Simon Calder shares his top destinations for groups in the UK and beyond in 2026

Which overseas destinations stand out for groups in 2026 for you, Simon?

The great thing is that there is so much, so close. From the south of England, you can get to Dover or Folkestone easily and travel across to France, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. If you’re in the north, you can get the ferry across to Rotterdam or Amsterdam.

What I found in my research for my talk at the Group Leisure & Travel Show is just how rich the near continent is. For example, you sail into Rotterdam or Amsterdam then you can head across to Germany and check out the Wuppertal ‘flying tram’ which looks totally 1960s sci-fi!

It literally dangles and whizzes through the city - I just think it’s such a fantastic thing which looks very fun - and is an extra highlight on top of the incredible art and industrial archaeological of the area. 

Then, there’s easy access to a couple of geographical oddities.

You can go across to Aachen in Germany, which is a fine town with a rich history. You go up the local hill and on one side there’s Belgium, another, the Netherlands and the other, Germany.

You also have a beautiful place near there called Baarle-Hertog where the Belgians and the Dutch have divided it into little plots – you can go into international frontiers when you cross the road!

What else should be on groups’ radars for next year?

There’s also the total Solar Eclipse in August – Northern Spain is a great destination to experience this, especially on a coach as you have the flexibility to get a better view. 

I also looked at the American Heartland – British Airways has recently announced new flights to St. Louis in Missouri which puts you right in the middle of a great itinerary.

It’s a fantastic city rich in art and excitement and so very much the America we all forget. You can do a circuit from there across to Kansas round to Branson, Missouri, Memphis, Nashville and Louisville. There are some great opportunities there.

Emirates are putting on an extra flight from Heathrow to Dubai. Once in Dubai, you could just go to the beach and shopping malls or you can start a wonderful itinerary with not too much driving. There are very good roads down from Abu Dhabi into the desert, then across to the Indian Ocean to Muscat in Oman and all the way up to the Musandam Peninsula which is a wonderful fjord seascape and then back to Dubai. Nobody as far as I can see does this as a group trip so I was actually tempted to set up a tour company to do so!

There are so many opportunities for overseas - everything is looking very good at the moment.

Where in the UK is on your list?

Eastern Scotland – the kingdom of Fife – is so beautiful with so much history and astonishing coastline and really easy to reach from Edinburgh. The other place that everybody has overlooked is Northern Ireland – amazing for its size and diversity and gets far fewer visitors than it should.

Also, the Caledonian Sleeper is going to be calling at Birmingham International from January 2026 which is great for group travel organisers in the Midlands because if you want to go to the Highlands, you can put them on the train in Birmingham and wake up in Inverness.

What advice would you give to GTOs looking at overseas for the first time?

Once you start going abroad, there are things you need to focus on. For instance, you’re basically providing a package holiday so you are responsible for the whole thing – you should make sure you have sensible bonding in place.

Take advice from people who have been there and done that. Of course, coach and tour operators have all the experience so can tell you what works and what doesn’t. If it’s your first time, perhaps dip your toe in the water and go across to Luxembourg for a short trip, maybe four days, to give you experience and confidence to go a bit further afield.

You have to sort insurance, essential medical care etc. Then the very basic thing of ensuring passports are in date. The UK has a huge amount to offer but the opportunities multiply once you get across the Channel.

We’ve had so much travel disruption recently – but it doesn’t put people off, thoughts?

I’ve been covering travel since what feels like the early 17th century, but the rate of which I’m having to say ‘this has happened and tens of thousands of people are affected’ is increasing. But we’re still only talking about tens of thousands of people at a time. I had a flight cancelled at the gate in Spain recently and it was a reality check because I had planned my whole itinerary around it. Next time, I will be building a buffer into my plans.

As an organiser you need to have contingency plans in place, for example Eurotunnel had the lightning strike – you have to think what is the worst that can happen. But the appetite for travel, which rebounded after Covid, is very much there and people want experiences rather than stuff.

How do you see the appetite for travel growing in 2026 and beyond, especially for groups?

People are looking for value and I think increasingly they will be going east for that – the likes of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and the Balkans.

People are after different experiences which is terrific. The group travel market is perfectly poised to deliver those because you are taking people to places like Eastern Europe, where they might not feel as comfortable as they do in France or Italy, and you’re looking after them and giving them a great experience.

“People are looking for value and I think increasingly they will be going east for that.”

Where do you get your own inspiration from?

Researching for the GLT Show has made me really enthused for new places. The more I find out about places, the more I think I’d like to go. Mostly, it’s talking to people. One location which I think is going to start blossoming soon is Algeria. They’re just opening up to tourism and it’s utterly unspoilt – there are amazing classical sites, beautiful mountain scenery, lovely coastline and it is just three hours from the UK.

What are your thoughts on tourist taxes being introduced in various cities?

I talk to people all the time about this and they say, ‘we don’t think it’s going to put anyone off’. For example, with the Edinburgh Tourist Tax being introduced in July 2026, if you’re staying in the Balmoral Hotel on 1st August, the fact that the price has gone up from £1,000 to £1050 probably isn’t going to make much difference to you, but if you’re staying in a £100 a night budget hotel for four nights, that’s beginning to feel more expensive. It’s also on top of the VAT which is worse.

It’s very tricky and I can see why they’re doing it, but it’s also an extra layer of bureaucracy which I think people slightly resent. When it comes to coach tourism, it may put people off staying the night. It might be nice to stay over but actually you’re thinking, there is too much tax on it. 

I talked to the very nice guy in Venice who’s doing it there and he said it’s aimed at mostly coach companies organising trips from nearby places like Milan or Bologna – they really don’t want them coming on their busy days.

Simon Calder is the travel correspondent for The Independent and a regular speaker at the annual Group Leisure & Travel Show.