How journey will look in 2026—here is what you might want to know

This yr is shaping as much as be one in all journey niches. Night owls might be embracing their darkish sides and teetotallers might be having fun with juice pairings, whereas literary varieties might be trying to plan bookish getaways and runners will begin lacing up in new environment. Meanwhile, all-inclusives are making a comeback (with a distinction), and extra of us are set to expertise life on the farm. Plus, AI — and bot reserving brokers— will proceed to remodel the best way we journey. These are the newest tendencies set to form how we see the world.

Noctourism

For night time owls, journey has by no means been extra thrilling. ‘Noctourism’, or nocturnal tourism, is booming, masking all the things from stargazing and night-time safaris to after-dark metropolis excursions and museum lates. Market analysis specialist FMI predicts this sector will greater than double within the subsequent 10 years, remodeling into an industryAustrali value £18 million by 2035. The motive? Alongside overtourism, it’s seemingly rising temperatures, in accordance with Booking.com — it discovered 61% of individuals are selecting nighttime actions whereas travelling to keep away from the warmth of the day. “I travelled to Japan in August and found the 40C temperatures unbearable,” says Margaret Abigail, a 34-year-old challenge supervisor from Kent. “So instead of exploring Kyoto’s geisha district in the middle of the day, when it was also at its busiest, I went when it cooled down after dark and had it practically to myself.”

(Spotlight: What is noctourism—and why is it on the rise?)

Retro revival

Anything new is previous information — as an alternative, all issues retro are trending. In summer time 2025, iconic American airline Pan Am was resuscitated with a one-off flight — the primary in over 30 years — and the journey bought out in simply three days regardless of a whopping $59,950 (£45,500) price ticket. Meanwhile, historic ‘Mother Road’ Route 66 is celebrating its a hundredth birthday in 2026, spurring a mammoth renovation of its historic roadside sights — with Oklahoma even making a devoted neon grant to assist companies alongside the route restore their classic signage.

(Visit America’s historic love motels earlier than it’s too late.)

Going all-in

Club Med opened because the world’s first all-inclusive again in 1950. Fast ahead 75 years and all-inclusives have develop into one of the crucial fashionable methods to journey. In summer time 2025, 45% of holidays booked by way of Advantage Travel Partnership have been all-inclusive, up from the earlier yr, with comfort and worth behind the rising demand. But the expertise has modified, too — extra inns are upgrading what they provide to provide a extra genuine keep. For instance, Sensoria within the Dolomites is more and more holding issues hyper-local. “On a recent trip to Sensoria, I liked that the hotel highlighted small, regional producers despite being all-inclusive,” says Willow Tunnicliffe, an occasions coordinator from Yorkshire. “Even the yeast for the house-made bread came via the chef’s Italian grandmother.”

Novel ideas

Books have offered journey inspiration for hundreds of years, whether or not that’s for Jane Austen’s Bath, Gerald Durrell’s Corfu and even Bram Stoker’s Transylvania. And now, literary journey is on the rise, partly because of social media and a rising motion to reject digital screens. Recent analysis from on-line lodging market Vrbo has discovered a 265% enhance in Pinterest searches for ‘book club retreat ideas’. Skyscanner has additionally revealed 32% of travellers are concerned with visiting a vacation spot namechecked in a e-book, and 18% are eager to remain in book-themed lodging. “With 85% of book-buyers reading to ‘relax or escape’, it’s no surprise that reading is a source of wanderlust,” says Rebecca Sinclair, chief model officer at Penguin Books UK.

(Read: Why Edinburgh is Europe’s final escape for book-lovers.)

Gen Z at sea

Cruise passengers are getting youthful. In 2019, the common age of UK cruise passengers was 57, in accordance with the business affiliation CLIA. By 2024, it had fallen to 54.3. Cruise traces have labored exhausting for it, more and more providing experiences geared toward youthful generations. Roller coasters and Broadway-style theatre exhibits have been launched for Royal Caribbean passengers. Meanwhile, Virgin Voyages now gives late-night events and even has a tattoo parlour in a bid to draw a youthful crowd.

