In 2026, meeting new people has become harder than ever.
But the desire to connect hasn't gone away.

The places, the ways, and the contexts in which relationships form are changing. The second edition of the Osservatorio WeRoad starts here.

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5,000 respondents · 5 countries
01 The Context

Meeting someone has become a real challenge.

0%
say meeting new people is harder than it used to be
+8 vs 2025
0%
are not satisfied with their social relationships
0%
don't find enough opportunities to meet people in everyday life

People want to connect. But they can't seem to make it happen. Why?

47%
Too few opportunities
33%
Not enough time
25%
I don't know where to start
21%
Social anxiety

This isn't a new phenomenon — but it's growing. According to the (2025), only 11% of people in Europe see friends in person every day. And according to the , 19% of young adults worldwide have no one to count on — a figure that has risen steadily from 14% in 2006.

We see this reflected in our own Osservatorio. When asked "of the 10 most important people in your life, how many have you known since childhood?", 41% answered just 1–3. Only 20% have a network of deep relationships rooted in their past.

02 A Cross-Cutting Phenomenon

Loneliness doesn't depend on where you live.

Loneliness isn't just a problem for people living in isolated places. dedicated an entire report to it in 2025, declaring it a global public health priority.

Who feels lonely, and where do they live?
🏙
Metropolis (over 1M)
23%
🌆
Large city (250k–1M)
16%
🏘
Medium city (50k–250k)
19%
🌉
Small city (10k–50k)
20%
🏡
Town or village (<10k)
21%

One in six people worldwide is affected by loneliness.

That's the finding of the World Health Organization. What our own survey reveals confirms the same picture: people living in very different settings report the same struggles.

1/6
people affected by loneliness worldwide
· 2025
871k
deaths/year linked to social isolation
· 2025

As opportunities to meet people shrink, one reason is that the places where it used to happen are disappearing too. The so-called "third places" — pubs, cafés, community centers, all those spaces that are neither home nor work, where people used to run into each other without planning to. , professor at NYU, has written about this in his newsletter No Mercy / No Malice, among others.

So people are looking for alternatives.

0%
feel the need to belong to a group built around shared passions and interests.
0%
consider meeting new people an important part of traveling.

The old gathering places are fading, but people haven't stopped looking for spaces where they can feel part of something. What's changing is where they find them: no longer in bars or clubs, but in places built around something shared — a passion, a trip, or a dinner with people you haven't met yet.

Kindred

The most meaningful relationships rarely start online. They start over a shared meal, in a spontaneous conversation, when a friend introduces you to someone at a bar, at the gym, or at an exhibition. When you're physically present with people, defenses come down and trust builds naturally — and faster. We're wired to welcome others and to feel like we belong somewhere, but modern life has pulled us away from that instinct, optimizing everything for efficiency and convenience. What people are looking for today isn't more content. It's someone to be with. At Kindred, we see this every day through our members' stories: give people the right context, and community doesn't need to be engineered. It just happens.

Justine Palefsky — CEO & Co-founder, Kindred
03 New Ways to Meet

Apps used to be the answer. Now people want to meet in real life.

Where do people prefer to meet new people today?

While traveling
0%+15 vs 2025
Work and college
0%
Friends of friends
0%
Sports and hobbies
0%
Events
0%
Apps and social media
0%+5 vs 2025
Source: WeRoad Osservatorio · Multiple answers allowed
0%
feel that building meaningful relationships is harder than before.
0%
want more offline social experiences. +0.32 vs 2025
· Fourth Spaces · 2025

In 2025, Eventbrite called this the "Fourth Spaces" phenomenon: 95% of young adults want to bring their online interests into real life. 84% have made genuine friends through live events.

04 Relationships on the Road

While traveling, something shifts

0%
feel more open to others when they travel.
0%
have built a genuine connection with someone they met on a trip.
0%
see travel as an antidote to feeling isolated.
0%
believe the relationships they form while traveling feel more real than those from everyday life.
· Travel Trends 2026

According to Skyscanner's Travel Trends 2026 report, 39% of travelers have considered going abroad specifically to meet new people. Among Gen Z, that figure rises to 55%.

But why does it happen so often while traveling?

Sharing intense experiences together
0%
Spending entire days side by side
0%
Being away from your everyday routine
0%
Having no preconceptions about each other
0%
No fixed social roles to play
0%
Source: WeRoad Osservatorio · Multiple answers allowed
· Hidden Trends List 2026

When you travel, what matters is the time you spend together — and what you do with that time. Workshop bookings are up +59% year over year. 76% of travelers say learning something new on vacation is more appealing than ever.

GetYourGuide

Traveling today is about building real connections, not just checking places off a list. And we see this most clearly in the moments when people do something together: kneading bread, learning a craft, sharing a table, exchanging stories with a local guide. That's part of why workshops are one of the fastest-growing categories on GetYourGuide — bookings have increased 59% year over year. Experiences don't just show you a place. They give you a reason to talk, to laugh, to step out of your comfort zone, and to feel part of something — even if only for an afternoon.

