An 80th birthday in a private African safari camp, booked years in advance with three generations in tow: that's where high-end Australian travel is heading, according to Abercrombie & Kent's latest figures. The company posted 27 per cent year-on-year growth after a record 2025, and expects 2026 to be bigger still.
The standout trend is multigenerational travel, especially in Africa. Families marking milestone birthdays, anniversaries and reunions are securing exclusive-use camps so far ahead that some bookings now sit in 2028 and 2029. Getting an entire property, several generations and the right dates to line up takes serious forward planning — this is not a market where you book six weeks out.
On destinations, Egypt remains A&K's number one, boosted by the Grand Egyptian Museum's opening and steady appetite for private touring and Nile cruises. The company is putting money behind that demand: a fifth Nile riverboat, the 64-guest Sanctuary Nile Seray, enters service in late 2026, with a sixth planned. Within Africa, Kenya is the 2026 performer to watch.
The surprise is China. Demand has climbed sharply over the past 18 months and, in some months, China has outsold Japan — remarkable given Japan's long hold on Australian travellers. India is rebuilding momentum too, while Sri Lanka appeals to those wanting something sophisticated closer to home. Italy, as ever, sells itself.
Less familiar names are also entering the conversation: Georgia, Armenia and Uzbekistan for travellers after cultural depth beyond the usual European circuit, plus South Korea, Costa Rica, Patagonia and Namibia. A&K's read is that seasoned travellers aren't chasing novelty for its own sake — they want to go deep into a place with expert arrangements they couldn't easily pull together themselves.
Another shift: longer stays, fewer borders. Rather than sprinting through five countries in three weeks, clients are spending more time in a single region — Peru paired with the Galápagos is a good example — building itineraries around archaeology, wildlife, food or culture instead of a country count. For Australians, where any long-haul trip is a major investment of both money and annual leave, that maths makes sense.
The pipeline reflects it all: a luxury camp on Bolivia's Uyuni Salt Flats slated for 2027, more African safari properties, and a group portfolio spanning Crystal, Galápagos operator Ecoventura and Cox & Kings, which returned to Australia in June 2026.
Why should a regular traveller care? Because these patterns tend to trickle down. Book earlier than you think you need to if you want exclusivity in peak season, consider China or the Caucasus before everyone else does, and try one region done properly instead of a whistle-stop tour.
