Today, travel is no longer simply moving from one place to another. When approached with awareness, it becomes an expression of values, choices, and identity. Experiences now matter as much as, and often more than, the destinations themselves.
In 2025, new trends emerged: from noctotourism to AI-curated flights to adventures across the world’s colder regions. Which of these will endure, and which will evolve?
After years marked by rebooting, recalibrating, and rediscovering slow travel, journeys have become more mindful and personal. People travel to learn, to restore themselves, to reconnect with nature or local communities. Data from the 45th BIT and major industry observatories point to tourism that is increasingly thematic, sustainable, and identity-driven. Five trends capture how we travel today, and how we may be travelling in 2026.
Traveling by Night: The Magic of Noctotourism
Seeing the world after dark is becoming the new frontier of experiential travel. From chasing the Northern Lights in Iceland and Finland to night safaris in Zambia or Kenya, to stargazing walks across the deserts of Wadi Rum or Atacama, nighttime experiences are on the rise.
Noctotourism appeals to travelers seeking silence, authenticity, and wonder. More than 60% say they’d choose destinations with low light pollution just to admire the night sky. The trend speaks to a desire to slow down, reconnect with nature, and capture spectacular nightscapes to share online, a blend of introspection and inspiration.
AI and Personalization: Travel, Tailored
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we plan our trips. From choosing a destination to booking a flight, everything becomes smoother and more personalized. Virtual assistants learn tastes and habits, suggest itineraries in real time, and optimize costs and travel times. In 2025, major digital platforms introduced predictive travel tools, systems capable of proposing experiences based on the traveler’s mood, the weather, or physical condition. But travel tech isn’t just about convenience: it drives sustainability too, reducing waste, improving energy efficiency, and encouraging smarter mobility choices.
Slow, Green, Regenerative
After the age of overtourism, the world is rediscovering the joy of “less but better.” Regenerative tourism goes beyond minimizing harm, it actively gives back. Reforestation initiatives, zero-impact farm stays, and immersive programs led by local communities highlight a new ethic of travel. Today’s traveler wants to leave a positive trace. They choose greener mobility options, prefer accommodations powered by renewables, and support biodiversity protection projects. According to the UNWTO, 68% of global travelers now prioritize sustainably certified destinations. Bhutan, Slovenia, and Iceland are leading this gentle revolution.
Cold, Extreme, Authentic: The Allure of the North
From Norway to Greenland, from Canada to Alaska’s frozen wilderness, journeys into the world’s cold regions have become the new symbol of authenticity. Harsh climates, shifting light, and the silence of fjords and snowy expanses attract those seeking experiences far removed from mass tourism. The appetite for “extreme places” is also a way to test physical and mental limits and to engage with nature in new ways: glacier treks, under-ice dives, igloo resorts, and wellness experiences inspired by cryotherapy. It’s the new adventure of conscious comfort.
Fluid, Intermodal Mobility: Travel Without Interruptions
Today’s travel is measured not just in miles, but in the quality and continuity of the journey. Mobility is evolving into an integrated ecosystem: shared electric cars, urban shuttles, interconnected public transport, smart airport links, all working together to accompany travelers seamlessly from door to destination. This isn’t just about sustainability, but also about ease. Personalized routes, flexible pathways, and coordinated digital hubs make every transfer frictionless. For airports and motorways, this creates new opportunities: more efficient hubs, smart parking, rapid charging, digital assistance, and connected infrastructure. Travel becomes a continuous experience, where transport is not a separate phase but an integral part of the adventure, a fusion of technological innovation, logistical efficiency, and environmental responsibility.
Looking Toward 2026: A Tourism That Reflects Who We Are
Industry insights, from Hilton and Trafalgar reports to previews from Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2026, reveal the rise of a new generation of purpose-driven travelers. People no longer travel just to see, but to understand, to contribute, to feel part of something larger. Technology continues to redraw the boundaries of experience: augmented reality, AI, and immersive digital environments don’t replace physical travel, they amplify it. The result is a hybrid form of tourism that blends the real and the digital without losing authenticity.
On the mobility front, 2026 will further consolidate the shift toward sustainable, interconnected infrastructure. Trains remain central, but multimodal mobility is gaining ground: shared electric vehicles, urban micromobility, and flexible solutions designed to cut time, emissions, and waste.
Hospitality is evolving too. Hotels and resorts are becoming community spaces where design meets sustainability, and where “living local” replaces traditional consumer-style tourism. Economic mindfulness is also influencing travel habits: fewer rushed getaways, more meaningful experiences, more value given to time and relationships. Overall, 2026 is poised to be the year when travel becomes a mirror of personal identity. Journeys will no longer be an escape, but a reconnection, with oneself, with others, with the world. A form of tourism that doesn’t just show places, but reveals who we are becoming.