-sentence takeaway for each report, so you can decide what’s most relevant for you and your business (and where it’s worth going deeper).
As the framework makes clear, I have a soft spot for deeply researched, data-driven analysis paired with original (and punchy) synthesis (the upper-right quadrant), which I’d call Insight Leadership.
That said, the other quadrants still offer valuable perspectives and help triangulate where the travel industry may be heading in 2026.
And one small ask: if a report resonates, take the time to read the full version.
Depth over shallow reading, my friends.
(Any killer report I missed? Let me know here.)
1/4 Starting in the bottom-left quadrant (light reads)
These reports won’t offend anyone, and that’s kind of the point. Strong on destinations, prices, and traveler moods, but mostly descriptive rather than directional.
1)
Expedia
: “Unpack ´26: The Trends in Travel”
A relatively data-rich, first-party look at how travelers will explore the world in 2026, from immersive slow-travel stays and sport-driven pilgrimages to “readaways” and multi-hotel trips (blending behavior, destinations, and emerging experiences).
2)
Priceline
: “Where to Next in 2026?”
An industry outlook built on proprietary search and booking trends that leans into familiar travel narratives around “more trips, more destinations, more doing” (with spontaneous mini-getaways, emerging destinations, and AI-powered planning all in play).
3)
Going
’s 2026 State of Travel & Flight Deals
A deals-centric snapshot of where travelers are heading in 2026, focused on flight pricing signals, route trends, and deal availability rather than deeper behavioral shifts. Built primarily on aggregate deal and pricing data from the platform itself (which is nice).
Kudos to
Katy Nastro
<!–> & team.–>
4)
Omio
: “NowNext 2025–2026”
A fairly typical trend report with safe bets around the rise of “intentional travel, » so travelers who are planning more deliberately, combining transport modes, and prioritizing experiences over logistics.
Kudos to
Veronica Diquattro
<!–> & team.–>
2/4 Bottom-right quadrant (reads with more punch)
These are still relatively light reads (often thin on hard data), but they make up for it with sharper synthesis, bolder narratives, and more opinionated predictions. Less “what travelers already do,” more “where this might be heading.”
5)
McKinsey & Company
‘s Travel Industry Trends
A classic McKinsey-style synthesis of macro trends shaping travel, framed through a private-equity lens. Polished, confident, and directional (though many insights will feel familiar if you’ve followed the sector closely).
6)
Hilton
: “2026 Trends Report”
A well-produced, brand-forward take on how travelers’ expectations are evolving (from experience-led stays to emotional and social drivers of travel). Strong storytelling, fewer surprises.
Kudos to
Samantha Policano
,
Jenny Southan
<!–> & team.–>
7)
Skyscanner
: “2026 Travel Trends”
A lively, consumer-facing trends piece built around search data and traveler intent. Optimistic, skimmable, and future-facing with clear themes, even if the depth remains limited.
8) GetYourGuide: Hidden Trends Report 2026
A refreshingly opinionated report that zooms in on emerging behaviors and under-the-radar experiences. More speculative than data-heavy, but one of the bolder attempts to spot what’s next, not just what’s popular.
Kudos to
Catherine Treyz
,
Will Gluckin
<!–> , and team.–>
3/4 Upper-left quadrant (what I call « data bombs »)
These reports are packed with charts and numbers. Strong on data grounding and objectivity, but lighter on narrative, synthesis, or strong points of view. The upside: lots of raw signal. The downside: the reader has to do more of the interpretive work themselves.
9) Simon Kucher: Travel Trends 2026
A dense, survey-heavy deep dive into traveler price sensitivity, willingness to pay, and value perception. Excellent if you want numbers to work with, but less helpful if you’re looking for a bold narrative or strategic stance.
Kudos to
Rosalind Hunter
,
Vijesh Patel
<!–> & team.–>
10)
Phocuswright
: Travel Forward (Data, Insights & Trends for 2026)
A very comprehensive, data-first outlook spanning demand, distribution, technology, and traveler behavior. Extremely useful as a reference deck, but more of an analytical compendium than opinionated insight leadership.
11)
SITA
: “Traveler Voice Report”
A global survey-driven snapshot of passenger attitudes toward airports, airlines, biometrics, and digital services. Rich in quantitative insight but largely leaves the “so what?” to the reader (so take some time to digest it yourself).
Kudos to
David LAVOREL
,
Adonis Succar
<!–> & team.–>
12)
Amadeus
: Hospitality Market Insights 2026
A very solid, data-packed overview of global hospitality performance, demand drivers, and operational trends. Very strong on market mechanics and benchmarks, lighter on interpretation or forward-leaning thesis.
Kudos to
Alexandra Rivera Manga
<!–> & team.–>
4/4 Upper-right quadrant (rich in data and interpretation – my favorites!)
This is where data stops being descriptive and starts driving insight. Strong evidence, clear synthesis, and the courage to take a stance.
13)
Mews
: Hospitality Industry Outlook 2026
One of the most unconventional approaches in this year’s trend season. Instead of starting with raw data alone, Mews builds its outlook around a structured expert-panel methodology: surveying 18 industry experts across multiple future scenarios and systematically quantifying likelihood, impact, and desirability. The result is a thoughtful, scenario-driven synthesis on how tech could reshape the guest journey from search to stay (and what hotels need to do to remain competitive). The trade-off: it’s deeply hotel-centric, so insights don’t fully translate to the wider travel ecosystem.
Kudos (again) to
Wouter Geerts, PhD
,
Richard Valtr
<!–> & team.–>
14)
Skift
: Megatrends 2026
Skift at its best: a sweeping, ambitious attempt to map 19 structural forces reshaping travel, from luxury concentration, sustainability fatigue, and AI-driven distribution shifts to flying taxis, autonomous mobility, experiential retail, and new forms of tourism demand across Africa and Asia. The breadth is impressive, and the editorial storytelling is strong (as always).
Two caveats stand out. First, several megatrends are explicitly sponsored by Skift clients, which makes it harder to fully separate objective trend conviction from commercial agenda (understandable given the scale of the project, but still something to read with a critical eye). Second, despite Skift’s deep research capabilities, much of the evidence feels more narrative-led than data-led (though that may also reflect my own data obsession).
In any case, definitely amongst the most thought-provoking reads in this set.
Kudos to
Rafat Ali
,
Sean O’Neill
<!–> & team.–>
15)
OAG
: A 20-Year Outlook for Travel‘s AI Era
A deliberately long-horizon outlook that refuses to play the usual one-year trend game. Instead of predicting “what’s hot next,” OAG lays out 10 very concrete bets on how AI could reshape travel technology over the next two decades (including some contrarian takes, such as AI adding back serendipity to enrich travel experiences).
One of the most intellectually ambitious reads in this set, authored by OAG’s newly appointed CEO Filip Filipov, whose recent Web in Travel keynote many (myself included) found refreshingly concise, no-bullshit, and data-driven.
Kudos to
Filip Filipov
<!–> and team.–>