London tour bookings soar 117% as Brits rethink the city break

More experiences, smarter spending: how Brits are changing the city break

Press release - 6 October 2026

Hellotickets data reveals UK bookings for London tours more than doubled year-on-year, while travellers are spending more per booking in Barcelona and Valencia

The classic city break is changing.

A weekend away is no longer simply about choosing a destination and booking somewhere to sleep. From West End shows and skyline views in London to Gaudí landmarks in Barcelona and food, architecture and Mediterranean culture in Valencia, what travellers do once they arrive is becoming an increasingly important part of the trip.

New booking data from Hellotickets shows that UK travellers are embracing city experiences in growing numbers, but not always in the same way.

Across its UK Tours category, average spend per booking increased by 5.3% year-on-year, from around £75 to £79 in September.

Behind that headline figure, three cities reveal very different ways Brits are building their breaks.

London: twice as many bookings, with experiences becoming more accessible

London recorded one of the clearest shifts.

The number of tour bookings from the UK market increased by 117% year-on-year, meaning more than twice as many experiences were purchased compared with September 2025.

At the same time, the average value of each booking fell by around half.

Rather than signalling lower interest, the combination points to a different way of enjoying the capital: more bookings concentrated around lower-cost, accessible experiences.

A London weekend can now be assembled from a huge mix of moments, an exhibition in the morning, a landmark visit in the afternoon, a West End show at night or a panoramic view over the city.

Barcelona: making the city break count

In Barcelona, the behaviour is different.

Hellotickets recorded growth in both booking volume and average spend, suggesting that British visitors aren't simply booking more activities, they are also allocating more of their travel budget to what they want to experience once there.

For a city where a long weekend can move effortlessly between the Sagrada Família, Park Güell, tapas in El Born and an evening by the Mediterranean, that creates a particularly experience-led type of break.

Valencia: the Mediterranean city break gets an upgrade

Valencia follows a similar pattern, with both booking numbers and average spend increasing year-on-year.

The appeal is easy to understand: a city break that combines historic streets and markets with contemporary architecture, food and the Mediterranean coast.

Rather than treating activities as an optional extra once they arrive, the data suggests British travellers are increasingly building experiences into the trip itself.

From sightseeing to experience-led travel

Taken together, the figures point to a more nuanced evolution of the city break.

Some destinations are benefiting from greater accessibility and a higher volume of individual experiences, as seen in London.

Others are seeing travellers book more and spend more at the same time, as in Barcelona and Valencia.

Yet across the UK market as a whole, one figure ties these behaviours together: average spend on tours increased 5.3% year-on-year, from approximately £75 to £79 per booking.

"The city break has become much more experience-led. Travellers increasingly think about what they want to see, do and feel in a destination before they arrive. What is particularly interesting is that this doesn't look the same everywhere: in London we're seeing a huge increase in the number of bookings at more accessible price points, while in Barcelona and Valencia travellers are increasing both the number and value of the experiences they book," explains Jorge Díaz Largo, CEO and co-founder of Hellotickets.

For travellers, the result is a new kind of short break: less about simply being somewhere, and more about filling a few days with the moments that make the destination worth travelling for.

The numbers

• UK Tours: average basket +5.3%, from approximately £75 to £79
• London: booking volume +117% YoY
• Barcelona: both booking volume and average spend increased YoY
• Valencia: both booking volume and average spend increased YoY

Methodology

Analysis based on Hellotickets internal UK-market booking data for the Tours category in September 2026 compared with September 2025. Monetary figures have been converted into pounds sterling for UK publication.

www.hellotickets.com/en-en

About Hellotickets

Founded in 2017 by Jorge Díaz Largo and Alberto Martínez, Hellotickets is a global platform for booking experiences, tours and activities. It offers more than 50,000 experiences, attractions and events across over 130 countries, with local-currency booking available in 30 markets. Backed by investors including Pillar VC and Techstars, the company has more than 70 employees and operates as a fully remote business with a four-day working week.