Johannes Reck — GetYourGuide co-founder and CEO

And the connections formed while traveling don't end when the trip does.

For many people, they last — precisely because they're grounded in something lived and shared, not in a profile or a swipe. When you've shared a place, a moment, a stretch of road with someone, you often stay connected far longer than you ever expected.

It's the same idea that Fabio Bin, co-founder and CMO of WeRoad, wrote about in in March 2026, reflecting on what WeRoad is really about:

WeRoad

We always thought we were in the travel business — but what we actually do is answer a far more human need. What matters isn't where you go, but who you meet along the way. When you put 15 strangers together for ten days, away from their routines, defenses come down much faster than they ever do in everyday life.

Fabio Bin — Co-founder & CMO, WeRoad
05 Qualitative Research — SXSW

What do Americans think about all this?

At SXSW 2026 in Austin, we ran a focus group with 15 Americans in their 20s and 30s. Not a scientific study — just an open conversation with people from different backgrounds, to see whether what the European data was telling us resonated on the other side of the Atlantic.

Austin, Texas · SXSW · March 2026

It's easy to collect friends along the way, but as you get older you'd rather meet people who actually share your passions and interests.

Emily, 28 · SXSW Focus Group · Austin, TX

There's a difference between knowing someone and actually building something real with them. A lot of the time things just stay on the surface.

Alex, 32 · SXSW Focus Group · Austin, TX

People are way more open to putting themselves out there than we think. What makes the difference is the context — that moment when you shift from "who are these people?" to "okay, I could actually feel at home here."

Ryan, 30 · SXSW Focus Group · Austin, TX
06 Qualitative Research — Community

Stories from the community.

We asked six people from our community to share their experience and how travel has shaped their lives and relationships. Click a card to read the full story.

Anna Harvey

Anna is 31, British, works as a copywriter, and describes herself as deeply introverted. She's never particularly loved being around crowds. Even so, she decided to push her limits with a group trip to Nepal.

On a group trip, you move from "performative" to "human" in just a few days. The labels fall away — and what's left are the people.

Anna Harvey

Anna is 31, British, works as a copywriter, and describes herself as deeply introverted. She's never particularly loved being around crowds. Even so, she decided to push her limits with a group trip to Nepal.

"Honestly, I'm not that fond of people in general. When my social battery runs out, I tend to check out fast. But I discovered that the intimate setting of a group trip accelerates everything. You move from 'performative' to 'human' in just a few days. The labels fall away. At some point you realize that the gym guy has the exact same sense of humor as you, and that the doctor in the group is just as obsessed with specialty coffee. When it comes down to it, we're all people in our 20s, 30s, 40s trying to navigate this slightly absurd world. It was proof that even someone who tends to avoid people can find their place in the right context. We're still in touch even though we live on the other side of the world from each other. And the best part is that when we see each other again, it feels like no time has passed at all."
Alicia Bailac

Alicia is 39, Spanish, works as an executive assistant and is a trip coordinator. Naturally curious but held back by fear, she was ghosted right before a trip — and decided to go anyway.

He ghosted me before the trip. I booked it anyway, alone, to Jordan — and found people who pushed me past every limit I thought I had.

Alicia Bailac

Alicia is 39, Spanish, works as an executive assistant and is a trip coordinator. Naturally curious but held back by fear, she was ghosted right before a trip — and decided to go anyway.

"I was supposed to go with my ex. He ghosted me. I had no one to go with, but I decided I wasn't going to stay home and cry. I booked a group trip to Jordan — a place I knew nothing about. I was scared of heights, of diving, of canyoning, basically everything. But when you're surrounded by people who don't know you, who have no preconceived ideas about who you are or what you can't do, something changes. They waited for me, they encouraged me, they had my back. No judgment — just people pushing each other forward. And at some point I thought: yes, I can do this. That experience made me want to be the person who helps others do the same, which is why I became a coordinator. My best friends now come from this world — coordinators and travelers alike. Just from my first trip, two couples formed who are still together, more than three years later."
Manuel Ortega Sánchez

Manuel is 35, from Seville, works as an aeronautical engineer and is a trip coordinator. He took his first group trip after the pandemic — and along the way found his partner, Sheila, who he's marrying next year.

Traveling, you see a person in so many different situations, naturally, without pressure. That's how I met Sheila — we're getting married next year.

Manuel Ortega Sánchez

Manuel is 35, from Seville, works as an aeronautical engineer and is a trip coordinator. He took his first group trip after the pandemic — and along the way found his partner, Sheila, who he's marrying next year.

