2026 Travel Trends: 10 new words you can’t miss

• AI-Vegan

Am I a AI-Vegan? I can’t say I am. Not because of the use of Chatgpt, but because AI is pretty much the core engine of every single little tool, app, software out there today. So unless you don’t use the internet at all, you can’t say you are AI-Vegan.

• Astro-cruising

The poor cruise industry, not so poor after all, is enduring the criticisms on their sustainability credentials, and without a glitch, it goes on. Because the truth is that people do book cruises, and now, one of the key motivators is the fact that on a cruise you can actually…see the sky and the stars!

• Dry Tourism

Move away Dry January – not drinking alcohol is not just a thing people do after the festive extravaganza to cleanse and detox, Dry, meaning, not drinking alcohol at all. It’s also called “sober travel” and “dry tripping” And this now applies to people traveling as well.

• Glowmads

Imaging a hint of wellness travel, a little bit of a self-pampering retreat and add a dash of social media fomo on beauty products and here you have it: the perfect recipe for a trend that highlights an ever-growing demand for the pursuit of the perfect skin, glowing appearance and a youthful overall result.

• Hybrid Travel

I am not sure this is new, we spoke in the past about Bleasure trips, Workcation and so on, so the blen of work and travel is already happening, the reason why this could be worth looking into is the exponential increase of nomadic remote workers.

• Low-impact souvenirs AKA edible shelf-ies

Move away one-size-fits-all souvenirs often made in China or Bangladesh, the edible souvenirs are on the raise!

Low-impact souvenirs are all we have been preaching for in the sustainability corridors of tourism destinations, but what wasn’t clear enough was IF the travellers would actually prefer them to a, let’s say a flag, a coaster with a flag, a mug with a flag or a magnet with a flag – you get my point.

• Noctourism

Visiting a very famous place and have it all for yourself – let’s say the Taj Mahal – may seems impossible to most of the travellers, but what if this would happen during the night hours instead of at the peak hours of the day?

This is one of the growing trends in travel and tourism and worth of observation for 2026: Nocturnal Tourism or Noctourism.

• Pop Culture-Led Tourism

We live in the era of Pop-Culture. What could that mean? For starter, the word itself – pop – something pops, done it’s gone, it has popped. So that symbolizes the short and even shorter presence of something in our lives.

How does this relate to travel?

Movies, TV-show, Songs, – sometimes books, yes, books – are influencing the choice of a destination because media often idolizes the location where it was filmed. And this is not always good, many set locations are often not ready to welcome that kind of volume of visitors.

• Romantasy

Think Bridgeton-saga, Gilded-Age series and more similar concept that are fueling what’s now called Romantasy – a mix between romance and fantasy.

In travel this refers to the search for experience and locations that yes are romantic, but romance alone doesn’t cut anymore, it needs to recall the ‘fantasy’ element of these period-drama that are so popular nowadays.

• Skillcation

This one is one of my favourites, if not the favourite. Alas people are now showing signs of actual interest beyond absent-minded travel mania and are favouring going on holidays with the intent of learning something new, a new skill – hello Skillcations!