Flight bookings to Europe are down, costs are at record highs, and a growing number of American travellers are quietly rethinking their summer plans. The shift is real and it says something interesting about where travel is heading next.
For the better part of two decades, summer in Europe was the default aspiration for well-travelled Americans. The pull of Rome in June, the light in Provence, a slow afternoon in a Lisbon café — it required no particular justification. But something has shifted. The numbers are hard to argue with, and the reasons behind them are worth understanding.
Flight bookings from the US to Europe dropped 7.3% between October 2025 and the end of January 2026, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The European Travel Commission — which represents 36 tourism boards across the continent — reported that American interest in visiting Europe is lower in 2026 than it was in 2025. Only 33% of Americans said they wanted to visit Europe this year, down 7% compared to 2024. That is not a rounding error.
The reasons stack up. Cost is the most frequently cited. Rising costs and economic uncertainty are leading more Americans to view European countries including the UK, France, Italy, and Germany as offering worse value than a year ago. The dollar’s purchasing power in Europe has softened, and airfares haven’t come down to compensate.
Among Americans who are travelling internationally this summer, average trip costs have risen 24% year-on-year, from $7,794 to $9,668. A European trip — with flights, accommodation, and the daily reality of euro-denominated restaurant bills — can now feel more like a financial event than a holiday.
Then there is the less comfortable conversation. More than half of US travellers — 53% — say they are concerned about being targeted abroad due to anti-American sentiment, according to a Global Rescue survey, while 85% report concern about travel disruptions tied to global conflict and instability.
Europe, once the continent that felt most familiar, has become the place where those anxieties are most acute. Some Americans have described feeling self-conscious about their nationality in ways they haven’t experienced before, a factor that ranked fourth among US respondents in the European Travel Commission’s own survey.
The good news — and there is good news — is that the same travellers are not simply staying home. They are going elsewhere, and the alternatives are compelling. Kayak data shows US search interest for flights to the Czech Republic up nearly 180% for 2026 versus 2025, with Bulgaria up nearly 140%, Hungary up nearly 90%, and Albania up just over 65%. Eastern Europe is delivering what Western Europe used to: genuine culture, magnificent food and wine, fewer crowds, and prices that don’t require a small apology every time you order dessert.
Further afield, Tanzania has overtaken South Africa in luxury safari bookings, now capturing 21.9% of the African safari market, while US luxury safari bookings overall are up 22%, with demand shifting toward private conservancies, operators with genuine conservation credentials, and longer stays in fewer locations.
Japan, consistently a favourite among experienced American travellers, remains near the top of every booking chart. The Bahamas has jumped from eleventh to eighth in the list of most-insured destinations for American summer travellers, suggesting a pull toward closer-to-home international travel that still feels like a genuine departure.
None of this means Europe is finished. American Airlines and United Airlines have actually expanded nonstop routes to Europe for 2026, adding service to Athens, Budapest, Prague, Milan, Zurich, Split, Bari, Glasgow, and Santiago de Compostela — airlines clearly still believe the demand is there. But the shape of that demand is changing.
Amanda O’Brien is the creator and editor of The Boutique Adventurer. She has visited 80 countries and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers as well as the IFTWTA. She is passionate about wine had has just completed Level 3 of the WSET. Born in Australia, she lives in London.