The Top 10 Travel Trends of 2026

The Top 10 Travel Trends of 2026

Albert Ghitis
Jan 7, 2026

Travel in 2026 is not about ticking destinations off a list. It is about traveling on purpose. In the wake of a global reset, luxury travelers are redefining what it means to get away. Deeper meaning, quieter escapes, cosmic wonder, and connection to nature, heritage, and community now shape decisions more than novelty or volume. The question is no longer only where to go, but why to go, a shift documented clearly in Hilton’s 2026 Travel Trends Report. 

This change is not driven by sentiment alone. Structural pressures are at work. Social isolation has been identified as a significant public health concern, with growing evidence linking loneliness to long-term physical and psychological effects. At the same time, rapid advances in artificial intelligence and frictionless digital tools have streamlined planning, booking, and logistics. What technology cannot provide, however, is presence, quiet, trust, or human connection. Climate change and the return of over-tourism have further forced travelers to rethink timing, impact, and destination choice.

The result is not a rejection of travel, but a recalibration of it. Travel is being asked to restore attention rather than fragment it, to connect people rather than move them faster, and to exist within ecological and cultural limits rather than ignore them.

This search for meaning is not new for us. Since the earliest days of Nayara, our destinations have been designed around the idea that travel should restore, inspire, and connect. The broader market is now catching up to what we have long practiced: travel with soul.

The ten trends below reflect this shift. They are not forecasts. They are observable patterns rooted in traveler behavior, scientific reality, and lived experience. Together, they describe how travel is being redefined in 2026.

1. Whycations

Travel now begins with purpose.

Hilton’s 2026 research names this shift directly: trips are increasingly planned around emotional intention rather than destination status. Travel begins with a why, such as rest, renewal, reflection, reconnection, or contribution, and the destination becomes the setting that supports that intention. 

This is a response to exhaustion. Burnout, digital saturation, and social fragmentation have altered how people value time away. Travel is no longer an escape from reality. It is a way to realign with it. Industry data reflects this clearly. Hilton reports that trust in brands has become central to booking decisions, with 74 percent of travelers saying they value booking with brands they know and trust. 

Purpose also shapes how travelers evaluate impact. Booking.com’s Sustainable Travel Report shows that 69 percent of travelers want to leave places better than when they arrived. The "why" behind a journey increasingly includes responsibility toward the place itself. 

At Nayara, the whycation is not a concept layered onto the experience. It is the premise. Destinations are chosen for their ability to hold attention and reframe scale. Experiences are designed to deepen presence rather than multiply activities. Many guests arrive marking transitions, whether recovery, reconnection, or personal milestones. The environment supports those intentions because it carries its own authority.

Whycations define 2026 because they align travel with how people now measure a meaningful life.

2. Hushpitality

Quiet has become a destination.

In an always-on world, silence is no longer assumed. It is sought. Hilton’s 2026 research shows that rest and recharge are the top motivations for leisure travel, cited by more than half of respondents. Nearly half of travelers report adding solo days before or after family trips specifically to secure quiet time. Over half say they would take a business trip simply to get space from daily demands. 

This is not indulgence. It is correction. Constant information, urban noise, and digital presence have created an environment where uninterrupted calm is scarce. Travel has become one of the few remaining spaces where quiet can be reliably found.

Technology now serves this need rather than undermining it. At Nayara, hush is not engineered. It is inherent. Properties are intentionally located away from urban density. Architecture and spacing preserve privacy through distance rather than signage. Natural soundscapes dominate. Service adapts to presence rather than interrupting it.

Hushpitality is not about isolation. It is about control. The ability to engage or withdraw without effort. In 2026, quiet is one of the most valuable forms of luxury.

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3. Nature-Based Wellness

Wellness has moved outside.

Wellness tourism has become one of the dominant drivers of travel growth. According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness tourism is a multi-hundred-billion-dollar segment of global travel with projected expansion as travelers integrate health and environment into their trip planning. 

This growth is driven not by spa menus, but by environment. Travelers are building itineraries around ecosystems that support physiological and psychological recovery. Scientific research supports this shift. Studies on forest bathing and time in natural environments consistently show reductions in stress markers such as cortisol, along with improvements in mood and attention. Exposure to natural light, organic soundscapes, and non-urban environments produces measurable biological effects. 

Nature-based wellness is not a category of treatment. It is a relationship with place. Quiet forests, thermal waters, desert silence, and open skies create conditions that allow the nervous system to downshift without instruction.

At Nayara, wellness is place-led. The environment does most of the work. Hospitality exists to create access, privacy, and continuity. Wellness emerges not from programming alone, but from immersion.

Nature-based wellness continues to expand because it responds to both scientific reality and lived experience.

