By Staff Reporter
2025 was a big year for travel, where more meaningful experiences, longer trips, adventure and wellness travel took centre stage.
Travellers increasingly wanted slow travel to niche destinations, to be able to fully immerse themselves in a place, instead of just ticking things off a list. This included quietcations as well, to help digitally detox and recover from burn out. We also saw a boom in fitness-focused holidays, with people travelling for activities like yoga, hiking, cycling, running and more.
Similarly, there was also a significant rise in sustainable and eco-travel, with visitors increasingly opting for eco-lodges and holidays that supported local economies and reduced environmental impact.
But what will be the biggest travel trends shaping 2026?
Glowcations: Better skin, better health
High-end skincare rituals like the Korean 10-step Beauty Ritual have taken off massively in recent years, leading consumers to seek out even more niche products, ingredients and routines to achieve healthier, radiant skin.
This includes personalised skincare, AI analysis, DNA testing, ancient rituals, microbiome testing, hydration stations and more. In 2026, more travellers are expected to choose glowcations, which combine travel, beauty, wellness and tech, where people travel specifically for skin and wellness treatments.
This trend is particularly popular with Gen Z, with the aim being to return home visibly rejuvenated and with glowing, healthier skin, not just relaxed.
Some destinations for glowcations include Paris for French pharmacy treasures, South Korea for K-beauty and “glass skin”, Italy for spa escapes, or Kerala for Ayurveda.
Health-conscious, plant-based eating is also often a part of glowcations, to support skin and overall wellbeing.
Literary tourism is expected to be on the rise in 2026 as well. This involves people travelling more to places associated with their favourite authors, books, series or literary events.
This allows them to experience the real-world settings which inspired these books or characters, as well as immerse themselves more fully in their favourite stories. As people want more authentic, immersive experiences like these are becoming more popular, especially influenced by social media.
The post-pandemic rise of digital detoxing has also funnelled more interest in book and real-world literary adventures in recent years, which allow for more tangible connections and memories, while exploring new places.
Some forms of literary tourism involve visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, or Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, as well as Ernest Hemingway’s Key West home. Travellers also visit graves or museums dedicated to their favourite authors, like Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth for Wuthering Heights.
Some travellers also visit literary festivals like the Jaipur Literature Festival or the Jane Austen Festival, as well as cafes like Paris’ Café de Flore. In some cases, entire cities famed for their literary heritage, like Dublin and Edinburgh, become destinations for these travellers.
As overtourism and searing temperatures take over several popular southern European destinations, more travellers want year-round Alpine and mountain escapes.
According to Skyscanner, 71 per cent of UK travellers are considering or planning a mountain escape for summer or autumn 2026, with hotel bookings for a room with a mountain view up 103 per cent compared to last year.
Some of the most popular destinations for year-round Alpine escapes include Austria’s Kitzbühel, for its glamour and thermal pools, Zermatt for its snow-sure resorts and the Swiss Alps for stunning train journeys.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) use in travel has been an ongoing theme for the last couple of years and is expected to continue to increase in 2026.
This trend has been exacerbated by time-poor Gen Z and millennial travellers who struggle with decision fatigue, who want more personalisation and seamless itinerary planning, along with hidden gem recommendations they hadn’t thought of.
In 2026, AI will be used more for hyper-personalised planning, such as suggesting itineraries based on passion pursuits, moods, values and more to create more meaningful trips. With more travellers wanting to visit offbeat destinations and escape overtourism, generative AI will also be used for enhanced discovery, such as second cities and off-peak destinations, as well as under-touristed spots.
Similarly, it will also be used more for better deals and price comparisons and overcoming language barriers. On the flip side, more hotels and providers are likely to use AI next year to better manage booking and cleaning schedules, visitor flows, client notifications, and automating tasks like check-ins and more.
Multi-generational trips, which involve whole families, such as parents, children, grandparents and extended family, are expected to continue growing in popularity in 2026.
In 2026, three-generation trips are likely to continue, along with skip-gen trips, when grandparents travel with grandchildren. More trips with parents travelling with adult children are also expected.
Some of the most popular destinations for multi-generational trips are spots which have something for every generation, from kids to grandparents. These include classic Mediterranean spots like Greece, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus, along with Dubai, Costa Rica and California.