How Experience-Led Travel Is Gradually Changing the Way People Plan Vacations

Travel planning appears to be shifting toward the experiences people hope to have once they arrive. Instead of selecting a destination first and filling the itinerary later, some travelers are giving activities, local experiences, and memorable moments greater weight from the beginning. Hilton's 2025 travel research found that nearly seven in 10 global travelers enjoy being active while traveling, while one in five leisure travelers planned an outdoor adventure.

That interest extends beyond outdoor recreation. Research from McKinsey and Skift found that activities, attractions, and tours can play an important role in destination decisions. Their analysis estimated that domestic and international visitors spend roughly $1.1 trillion to $1.3 trillion on travel experiences globally, suggesting that what travelers do during a trip has become an important part of the broader travel economy.

At the same time, choosing and organizing those experiences can be complicated. A 2026 McKinsey survey of more than 1,000 U.S. travelers found that 45% were most frustrated when comparing information across different sources. The research also found growing interest in artificial intelligence for travel planning, with 71% comfortable using AI for inspiration and 86% willing to consider AI-assisted bookings in the future.

These trends point to a broader challenge. A traveler may know the type of experience they want, whether that involves fishing, hiking, sailing, or another activity, but finding suitable options, checking availability, and coordinating those plans can still require considerable research. For experiences with limited capacity, planning later in the journey may also reduce the options available.

Sam Jankovich, co-founder of GuideTime, believes this is contributing to a gradual change in how some people approach vacations. Rather than treating activities as an addition to a destination, he sees the desired experience becoming part of the decision about where to travel in the first place.

"People often begin with a picture of the memory they want to create," Jankovich explains. "Experience can then help shape the destination, the accommodations, and the rest of the trip. It is a different way to approach travel planning."

GuideTime is developing a marketplace designed to connect travelers with bookable activities through hospitality partners. According to Jankovich, the platform also includes an AI-based tool called Scout, which is intended to narrow available experiences according to information such as destination and traveler interests. He believes technology can be useful when it helps people work through available choices without losing the local context behind an experience.

"The technology can make discovery more manageable, but the human element remains important," he explains. "Travelers still need experiences that make sense for the destination, and for the kind of experience they are trying to have."

Availability is another part of the planning process that Jankovich believes travelers should consider earlier. He notes that specialized outdoor activities and guided experiences may not always be available at short notice, particularly during popular travel periods. Arriving with the expectation that every activity can be arranged immediately may therefore leave travelers with fewer choices than anticipated.

"If a particular experience matters to the trip, it helps to consider it before arrival," Jankovich explains. "Planning earlier gives travelers a clearer understanding of what is available and allows them to build the rest of the itinerary around the experiences that are most important to them."

He also believes hospitality businesses can play a role by introducing guests to relevant activities before their stay. Jankovich explains that GuideTime works with participating properties to present experience options during different stages of the booking and pre-arrival process. The intention, in his view, is to make travelers aware of possibilities while there is still time to consider and organize them.

The larger opportunity may therefore be less about adding more choices and more about making existing choices easier to understand. McKinsey research on travel experiences notes that travelers can find the range of available activities overwhelming and may value simpler ways to discover and book relevant options.

For Jankovich, that still begins with what the traveler hopes to remember. "Technology can help organize the information and make planning easier, but the experience is ultimately what gives the trip meaning," he observes. As experience-led travel continues to develop, the most useful tools may be those that help travelers move from an idea of the trip they want to a plan they can realistically experience.