For more, see our blog Nature-Based Wellness

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4. Astro-tourism

Night skies are now itineraries.

Astro-tourism has moved from niche interest to mainstream behavior. Booking.com’s destination trend reporting shows that more than half of travelers express interest in visiting dark sky destinations, with many seeking star-focused experiences as primary motivations for travel. This rise coincides with the broader growth of nocturnal travel, where night is treated as an environment to explore rather than a pause between days. 

The science explains the urgency. Light pollution now affects the vast majority of populated areas. More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies, and the Milky Way is no longer visible to over one third of humanity. Darkness has become a finite natural resource. 

The Atacama Desert represents the opposite condition. Its high altitude, extreme dryness, and atmospheric stability reduce water vapor interference, creating some of the clearest skies on Earth. This is why major astronomical observatories have been built there. These conditions are not aesthetic. They are physical.

Astro-tourism offers more than spectacle. It reintroduces scale. Exposure to the night sky reduces the urgency of daily life by placing human concerns within a broader cosmic context. This is why astrotourism overlaps with hushpitality and whycations. It is not distraction. It is perspective.

At Nayara Alto Atacama, the night sky is not a backdrop. It is the experience, shaped by scientific conditions that make the universe visible.

For more, see our blog Nayara by Night: Of Moon and Stars.

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5. Indigenous-Led Travel

Cultural authority has shifted.

Indigenous-led tourism is reshaping how travelers understand place. This is not about access to culture. It is about who guides the narrative. The World Travel & Tourism Council projects that Indigenous tourism will contribute 67 billion dollars to the global economy by 2034, reflecting both demand and recognition of its legitimacy. 

Travelers increasingly seek experiences led by the communities whose heritage defines the land. Indigenous-led travel prioritizes continuity, stewardship, language, and relationship rather than performance. It often intersects with ecological care because cultural preservation and environmental responsibility are inseparable in Indigenous worldviews.

At Nayara Hangaroa, this reality is visible. Rapa Nui culture is not presented as artifact. It is lived. The Hito family, a multigenerational Rapa Nui lineage, are part owners of the resort. The island’s story is inseparable from the people who have safeguarded it through ecological strain and cultural disruption.

Indigenous-led travel in 2026 reflects a broader correction in how authenticity is defined. Authority belongs with those who have carried place forward.

For more, see our blog How Nayara Hangaroa Leads Regeneration on Rapa Nui.

6. Soft Adventure

Adventure has shifted from conquest to connection.

In 2026, travelers are seeking physical engagement with landscapes that remains accessible, immersive, and grounded. Industry reporting from the Adventure Travel Trade Association shows that demand is strongest for activities such as guided hikes, wildlife observation, paddling, and cultural walking routes. These experiences prioritize proximity to place over technical difficulty, and meaning over adrenaline.

This change reflects demographic reality as much as philosophy. ATTA data indicates that the median age of adventure travelers now falls between 45 and 64, suggesting that many travelers want movement that deepens understanding without requiring extreme risk or specialized skill.

Soft adventure also aligns with sustainability expectations. Low-impact activities tend to leave fewer ecological scars while fostering appreciation for ecosystems and local knowledge. Guided exploration, rather than self-directed intensity, reduces strain on fragile landscapes and encourages respect for limits.

At Nayara, adventure is designed to place guests inside living systems. Forest paths, open water, desert terrain, and coastal ecosystems become classrooms rather than obstacles. Soft adventure works here because the environment itself carries the narrative. The experience is defined by what is encountered, not what is conquered.

Soft adventure continues to grow because it mirrors how travelers now define fulfillment. Engagement matters more than extremity.

7. Solo Travel

Autonomy has become a primary travel value.

Solo travel is no longer a niche behavior. Hilton’s 2026 research shows that more than a quarter of travelers plan to travel alone, and many deliberately add solo days around family or group trips to secure personal space. This normalization reflects broader cultural shifts toward self-directed time and flexible scheduling.

The rise of remote work and location independence has accelerated this trend. Travelers are no longer constrained by fixed vacation windows or companion availability. Solo travel allows for personal pacing, quiet reflection, and unmediated engagement with place. For many, it also provides relief from constant social obligation.

Solo travel overlaps directly with hushpitality and whycations. It offers space to pursue intention without compromise. It allows travelers to choose silence or connection as needed, rather than negotiating it.

At Nayara, the solo traveler experience is supported by design rather than segmentation. Privacy is inherent. Community spaces exist without pressure. Experiences can be shared or solitary. This flexibility matters because solo travelers are not uniform. Some seek complete retreat. Others seek light social connection anchored by independence.

Solo travel continues to expand because it answers a simple question: How do I spend time in a way that feels fully my own.

