Six months into the year, Trade Secrets co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada look at the trends dominating 2026 so far, including shorter booking windows, a younger demographic for all-inclusives and the state of domestic travel. Plus, the hosts share a sneak peek at what’s in store for the rest of season seven.

This episode was sponsored by Brendan Vacations. 

Further resources

The Travel Weekly team

Articles mentioned in this episode:
Travel Weekly’s top stories in the last six months:
Updated: U.S. issues an alert urging caution worldwide for American travelers
Mexico updates: Embassy says cities ‘returned to normal;’ advisors help clients
Norwegian Cruise Line eliminates NCFs, with no strings attached
U.S. considers revised approach to social media screening of foreign travelers
Advisors predict Egypt tourism will suffer due to mixed messages on safety
From Travel Weekly, Global unrest is now clients’ No. 1 concern, travel advisors say
From TravelAge West, Five forces affecting travel choices — including more trust in AI bookings
From Travel Weekly, Travel agencies report a tale of two booking patterns

Need advice?

Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098

Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com 

 

Theme song:

Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six months into the year, Trade Secrets co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada look at the trends dominating 2026 so far, including shorter booking windows, a younger demographic for all-inclusives and the state of domestic travel. Plus, the hosts share a sneak peek at what&rsquo;s in store for the rest of season seven.
This episode was sponsored by <a href="https://www.brendanvacations.com/en-us/travel-advisors">Brendan Vacations</a>.&nbsp;
<hr>
Further resources
<a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Contact-Us">The Travel Weekly team</a>
Articles mentioned in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Travel Weekly&rsquo;s top stories in the last six months:</li>
<ul>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Middle-East-Africa-Travel/us-issues-caution-alert-for-american-travelers">Updated: U.S. issues an alert urging caution worldwide for American travelers</a></li>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Mexico-Travel/Americans-shelter-in-place-in-Puerto-Vallarta-embassy-alert">Mexico updates: Embassy says cities &lsquo;returned to normal;&rsquo; advisors help clients</a></li>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Norwegian-Cruise-Line-eliminates-NCFs">Norwegian Cruise Line eliminates NCFs, with no strings attached</a></li>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Government/US-considers-revised-social-media-screening">U.S. considers revised approach to social media screening of foreign travelers</a></li>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Middle-East-Africa-Travel/travel-to-egypt-following-iran-war-outbreak">Advisors predict Egypt tourism will suffer due to mixed messages on safety</a></li>
</ul>
<li aria-level="1">From Travel Weekly, <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/Global-unrest-is-now-clients-No-1-concern">Global unrest is now clients&rsquo; No. 1 concern, travel advisors say</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">From TravelAge West, <a href="https://www.travelagewest.com/Industry-Insight/Business-Features/key-forces-influencing-travel-choices">Five forces affecting travel choices &mdash; including more trust in AI bookings</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">From Travel Weekly, <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/A-tale-of-two-booking-patterns-for-travel-advisors">Travel agencies report a tale of two booking patterns</a></li>
</ul>
<hr>
Need advice?
Call our hotline and leave a message: 201-902-2098
Email us: <a href="mailto:tradesecrets@travelweekly.com">tradesecrets@travelweekly.com </a>
&nbsp;
Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
&nbsp;
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly, where travel advisors ask -- and answer -- questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at travelweekly.com/podcasts.

ABOUT YOUR HOSTS:

Jamie Biesiada is a senior editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.

Emma Weissmann brings more than a decade of reporting and editing experience to her role as Features Editor at Travel Weekly, where she covers destinations and retail travel and contributes to social media, podcast and multimedia initiatives. Before joining Travel Weekly, Emma served as Editor-in-Chief of AGENTatHOME and Executive Editor of TravelAge West and hosted the Humans of Travel podcast. She also helped create and produce the Future Leaders in Travel event for early-career travel advisors.


Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information

Welcome to Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly, where travel advisors ask -- and answer -- questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel advisor to join them and field listeners&rsquo; questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more &mdash; as long as it&rsquo;s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at <a href="http://travelweekly.com/podcasts">travelweekly.com/podcasts</a>.
<hr>
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS:
Jamie Biesiada is a senior editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors&rsquo; 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
Emma Weissmann brings more than a decade of reporting and editing experience to her role as Features Editor at Travel Weekly, where she covers destinations and retail travel and contributes to social media, podcast and multimedia initiatives. Before joining Travel Weekly, Emma served as Editor-in-Chief of AGENTatHOME and Executive Editor of TravelAge West and hosted the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.travelagewest.com/Podcasts/Humans-of-travel">Humans of Travel</a> podcast. She also helped create and produce the Future Leaders in Travel event for early-career travel advisors.
<hr>
 Theme song: Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod Link: <a href="https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop">https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop</a> License: <a href="https://filmmusic.io/standard-license">https://filmmusic.io/standard-license</a>
<hr>
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information