LEBANON, New Hampshire—According to new findings from the Global Rescue Winter 2026 Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey, luxury and adventure travel are surging in popularity, and travelers are redefining what those experiences mean today. The survey data showed how travelers themselves define luxury and adventure travel and what they believe would meaningfully improve business travel, against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving global travel landscape.
Luxury travel is one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel industry, driven by consumers prioritizing personalized, experiential journeys over traditional displays of opulence. That shift was clearly reflected in the survey data. Nearly 40 percent of respondents defined luxury travel as upgrading every aspect of the journey, making it the most common interpretation by a wide margin. About 20 percent of respondents said that luxury means traveling less often but exceptionally well, reinforcing a deliberate, quality-first approach to travel.
Privacy and discretion ranked next at roughly 14 percent, while about 10 percent associated luxury with replacing sightseeing with exclusive access or integrating wellness without sacrificing indulgence. These findings aligned with broader industry trends toward deeper, more meaningful experiences, as well as growing interest in premium rail, private aviation and highly curated itineraries.
“Luxury travel is no longer about excess for its own sake,” said Dan Richards, chief executive officer of The Global Rescue Companies and a member of the US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the US Department of Commerce. “Today’s luxury traveler expects seamless execution, personalization andconfidence that every detail, from transportation to medical and security support, has been accounted for.”
Adventure travel is also trending upward, with strong revenue growth and continued market expansion as demand stabilizes at pre-2020 levels. About 35 percent of respondents said adventure travel meant going somewhere truly remote, making it the leading definition overall. Roughly 17 percent defined adventure as pushing a personal physical or mental limit, while about 16 percent associated it with upgrading to semi-independent adventure travel.
Men were more likely than women to define adventure in terms of remoteness, while women more often associated it with personal challenge. Travelers outside of the United States (24 percent) were significantly more likely to define adventure as pushing personal limits, compared with roughly 16 percent of U.S.-based respondents. U.S. travelers placed greater emphasis on remote destinations supported by professional infrastructure.
“Modern adventure travelers want meaningful challenge and access to extraordinary places, but not unnecessary risk,” Richards said. “They are choosing capability, preparation and contingency over bravado.”
Business Travel
Business travel remained in a state of transition, while generally trending upward and surpassing pre-pandemic spending levels in nominal terms. Nearly 30 percent of respondents say combining business travel with personal time would be the most meaningful improvement, underscoring the continued rise of bleisure travel. About a fifth of respondents (20 percent) wanted business travel optimized for productivity and efficiency. The majority (33 percent) said that no changes in business travel were needed, suggesting a broad acceptance of current practices or travel fatigue after years of disruption.
“Business travel is still recovering, but it is also evolving,” Richards said. “Travelers want trips to be purposeful, efficient and flexible with the option to add personal value when appropriate. The emphasis is on intention, not volume.”
Taken together, the findings suggested that across luxury, adventure and business travel, travelers are prioritizing optimization, reliability and meaningful experiences.
