• Fall fares are running well above last year, driven largely by surging jet fuel costs tied to the Iran conflict. Overall U.S. airfares were up 23.4% YoY in August. Fall fares to Europe are up 33% and to Mexico/Central America up 31%, erasing the usual shoulder-season discount.
• For Christmas, fares to Mexico/Central America are up 23% and to Europe up 15%, while long-haul fares to Africa, Asia, and Oceania are tracking near or slightly below 2025 levels. For the best Q4 travel deals, book before Halloween.
• Transatlantic demand remains soft, with total U.S.–Europe air passenger traffic down 2.6% YoY in July 2026 and U.S. citizen air departures abroad down 2.2%.
• Eastern Europe remains the best-value region as Prague, Budapest, Sofia, and Krakow continue to see competitive fares relative to Western Europe. Sarajevo is among the destinations with the steepest per-ticket cost drops over the past year.

• REAL ID is required for domestic flights as of May 7, 2025. Non-compliant travelers can pay a $45 TSA ConfirmID fee valid for 10 consecutive days from the selected travel start date.
• Department of Transportation (DOT) refund rules finalized in 2024 entitle passengers to cash refunds for significant cancellations and delays, but enforcement is uneven. The current administration has signaled a lighter-touch approach, and budget carriers in particular have faced ongoing compliance issues.
• Canada is retiring its Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) program on December 1, 2026, replacing it with mandatory telephone reporting. RABC has let permit holders, approximately 90% of them American, cross into Canada without stopping at a staffed port of entry in specific remote areas of northern Ontario and Manitoba (including the Northwest Angle, Lake of the Woods, and the Canadian shore of Lake Superior). Existing permits remain valid through November 30, 2026. After that date, travelers in those areas must report by phone at a designated site or in person at a port of entry. The CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) has not yet published the new telephone reporting site locations.

YoY change in advance bookings for July 2026 vs. July 2025

Source: Cirium OTA/GDS

YoY change in search interest from U.S. airports 2026 vs. 2025

Source: KAYAK 2026 Travel Trends Forecast

• AAA projects 21.7M Americans will take ocean cruises in 2026, a 4.5% increase over 2025, marking four consecutive record years. 90% of U.S.-based cruise passengers rate their experience very good or excellent. Top regions: Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Northern Europe.
• 23% of U.S. travelers have traveled abroad specifically for medical treatments or procedures, while 68% express interest in wellness-focused international travel, including anti-aging therapies, full-body diagnostics, and biomarker testing. For American travelers, medical tourism is now an emerging mainstream category.
• Bleisure travel (combining business and leisure in a single trip) is becoming increasingly popular as 81% of business travelers have extended a work trip for personal purposes. Top add-ons are wellness activities and time with family at the destination.
• 76% of parents of Gen Alpha say that their Gen Alpha children (born 2010–2024) are significantly impacting travel choices. 85% give their child effective veto power over "boring" destinations.
• U.S. bookings to Canada are up 26% YoY with Americans increasingly choosing Canada as a summer destination, a trend amplified by World Cup matches in Vancouver and Toronto. In August 2026, U.S.-resident trips to Canada rose 2.4% YoY to 2.4 million, the seventh consecutive month of growth, with air travel up 6.8%.
• Americans traveling to Europe should be aware of the current sentiment environment. YouGov's tracker shows favorable attitudes toward the U.S. dropped between 6 and 28 percentage points across seven major European countries, though Americans who have traveled report that the political sentiment does not translate into hostile treatment of individual travelers. U.S. to Europe bookings are down 11.2% YoY.

• Canadian travel to the U.S. has declined dramatically since early 2025, driven by political tensions, tariff disputes, and the U.S. president's repeated references to Canada as a potential 51st state. Canadian road crossings to the U.S. were still 27.4% below August 2024 levels in August 2026 and air travel 22.7% below. The decline was sustained across 14 consecutive months before growth resumed in April 2026. A Nanos Research survey found that 43% of Canadians say they are less likely to visit the U.S. in 2026 than the previous year. Younger Canadians (Gen Z) show the most openness to U.S. travel, while older Canadians remain firmly disengaged. YoY overall declines in travel to the U.S. narrowed from a peak of approximately 25% in late 2025 to 7.6% in March 2026; April 2026 showed a modest 1.4% increase the first month of growth in over a year; August 2026 marked the fifth consecutive month of YoY growth, with return trips up 8.8% (car +9.9%, air +3.6%).
• Statistics Canada data showed overseas trips by air briefly exceeding Canadian return trips from the U.S. by car for three consecutive months from January–March 2026, a first since comparable records began in 1972. Even so, Canadians' overseas travel spending remains structurally elevated versus pre-2025 levels, with Europe demand roughly doubled and Asia emerging as the best-value long-haul option amid steep airfare declines.

YoY change in flight search interest, 2026 vs. 2025 (Skyscanner)

Source: Skyscanner 2026 Canada Travel Trends Report

YoY change in economy return airfare, 2026 vs. 2025 (Skyscanner)

Source: Skyscanner 2026 Canada Travel Trends Report

Global Affairs Canada advises Canadians to avoid all travel to Russia and that you assume full personal responsibility if you proceed. Consular assistance from the Canadian Embassy in Moscow is limited and the Embassy cannot facilitate departures from the country.

• Canadian citizens need a visa to enter Russia and the Russian unified e-visa is available for Canadians for tourist stays of up to 16 days. It can be processed online for approximately USD $52. For longer stays, a traditional visa requiring an invitation letter is necessary. Since 2023, Russian border authorities take biometric data (fingerprints) on entry and exit. Since July 2025, they also have the legal right to examine electronic devices at the border. In practice, checks are reported to be selective, but the authority is broad.
• Dual nationals face elevated risk because Russia does not recognize dual nationality. A Canadian citizen who also holds Russian citizenship is treated solely as a Russian citizen in Russia and Canadian consular protection is effectively unavailable. Dual nationals have been prevented from leaving and in some cases drafted into the military. If you hold dual Canadian-Russian citizenship, seek specialized legal advice before considering any travel to Russia.