(Report: How Gen Z is making cruising cool once more)

Niche retreats

Whether it’s a menopause break at Combe Grove in Bath or an energetic Dartmoor weekend for the bereaved with the Good Grief Project, journey is changing into more and more personalised. “Gone are the days of the one-size-fits-all holiday,” says Josh Dickson of Resurface. “Travel is becoming precision-focused on who we are [and] travellers now seek experiences that actively improve their mental health.” His firm runs retreats that mix browsing with one-to-one remedy to assist deal with previous traumas and burnout. Elsewhere, there are breaks designed to assist folks take care of life-changing occasions similar to divorce or changing into a brand new dad or mum — assembly their wants but additionally providing one thing significant to study or do.

Running begins

According to Sport England, the variety of folks collaborating in bodily exercise has by no means been greater — and curiosity in energetic breaks can also be sky-rocketing. In explicit, extra individuals are lacing up their trainers. As a outcome, a development has emerged: the ‘runcation’. Research from Airbnb and Strava means that 74% of Gen Zers are looking for a rural ‘runcation’ with scenic countryside trails. Tour operators have responded, together with 18-to-35-year-old specialist Contiki, which has created new working breaks. “Bookings on our active itineraries surged 105% from 2023 to 2024, with group runs emerging as trip highlights,” says Contiki chief advertising officer, Lottie Norman.

(Runs value travelling for—7 scenic routes to strive.)

Indigenous firsts

Indigenous tourism worldwide is already a £35.5 billion business — and 2026 is about to be a bumper yr for brand spanking new experiences, with Australia and Canada main the best way. In Australia’s Northern Territory, a partnership between the Anangu folks and the Tasmanian Walking Company is about to allow guests to remain in a single day in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for the primary time. Over in Queensland, the brand new Eastern Kuku Yalanji Bamanga Muruku Tourism Hub will showcase Eastern Kuku Yalanji tradition in Daintree National Park. Meanwhile in Canada, Quebec has simply created Nibiischii Park — the primary nationwide park to be managed by a First Nation, the Cree Nation of Mistissini.

(Indigenous tourism is flourishing in Canada—right here’s why.)

Pastures new

With the motion to reject digital screens ongoing, travellers have gotten more and more green-fingered. Research by Vrbo has discovered that agrotourism is getting extra fashionable, with curiosity in staying on or close to a farm up 84% year-on-year, and visitor critiques mentioning farm experiences up 300%. But agrotourism lately has matured to supply a lot of totally different experiences. The Farmer’s Arms within the Lake District, for instance, runs an annual gardening faculty, whereas at Mantel Farm in East Sussex, company can study what it takes to develop into a beekeeper.

Hot tickets

The FIFA World Cup, Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and the Commonwealth Games are all going down in 2026, making it an enormous yr for worldwide sports activities. But these aren’t the one sporting experiences which are attracting travellers. Increasingly, sports activities are getting used to authentically join with native tradition, whether or not it’s by watching sumo wrestling in Japan or Muay Thai boxing in Thailand. According to Expedia, 57% of travellers are more likely to watch an area sport whereas away.

Latin fever

The cloud forests of Costa Rica have lengthy been Central America’s greatest calling card, however travellers in 2026 need to department out into exploring different components of the area. El Salvador, residence to vibrant villages and world-class browsing, is main the tourism cost, with customer numbers rising by 81% since 2019, in accordance with knowledge from UN Tourism. Guatemalais additionally up 33% over the identical interval, whereas the variety of guests to Panama has elevated by 17%.

Sober surges

Today, round a fifth of UK adults abstain from consuming alcohol, in accordance with the charity Alcohol Change, and the share is growing amongst youthful demographics. In response to those altering habits, extra suppliers are providing sober choices. For instance, Pattingham Vineyard in Staffordshire has launched an alcohol-free model of its tour, the place guests get to find out about wine-making however end with a spherical of sentimental drinks as an alternative, whereas the 2 Michelin-starred Restaurant Flore in Amsterdam gives juice pairings as an alternative of wine. Dedicated sober tour operators have additionally burst onto the scene, together with We Love Lucid and Hooked.

(A sober tour of New York City, 90 years after the tip of Prohibition.)