‘Shoulder season is the new peak season’, says Scott Dunn

Scott Dunn labelled the shoulder season “the new peak season” as it shared its key travel trends for 2026.

 

Speaking at a media breakfast in London last week, global product and strategy director Simon Lynch said the move to a two-week October half-term by some schools in the UK was a “game-changer”.

 

He said: "Two weeks in October, with the changes in climate, has created a second peak, and [we’re] now seeing families moving their summer holiday away from July and August to October.”

 

Lynch also shared data on Scott Dunn’s peak months for Japan, Vietnam and Kenya, which respectively have changed from May to October, October to June, and July to April in the last year.

 

“The seasonality has moved in a really short space of time, and I think there’s a lot in this in terms of when the new peak [of travel] is going to be,” Lynch added.

 

Scott Dunn’s travel trends report also found that affluent travellers are increasingly prioritising safety and leaning towards destinations that are widely considered more secure, such as New Zealand.

 

The operator’s booking windows have also shortened by 12% year-on-year, with guests "waiting longer and booking later". 

 

In Europe, Scott Dunn has seen a rise in guests opting for all-inclusive hotels.

 

“There’s a cost of living crisis, and that’s going on in luxury as much as in mass travel - we’re seeing that come through with people really grabbing hold of all-inclusive experiences,” said Lynch.

 

“They’re looking for value. They don’t want a nasty surprise at checkout.”

 

Lynch labelled Chat GPT Scott Dunn’s “new best friend” and said the generative artificial intelligence chatbot is now the operator’s third-biggest enquiry channel.

 

He said: “[Consumers are] searching for luxury experiences through AI, they’re finding Scott Dunn, they’re finding the products and suppliers that we offer, and they’re picking up the phone and getting in touch with us.

 

“So what was something that scared us, today has actually turned out to be a new, great friend that we’re actually embracing and working with.”

 

Key trends for Scott Dunn for 2026 include ‘conscious cuisine’, with affluent travellers increasingly moving away from Michelin-starred restaurants and seeking authentic and sustainable dining experiences.

 

Crowd-free nocturnal excursions are also on the rise for the operator, with itineraries including stargazing and moon bathing experiences, night kayaking and museums after hours.

 

Lynch said: “The term that we need to highlight is crowd free. You see the pictures of Venice in the summer, you see Dubrovnik or Mykonos overwhelmed with crowds. People are linking into this and going, ‘actually, how can we do these experiences without people?’”

 

Quiet wildlife experiences, such as walking safaris in eastern and southern Africa and red panda safaris in Bhutan, are also proving popular.

 

Scott Dunn also highlighted the power of ’rail and sail’ itineraries, with year-on-year cruise bookings up 71% and rail travel up 14%.

 

The brand predicted Western Canada and Alaska, Italy, Oman, Madagascar and Central and Eastern India to be popular destinations for 2026.

 

In addition, Lynch said the last three months had been the best in Scott Dunn’s history for bookings to the US.

 

Lynch said: “Clearly, there are people that want to go there. Maybe they’re thinking it’s going to be quieter, but from a luxury perspective, we’re not seeing maybe what we should be seeing based on the [current] narrative.”