Booking.com released its Travel Predictions 2027 on 26 October 2026. The figure most likely to make a Singapore office worker sit up is this one: 70% of Asia-Pacific (APAC) travellers surveyed are keen to have AI cover their work while they’re on holiday. For anyone whose annual leave comes with a laptop and a quiet dread of the inbox, the number is a pretty good mirror.
Singapore respondents came in a touch higher, at 71%. They’re the people the figure describes, too, since 38% of them admit they bring a laptop on holiday to stay on top of their email.
Who Booking.com Asked
This is Booking.com’s 11th annual Travel Predictions report, and the research was commissioned by Booking.com itself. It ran online from July to August 2026 and surveyed 28,230 adults across 32 countries and territories who plan to travel for business or leisure in the next 12 to 24 months. The survey covered 32 markets, including Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Singapore contributed 508 respondents, and Booking.com employees shared input through their own surveys and focus groups.
The questions measure what people say they want, not what they’ve booked. That makes the report a mood board for 2027 rather than a forecast you can plan your finances around. As a read on what travellers are itching for, though, it’s a fun one, and Booking.com has grouped the answers into nine trends with names like Plot Twist Trip and Trip to the Beyond.
The Out-of-Office Gets a Deputy
The AI trend goes by PTO: Powered by AI, where PTO stands for paid time off. It starts with the “Sunday Scaries”, the sinking feeling that creeps in before you head back to work. Across APAC, 62% say the last day of a holiday is less enjoyable because they’re already thinking about the office, and in Singapore that rises to 69%.
Booking.com pictures AI as a digital stand-in that monitors emails, flags priorities, and sends holding replies while you’re off the grid. That’s how the company describes what AI could do. It isn’t presented as a Booking.com product you can switch on today.
The numbers get more cautious once the inbox itself is on the table: 47% of APAC travellers would be comfortable letting AI manage their emails and admin. Plenty of people love the idea of a robot covering for them, but fewer are ready to hand over the keys to their actual mailbox. Then there’s the cheeky bit: 49% of APAC travellers would ask AI to catch them up on what they missed and quietly use that cover for an extra day off. In Singapore, 48% said the same, so the bosses reading this may want to check who’s really been replying lately!
AI assistants have been popping up in travel surveys all year.
Booking a Plot Twist
If AI clears the work, the second big finding is about what people do with the freed-up headspace. Booking.com found 75% of APAC travellers keen to pick a holiday specifically to do something completely out of character. Singapore beats the regional figure here at 80%.
The audience matters as much as the trip. 41% across the region want to surprise friends and family with their travel choices (39% in Singapore). Nearly a third of APAC respondents have deleted or avoided posting about a holiday because it felt too predictable, and 27% of Singaporeans have done the same. That’s an oddly specific confession, and it says a lot about how much the Instagram grid shapes where people go.
Mood First, Map Second
The Vibe Check(In) trend flips the usual search order. 85% of APAC travellers would choose a destination mainly by how they want to feel rather than where they want to go, and in Singapore that’s 88%.
Booking.com found 83% across APAC would use a search tool that recommends destinations based on mood, rising to 86% in Singapore. Gen Z is the most willing to share wearable data and phone metrics with a travel provider to personalise a trip. 81% of Gen Z respondents in APAC said yes, against 47% of boomers. Handing over your heart rate for a better holiday suggestion is a big ask, so it’s striking how relaxed younger travellers are about it.
Ghosts, Buffets, and Hard Talks
Of the remaining trends, three stand out for a young Singapore traveller, because they change how a trip gets planned rather than where it ends up.
Trip to the Beyond is the weirdest and most talked about. 65% of APAC travellers want experiences that confront the paranormal head-on, and 51% would seek one in the hope of speaking to someone on the “other side”. Singapore is cooler on ghosts at 57%, though 55% here would still try to make contact. Booking.com frames these trips as a chance to reflect, remember, and for some, feel closer to people they’ve lost, which is a gentler reading than a haunted house tour.
The All-Exclusive is the practical one. 66% of APAC travellers want a package that lets them remove services they won’t use, such as the open bar they’re skipping or the buffet they’re avoiding. In Singapore the figure climbs to 71%, and 74% across the region say a health, body, or lifestyle change has shaped their holiday choices in recent years.
Money shapes the guest list, too. Under Social Currency, 56% of APAC travellers have reconsidered who to invite because of spending differences, and 43% have removed people from a travel group entirely. Among parents, 68% are keen to travel child-free so they can spend more on themselves (69% in Singapore).
Trailside Therapy rounds things out. Almost half of APAC travellers would consider a trip to resolve conflicts, and 84% say at least one holiday activity helps them have honest or difficult conversations. Walking or hiking together ranked among the most effective at 33%.
The flight itself is getting the wellness treatment. 90% of APAC travellers would take a long-haul journey if they were guaranteed to arrive rested. Solo travellers are making friends through sport, with 66% saying a shared physical challenge led to a lasting friendship.
What It Means for Your Next Leave
Laura Houldsworth, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific at Booking.com, describes the region’s mood as “a stronger desire for trips that feel relevant to individual priorities”. For Singapore specifically, Anthony Lu, Regional Director of Southeast Asia and Greater China, sees “a shift towards more deliberate and personal choices”. Both readings fit the numbers, and the Singapore data leans harder into surprise and mood than the regional average does.
If you’re mapping out 2027 leave now, the useful takeaway is less about AI and more about permission. Most of your fellow travellers want a holiday that feels nothing like their regular week, and they’d rather not pay for the bits they’ll skip. If you’re already lining up bookings, our breakdown of the YouTrip Mega Travel Day cashback is worth a look before you commit.
Booking.com’s full Travel Predictions 2027 report, with all nine trends and the methodology, is on the Booking.com newsroom. It’s a fun read for anyone plotting an out-of-character escape next year, so pick the plot twist, set the out-of-office, and see who notices you’ve gone!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of Booking.com and Getty Images.
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