"After COVID, none of my friends wanted to travel. So I booked a trip to Mexico without knowing anyone. The first day I thought, 'what am I even doing here?' Two days later I thought, 'this is the best thing I've done in years.' Then came Jordan. And Sheila. We started talking during an icebreaker game — she mentioned she wanted to go to Australia, and for me that country had been the best experience of my life. From there, day by day, we kept getting to know each other. During transfers, during activities, during nights in the desert. Nothing forced. When you travel with someone, you see them in so many different situations, naturally, without pressure. You get to know them from the inside. That doesn't happen on an app, where you always start with the same questions and everything feels a little staged. If I hadn't met her on that trip, we probably wouldn't be together. We're getting married next year."
Simon Serp

Simon is 28, French, and used to work as a physiotherapist in Switzerland. Good salary, life that looked perfect from the outside. But it wasn't. He left it all behind to travel — and became a trip coordinator.

The strongest connections weren't born at sunset in Bali. They were born on a 15-hour bus ride through the Andes, when nobody was trying to impress anyone.

Simon Serp

Simon is 28, French, and used to work as a physiotherapist in Switzerland. Good salary, life that looked perfect from the outside. But it wasn't. He left it all behind to travel — and became a trip coordinator.

"I had a well-paying job, the kind that looks perfect from the outside. But I wasn't happy. I felt like I wanted to do something different, something bigger. One day I made a decision: I quit my job and left without knowing when I'd be back. I had no savings. I had debts. But I was determined. What I found in travel wasn't an escape from work. It was perspective. It was the chance to actually be present — something I'd been missing. The strongest connections weren't born at sunset in Bali. They were born after 8 hours of trekking in Patagonia, on a 15-hour overnight bus through the Andes, in a random conversation in a village in Nepal. When people are tired and not trying to impress anyone, emotional barriers fall. That's where something real can start. I was also lucky enough to meet the love of my life in Thailand, on a small island that felt like it had come straight out of a story."
Eileen Wegner

Eileen is 36, lives in Berlin, works as a podcaster and video editor, and raises her son on her own. For years, her only adventures were in video games. Then she discovered group travel.

For years my only adventures were on a screen. Then I discovered there was something more real out there — and a group to actually live it with.

Eileen Wegner

Eileen is 36, lives in Berlin, works as a podcaster and video editor, and raises her son on her own. For years, her only adventures were in video games. Then she discovered group travel.

"For years the only adventures I knew were on a screen. I explored pyramids with Lara Croft, discovered temples with Nathan Drake, traveled to other planets with Master Chief. Actual travel wasn't part of my reality. I was raising my son, working, staying home. Then I started running and met people who were really living the things I'd only experienced through a console. That's when I decided to change everything. New home, new job, new priorities. For me and for my son. I took my first group trip to Mexico because I didn't have the courage to go alone. I needed a safety net. And it was incredible. I'm scared of heights, but on my trips I jumped off a 30-foot cliff in Mexico, launched myself into a canyon in South Africa, went paragliding in Lima. Never alone. Always with my group. People often tell me 'I never would have done it without you,' and my answer is always 'neither would I without you guys.' That's what creates bonds that last beyond the trip. Some of them have become real friends. The community fills a gap in my life that everyday routine can't fill. My son is fully on board — he even helps me pack."
Daniela D'Attolico

Daniela is 30, works for a mobility company in Bolzano, and is used to unpredictable shifts. She spent years putting off the leap — until her therapist encouraged her to try.

Being in a group where no one knows you means no fear of being judged. When I got back, I told my therapist about it with tears in my eyes.

Daniela D'Attolico

Daniela is 30, works for a mobility company in Bolzano, and is used to unpredictable shifts. She spent years putting off the leap — until her therapist encouraged her to try.

"My shifts make it nearly impossible to sync schedules with friends. I'd known about group trips for years but kept putting it off out of fear. I waited three, four years. When I finally went to Norway, something changed. Being in a group where no one knows you means no fear of being judged. You find the courage to do things you'd never do alone. If I could go back, I'd do it sooner — there are no real reasons to feel anxious or afraid. When I got back, I told my therapist about the trip with tears in my eyes. She was amazed. She hadn't expected me to throw myself into the group activities so freely. She was really happy for me, maybe even more than I was. I was going through a hard time, and that trip gave me strength and the will to keep hoping for something better. I'm still in touch with my travel companions. We have a WhatsApp group, and some of us send each other silly reels on Instagram."
07 Conclusion
What this research really tells us.

People haven't stopped reaching out.

If we had to sum up everything we've gathered over these months, we'd probably start here: people haven't stopped searching for connection. They're simply changing the places, the ways, and the contexts in which it happens.

And these are the data points that, more than any others, tell the story of what's changing.

The desire to connect has never gone away. What people are increasingly missing are the right contexts for it to happen — and that's exactly where travel, for many, is beginning to make a real difference.

How are relationships changing today?
Read the full report here.
For inquiries and further information: press@weroad.com
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