Bucharest, December 23, 2025 – RBJ – According to the J’Info Tours Travel Agency, the year 2025 confirmed a clear shift among Romanian travelers towards tours in exotic, long-haul destinations and premium travel products. According to data from tour operator J’Info Tours, these preferences will continue in 2026. And will be further amplified by new consumer behaviors and technologies that are reshaping the way people travel.
As a result, four major trends will decisively influence the tourism market in 2026.
1. Growing demand for cruises
In 2025, demand for cruises increased by approximately 25% compared to the previous year. Early booking figures for cruise departures in 2026 and 2027 confirm this trend. Romanians plan these holidays well in advance and are increasingly choosing complex experiences with longer durations and multiple destinations (several countries and cities) within a single cruise.
“This evolution points to a maturing travel consumer who is willing to allocate larger budgets to holidays perceived as investments in memorable experiences. While in 2025 many tourists opted for short cruises of 2–5 nights for the first time, in 2026 we are seeing a clear shift towards longer itineraries of 7–10 nights, starting from EUR 400 per person, with an all-inclusive system. Preferences remain strong for Mediterranean routes, with stops in Spain, Tunisia, France, and Italy, while Caribbean cruises are gaining ground, including destinations such as the Bahamas, Barbados, Aruba, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Alaska is also beginning to attract the attention of cruise enthusiasts, driven by a visible increase in long-term bookings for departures scheduled in the summers of 2026 and 2027,” said Carmen Pavel, Founder of J’Info Tours.
2. Long-haul tours at the top of preferences for 2026
Tours to distant destinations are consolidating their position as the main holiday choice for 2026, following a strong increase in 2025, when interest in itineraries across Asia, Africa, and South America grew on average by over 30% compared to traditional European destinations.
In 2025, Romanian tourists clearly moved towards destinations with strong identities and authentic experiences, with China becoming the most sought-after destination, a trend also driven by the removal of the tourist visa requirement.
For 2026, however, a new trend of diversification within Asia is emerging, with growing interest in countries such as Vietnam and Mongolia, as well as other destinations that combine cultural heritage, history, and local gastronomy, including New Zealand and Fiji, Costa Rica, Belize, Cambodia and Myanmar. The choice of these tours is increasingly guided by criteria such as authenticity, unspoilt nature and access to local experiences, rather than standardised urban tourism.
3. Africa: accelerated growth in early-booking safari and nature travel
Towards the end of 2025, bookings show a significant increase in early booking offers for safari tours and destinations with spectacular, almost lunar landscapes, in countries such as Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Madagascar.
At the same time, a new direction of exploration is beginning to take shape towards North Africa, with Algeria in the spotlight, a destination still rarely visited by Romanians, but increasingly present in their preferences. For departures in 2026, demand for Algeria and Tunisia has increased by approximately 40%, signalling a growing openness among travellers to less conventional destinations that are rich in ancient history and traditions influenced by both European and Oriental cultures.
4. Digitalisation and AI: investments with a direct impact on sales
The behaviour of Romanian travellers is increasingly influenced by technology, and the growing demand for personalised and efficient holidays has led J’Info Tours to decide to invest between EUR 150,000 and EUR 200,000 over the coming months in the implementation of artificial intelligence solutions across its digital platforms.
The new functionalities will enable personalised destination recommendations, rapid filtering of offers based on budget and travel style, cost simulations and itinerary optimisation, as well as 24/7 virtual assistance. This combination of AI and the expertise of travel consultants will significantly shorten booking times. As a result, clients will be able to build their ideal holiday independently, while the travel consultant finalises and refines the choice, providing professional advice and support for the final decision.
“If 2025 demonstrated that Romanians are looking for more than just holidays, they seek authentic, well-organised and efficient experiences, in 2026 we anticipate a consolidation of premium segments, increased interest in long-haul destinations and an even more important role of technology in travellers’ decision-making processes,” concluded Carmen Pavel, Founder of J’Info Tours.
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J’Info Tours was founded in 1990 by Carmen and Aurel Pavel and has developed as a true pioneer in both outgoing and incoming tourism, as well as in particular, in corporate travel. The expansion of J’Info Tours’ services into the corporate segment began in 2000, when the agency became a partner of the UK-based HRG, the global leader in Travel Management, and started offering complete travel solutions for national and multinational companies. At the end of 2019, J’Info Tours entered into a partnership with the UK-based Reed & Mackay, a company specialised in corporate travel management.
