Pilot’s “Inside the Itinerary” report reveals how travelers actually plan, drawing on behavioral data from 40,000 travelers

The free trip booking and planning app analyzed 40,000 travelers across 183 countries over two years

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pilot, the free trip booking and planning app (pilotplans.com), has released “Inside the Itinerary,” a report built on a two-year observational study of 40,000 travelers across 183 countries.

The report finds that despite concerns around inflation, travel demand remains strong, with the most active travelers falling between 27 and 45 years of age. Family travel was the single most-planned leisure trip type in 2026. It also identifies a turning point the report calls “The 56 Day Peak”: the moment at which dates, travel party, and destination have all been locked, and travelers shift from aspirational browsing into itinerary construction and booking. Before 56 days, activity is exploratory. After 56 days, activity is executional.

“A lot of what the public sees about travel is driven by social media narratives. The behavioral data tells a different story,” says CEO and Founder Connor Wilson.

The report also surfaces smaller habits that reveal how people actually build a trip. Travelers plan lunch into their itineraries 50% more often than dinner. Spending varies sharply by geography, with Australian and Canadian travelers spending 35 to 60% more per trip than their US peers. Alongside these, the report describes who is planning trips in 2026, when they plan, where they go, and how they budget.

What sets the report apart is its source. Rather than relying on selective surveys, panels, or third-party data, “Inside the Itinerary” draws on how travelers actually behave inside the app, which is free to use. “Pilot is where they collaborate on trip booking and planning, which means we see the full arc from daydream to departure,” says Wilson. “This is the first year the dataset felt deep enough to publish something material about it.”

“Inside the Itinerary” is available on Pilot’s website: https://www.pilotplans.com/insights/2026-booking-planning

About Pilot
Pilot is a free travel booking and planning app used by solo and group travelers from over 100 countries. The platform combines collaborative itinerary building tools, AI-assisted trip generation, and direct hotel booking with access to private member rates. Pilot is based in Vancouver, Canada, and is incorporated as HappyHour Services Inc. More information is available at pilotplans.com.

Media Contact

Name: Connor Wilson
Title: Founder/CEO
Email: cjw@pilotplans.com
Phone: (236) 380-4455
Web: www.pilotplans.com

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