For more, see our blog Solo Travel on the Rise

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8. Multi-Generational Travel

Experiences are replacing inheritance.

Multi-generational travel has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the market. Hilton’s trends reporting shows that more than half of families are now traveling with adult children, and that many trips include three generations or more.  Booking.com’s research reinforces this through the rise of so-called SKI trips, where families choose to spend on shared experiences rather than deferred financial legacy. 

This shift reflects a reprioritization of time. Families are more geographically dispersed than ever. Shared travel becomes concentrated presence. A trip becomes a way to create collective memory in an era where daily life fragments attention.

Multi-generational travel also requires a new kind of destination. The environment must hold different energy levels without constant planning. Activities must be adaptable. Space must allow both togetherness and separation. The most successful trips are those where connection happens organically rather than through forced programming.

At Nayara, multi-generational travel works because nature carries universal appeal. Wildlife, water, and open landscapes engage across ages. The setting itself reduces friction. Shared experiences emerge without needing to be scheduled minute by minute.

This trend continues to grow because it satisfies a deeply human need: to be together without distraction, and to remember that time itself is the rarest luxury.

9. Latin America Rising

Latin America has moved from peripheral interest to global priority.

International travel to the region has rebounded strongly and, in many markets, surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Data from the Latin American Travel Association shows Central America leading the recovery, with arrivals roughly 25 percent above 2019 levels by 2025. 

This growth aligns with what travelers now seek. Latin America offers biodiversity at scale, cultural depth that is lived rather than staged, and landscapes that remain relatively uncongested compared to legacy markets. The region holds a significant share of the planet’s biodiversity, and countries such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and Chile have built reputations around conservation, community engagement, and nature-forward tourism. These attributes match rising traveler expectations around sustainability, authenticity, and meaning.

Traveler research reflects this fit. Global surveys show increasing demand for destinations that combine natural immersion with cultural context, while industry reporting notes that sustainability practices are now a deciding factor for a majority of travelers.

At Nayara, this geography is central. Our destinations span rainforest, desert, island, and sea, each with its own rhythm and limits. These places do not compete on sameness. They compete on character. That is what makes Latin America’s rise durable rather than cyclical.

Latin America is rising because it answers the central question of travel in 2026: Where can I go that still feels real, and why does it matter that I am there.

10. Regenerative Travel

We saved the most relevant, and most Nayara-defining, shift for last.

Regenerative travel is not a trend layered on top of others. It is the framework that holds them together. Sustainability focuses on reducing harm. Regeneration focuses on leaving places stronger. The World Travel & Tourism Council frames regenerative travel as the next stage of sustainable tourism, where what is taken must feed back into the systems that support it. 

Traveler expectations have moved accordingly. Research shows that two thirds of travelers want to leave places better than when they arrived, and that a growing majority want their spending to benefit local communities.  Regeneration connects intention to action. It translates whycations into responsibility, hushpitality into restraint, nature-based wellness into care, and Indigenous-led travel into continuity.

Regenerative travel also reframes luxury. It asks whether comfort can coexist with limits, and whether beauty can be experienced without erosion. It insists that hospitality exists inside ecosystems, not above them.

At Nayara, regeneration is operational reality. The places we inhabit set terms. Rainforests demand restoration. Deserts demand restraint. Islands demand guardianship. Regeneration is what allows travel to continue without hollowing out the very environments people come to experience.

Regenerative travel defines 2026 because it answers the central question facing tourism: How to move through the world without diminishing it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a whycation?
A whycation is a trip planned around intention rather than destination. The journey begins with a purpose such as rest, reconnection, reflection, or contribution, and the destination is chosen to support that outcome.

What does hushpitality mean?
Hushpitality describes travel experiences designed around quiet, privacy, and minimal interruption. It reflects the growing demand for environments that reduce sensory overload and allow uninterrupted presence.

Why is astrotourism growing so quickly?
Light pollution now obscures night skies for most of the world. Destinations with naturally dark, stable skies offer rare access to celestial observation and perspective, making night-focused travel a primary motivation rather than a secondary activity.

What defines Indigenous-led travel?
Indigenous-led travel is shaped and guided by the communities whose heritage defines a place. Authority rests with Indigenous voices, emphasizing continuity, stewardship, and cultural responsibility rather than performance.

How is regenerative travel different from sustainable travel?
Sustainable travel aims to reduce harm. Regenerative travel aims to leave places stronger than before by actively supporting ecosystems, communities, and cultural continuity through travel.

Why are multi-generational trips increasing?
Families are prioritizing shared experiences over deferred legacy. Travel offers concentrated time, shared memory, and connection across generations in ways daily life often does not allow.

Further Sources and Reading