WeRoad publishes the second edition of its annual research - dedicated to how relationships are changing and the role travel plays in this transformation. The idea stems from the first edition of the company’s research (“How Travel is Changing” - 2005), which found that 55% of respondents felt lonely in daily life and 58% found it harder to meet new people. This year posed the question: how are relationships changing, and what does travel have to do with it?

Methodology: research built on data, international trends and first-hand accounts
The research involved 5,000 people across five European countries (United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Germany), combining a proprietary quantitative survey with a qualitative component and an analysis of international trends related to socialising, travel and offline experiences. The results were cross-referenced with sources including the OECD¹, WHO², the World Happiness Report³ and industry reports from Skyscanner⁴, GetYourGuide⁵ and Eventbrite⁶.

The quantitative research was complemented by a qualitative component: a focus group held at SXSW 2026 in Austin with US participants aged 20 to 30, and a series of interviews with members of the WeRoad community across six European countries. GetYourGuide contributed insights on the growth of immersive activities and group workshops, and Kindred shared its perspective on the role of communities and offline spaces in building new relationships.

Meeting someone new has become a challenge
The main finding from the research concerns the growing difficulty of forming new relationships in daily life. 66% of respondents believe that meeting new people today is harder than in the past, up from 58% recorded in 2025. When asked “How often do you feel lonely?”, the average score was 3.01 out of 5, with 69% of respondents scoring between 3 and 5.
The main reasons cited relate primarily to the reduction of spontaneous opportunities for social contact, indicated by 47% of the sample, followed by lack of time (33%), difficulty knowing where to start (25%) and social anxiety (21%).
International sources show similar signals. According to the OECD¹, only 11% of people in Europe see friends in person every day, while the World Happiness Report 2025³ highlights that 19% of young adults worldwide say they have no one to rely on (it was 14% in 2006).

When asked “among the 10 most important people in your life, how many have you known forever?”, 41% answered “only 1 to 3”. Only 20% have a network of deep relationships rooted in the past.
Relationships are changing alongside the places where they form
The research highlights how these difficulties cut across different living environments. The sample is almost evenly distributed between metropolises (23%), large cities (16%), medium-sized cities (19%), small towns (20%) and villages (21%), yet the perception of having few opportunities to meet new people remains consistent.
In 2025, the WHO² defined loneliness as a global public health priority in the report “From Loneliness to Social Connection”: one in six people worldwide is affected, with 871,000 deaths per year linked to isolation. As opportunities for social contact decline, one reason is that the places where it used to happen are also disappearing: the so-called “third places” (pubs, cafes, community centres) — spaces that are neither home nor work, where people used to meet without planning it.

At the same time, the need to find new spaces for socialising is growing. According to Eventbrite⁶, this phenomenon is increasingly taking shape in what are called “Fourth Spaces”: contexts built around shared interests, common activities and experiences lived together. Not simply places to be, but places to do something together. 95% of young adults want to bring into real life the interests they pursue online. 84% have made friends through live events.

Travel emerges as one of the main relational contexts
When asked where people get to know others best today, travel ranks first with 45% of responses (it was 30% in 2025), ahead of work and university (33%), friends of friends (31%), sport and hobbies (29%), events (28%) and apps or social networks (9%, up from 4% in 2025).
84% feel that building meaningful relationships is harder. 72% want more offline social experiences (up from 3.6 out of 5 last year, now at 3.92).
83% of respondents say they feel more open towards others when they travel. 66% have built a genuine connection with someone they met while travelling. 84% see travel as a response to the sense of isolation. 52% consider relationships formed while travelling more authentic than those of everyday life.

According to respondents, travel fosters relationships mainly because it allows people to share experiences, time and daily life. 60% believe that the bonds are created through shared experiences, 43% point to time spent together during the trip, 30% to being away from their usual routine, 19% to the absence of mutual expectations, and 16% to the lack of predefined social roles.
In the 2025 edition, 57% already described travel as personal growth, 45% had travelled to get through a difficult time, and 4% had done so on the advice of their therapist.
Other industry reports show similar signals. According to Skyscanner⁴, 39% of travellers have considered going on a trip with the specific aim of meeting new people, a figure that rises to 55% among Gen Z. Meanwhile, GetYourGuide⁵ reports a 59% year-on-year increase in bookings for workshops and shared experiences, and 76% of travellers say that learning something while on holiday is more interesting than ever.

What the 2026 Research tells us
The picture that emerges from the research describes a shift in the way people build relationships today. The difficulty of meeting someone new is growing, especially in everyday life, but at the same time the desire for shared experiences and offline social contexts is increasing.

The data show that people haven’t stopped looking for each other. What is changing, however, are the places and ways in which relationships form and develop. In this landscape, travel is increasingly emerging as a relational space: a context in which shared time, experiences lived together, and stepping away from daily routine seem to facilitate more authentic bonds.
This is precisely the focus of the WeRoad Research 2026 : understanding not just how people travel today, but why certain experiences still manage to create meaningful connections between people.

The full results of the Research are available HERE https://www.weroad.com/blog/social-connections-research-2026