Traveler Trends 2026: Key Takeaways
Thank You for Joining Traveler Trends 2026: Insights for the Season Ahead
Thank you for taking the time to join us for Traveler Trends 2026. We’re grateful you spent part of your day with us and with Context Research Group, exploring what the data is telling us about traveler sentiment, trip planning, and the forces shaping the 2026 season and beyond.
Last weeks webinar brought together Explorers’ Edge, Context Research Group (CRG), and Peter Coish to share fresh Ontario and regional travel insights for 2026. CRG highlighted the free OTTM data portal as a new central resource, noted that summer, especially August, is top of mind, and that most travelers are planning 3–6 months out, meaning peak-season decisions are happening now. Key themes included continued importance of U.S. markets (welcome perceptions dipped during 2025 turbulence but have rebounded), cost/value as the leading barrier, growing expectations around sustainability, and the rapid shift to AI-driven trip discovery, making strong, current online content more important than ever. For our region, interest remains strong in water, beaches, hiking, festivals and culinary experiences, with market-specific differences that reinforce the need for targeted storytelling and packaging—especially for rural areas where operators are feeling softer demand. We’ll share the deck, notes, a short survey, and schedule a follow-up session focused on practical AI/SEO (GEO) actions for operators.
The strong turnout and thoughtful questions reinforced what we’re hearing across the region: tourism operators are eager for clear, actionable insight to help guide decision-making in an increasingly complex environment.
We hope the session sparked ideas, validated what you’re seeing on the ground, and provided practical context you can apply as you plan ahead.
Stay Informed: A Free Research Resource for Ontario Tourism Businesses
For those looking to stay connected to ongoing traveller insights beyond the webinar, Context Research Group offers a valuable (and free) resource:
Ontario Travel & Tourism Monthly (OTTM) – A concise, data-driven snapshot of traveller sentiment, trip planning behaviour, and emerging trends, designed specifically for Ontario tourism businesses.
- Free to access
- Updated monthly
- Grounded in real traveller data
Register for a free account and access OTTM and other reports: https://doinsights.crg.ca/en-ca
If you have follow-up questions or would like to explore the data further, you’re welcome to connect directly with the Context Research Group team:
- William Schatten [email protected]
- Alex Mazanik [email protected]
Help Shape Future Sessions: Post-Webinar Survey
Your feedback helps guide what we deliver next. If you haven’t already, we’d greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete our post-webinar survey. Your input directly informs future webinars, research topics, and industry support programming.
- Complete the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BZZH6JN
Optimizing Your Website for AI Travel Recommendations
As more travelers turn to AI tools instead of traditional search engines to plan their trips, tourism operators must adapt to stay visible. This practical webinar explores how AI decides which businesses to recommend and what you can do to improve your chances of being featured. Participants will learn how AI visibility builds on core SEO fundamentals, along with actionable strategies and real-world examples to strengthen their website and remain competitive in an AI-driven travel landscape.
Tuesday March 24, 2026 * 10.00am – 11.30am – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Workforce Development: What We Heard and What’s Next
One question raised during the session, which we ran out of time to address focused on workforce particulary what we (Explorers’ Edge) is doing in this field.
Beyond job boards, job fairs, and traditional recruitment tactics, we’re hearing increasing anecdotal evidence that retention and workplace culture are making a meaningful difference for some operators.
Over the years, Explorers’ Edge has supported workforce development through multiple approaches, including:
- Partnerships with colleges and universities (FAM trips, guest speaking, and course delivery)
- A strategic pivot toward high-school engagement in recent years with innovative programs with Lakehead University and Parks Canada introducing tourism and travel as a high school skills major component.
- We have also had success with the delivery of our **Rural Tourism Certificate** program https://explorersedge.ca/rural-tourism-certificate/
- Recognition and retention initiatives such as the **Big Applause Awards**, reinforcing that keeping great staff can be just as important as finding new ones
We’re also hearing that properties experiencing fewer workforce challenges often share common traits:
- Updated HR policies
- A stronger focus on inclusion
- A clearly articulated corporate culture aligned with what today’s workers are seeking
With that in mind we are delivering a Human Resources Training Workshop covering hiring, onboarding, workplace policies, and retention.
The Smarter Hiring. Stronger Teams. Better Retention. webinar provides tourism and hospitality operators with practical, actionable strategies to build stronger, more resilient teams. It focuses on improving hiring practices, creating structured onboarding processes, establishing essential workplace policies, and implementing retention tools that reduce turnover and support employee success. The session also emphasizes leadership and workplace culture as key drivers of retention, helping employers create environments where staff feel valued, motivated, and more likely to stay long-term, ultimately strengthening both workforce stability and business performance.
Tuesday March 12, 2026 * 11.00am – 12.00pm CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Thank you once again for being part of the conversation. We value your engagement, your questions, and your ongoing commitment to strengthening Ontario’s tourism workforce and visitor economy.
