Geopolitical volatility and uncertainty have become an all-too-common part of life.
The world is experiencing more active wars than at any point since World War II, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Perhaps the most high-profile conflict this year has been the US-Israel attack on Iran, but it is hardly the only example of the violence and disruption affecting people and locations around the world.
One in seven people globally is living with the threat of armed conflict, according to the IRC.
That reality, in turn, is reshaping global travel patterns, altering airline economics and testing the resilience of tourism markets, according to a report from the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
People still want to see the world, even when geopolitical tensions are creating a fraught landscape. But consumers are taking a different approach to the travel process, including rethinking destination choices, how they get to where they are going and when they will visit.
“The defining travel behaviour of 2026 has not been widespread cancellation, it’s been rapid substitution,” says Michael McCormick, founder and managing partner of Travel Again Advisory.