Come 2026, and most of you are already planning your summer, winter, fall or long weekend trips. How many of you are actually planning your trip and doing all the research over the phone? How many are marking short one-day holidays so that you can take a day-trip and explore a local place, not far from home? These and much more have started determining our choice of holiday destinations, the activities we want to pursue or even what knowledge we come back home with. Here are six top travel trends that will take over the tourism sector and influence your vacation parameters.
If you have to check the prices for your destination what do you do? Or if you are unable to understand the language of the people from your holidaying spot, do you turn to a digital translator? From booking tickets to hotels to communicating with locals and finding out on-spot directions, to even making the itinerary, technology has taken a powerful role in them all.
Today, applications are so advanced that even if you search or communicate over the phone about certain things, search engines pick it up and give you all the information about it. Thus, anyone travelling anywhere in the world, install all required applications, carry their phone chargers and keeps their phone handy all the time, making digital detox a myth.
Remember, not all are in a position to go for lavish vacations or a weekend off. For some, travel means going to nearby places and spending the whole day sightseeing, before hitting their own beds at night. For those groups of people, micro-travel is on the rise. This can be done solo, with friends or with a group of travellers where you choose a specific spot 2-4 hours from your city, visit it, and return by night. These types of local travels are pocket –friendly, entertaining, adventurous and easily doable.
The name might be new but the concept had been there for a long time. Right from Disneyland to Warner Brother’s Harry Potter set, which attracted thousands of visitors each year, all were actually giving wings to fandom vacations.
Today, OTT and cinema are shot in real locations. And when your favourite protagonist or superhero does something unthinkable, it becomes your wish to be able to see yourself in the same spot, just for a photograph perhaps. This gave rise to the trend of fandom vacations where people choose the spot on the basis of these shoot locations. Keeping these in mind, tour operators also build fandom trails highlighting shooting spots and their original history to garner more audience and visitors.
When you mention glowcations, the idea of skincare flashes in front of your eyes. And that is just what the trend means. Right from K-beauty encouraging travels to Korea to Ayurvedic treatments seeing a queue of people in South India or Sri Lanka, all beauty conscious travellers are leaning towards this trend which is still in its nascent stage.
If you start feeling worn out due to stress or work pressure, you can enrol in a wellness retreat. These retreats are of various types, including holistic, health-related, culinary, literary and more. Not only do you get to meet new people, but you also take it slow and contemplate on your own positioning in life. Some wellness retreats are so curated that they throw in some sightseeing on the schedule which makes it look like you have taken a step to unwind and also explored a new destination.
Earlier, travelling to a new destination meant incorporating all things to see and do in a short span of time. But today, travelling has become micro-curated. It might mean you are interested to go to a place to visit three temples or just for shopping.
These account for slow travel, where you have a few pointers to tick off from your bucket list; while most of the time you are free to explore a place through on-spot plans. If you feel like doing absolutely nothing, then you can take your time and unwind at the resort- most of which are equipped with walking or cycling pathways, culinary workshops, private beaches, cultural performances, spa, gyms, outdoor games and activities etc.
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.