Study Shows Global Travel Will Double by 2050

Image: Passports to world travel (Photo Credit: Christian Delbert / Adobe Stock)

by Noreen Kompanik
Last updated: 12:20 PM ET, Thu January 29, 2026

Google and Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) have released a new joint study that predicts global travel is entering a new ‘golden era’ with international trips forecast to double by 2050.

Additionally, ‘The Power of Travel Study’ predicts that SI and high-value segments are key to unlocking $4.2 trillion growth and that by 2050, around 70 percent of the global population is expected to be potential travelers, up from around 30 percent in 2000.

Key elements of the study include:

Asia-Pacific (APAC) is projected to overtake Europe as the largest market for outbound tourism by 2050, accounting for nearly 40 percent of global departures, up from approximately 30 percent in 2000.
Europe is expected to remain the world’s leading destination but is steadily losing global share to faster-growing destinations across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Domestic travel will remain the backbone of the tourism industry, accounting for more than 90 percent of all trips worldwide.
To scale profitability, the industry must shift towards Agentic AI to meet evolving traveler behaviors that demand flexibility and hyper-personalization.

Jorge Gilabert, Managing Director and Co-Head of Travel, Hospitality and Leisure at Alvarez & Marsal, said in a statement, “Despite rising volumes of tourism, this will not automatically translate into profitability for the hospitality and tourism industry. Growth will come with a rising ‘complexity tax’ as demand fragments, operating models become more intricate and investor expectations on returns and resilience increase. Converting market growth into sustainable returns will require far greater discipline and adaptability than in the past.”

Hany Abdelkawi, Head of Travel - International Growth at Google added, “The outlook for the travel industry has never been stronger, but the rules are changing. By 2050, the global traveler base will not just grow, it will fundamentally restructure. Here is the warning for the C-suite: Volume is Vanity. Yield is Sanity. Demand in 2050 will be fragmented across destinations, domestic-heavy, and significantly more costly to acquire without a shift to an AI-led strategy.”