Travel has never been easier to research and execute. Between Google searches, news alerts, and whatever algorithm has been quietly cataloging your saved lists, travelers now have a constant feed of the coolest, most remote, and most exclusive destinations and properties on the planet. For anyone with the means and the will, almost nothing feels off-limits — the options are effectively limitless. And yet, despite all that access, the luxury travel advisors in my orbit are seeing some very specific trends take shape so far in 2026.
Travel trends at the moment are less about generic “bucket list” destinations and more about what people want to feel or do (or avoid!) once they get there. Trips are increasingly being planned around a mood, a hobby, or a wellness goal — or even the desire to be absolutely unreachable and off the grid for a few days. Below is the full list of luxury travel trends we’re tracking in 2026.
Dusking
(chrisdonaldsonmedia / Adobe Stock)
“Dusking” is the latest travel term that’s both catchy and literal: it’s about building a trip (or part of a trip) around dusk itself. The trend is less about chasing one perfect sunset photo and more about intentionally slowing down to watch and feel the day turn into night, ideally without a phone in hand.
Recent travel coverage describes it as a wellness-adjacent habit rooted in presence, stillness and the appeal of cooler, quieter evening hours, especially as heat and over-tourism push travelers away from the middle of the day. In practical planning terms, dusking travel favors places with stunning views and good light — anywhere from coastal cliffs to desert landscapes to city rooftops.
Set-Jetting
Set-jetting is travel inspired by the locations where big name movies and TV shows were filmed. It’s a style of travel that’s not necessarily new — Star Wars and Lord of Rings are two that have brought tourists to Tunisia and New Zealand for decades — but it has evolved well beyond fans simply taking a photo where a scene was filmed. Expedia says the trend continues to shape demand, with accommodation searches rising around specific releases and a projected multibillion-dollar impact in the U.S. alone.
What makes it especially hot now is that travelers are not just visiting the specific filming locations, rather they are trying to step into the mood of a show or film as part of the extended trip: a windswept coastal hideout, a glamorous and epic 5-star hotel, a fantasy landscape, a rural village with cinematic charm. The destination becomes part souvenir, part fantasy fulfillment.
Dark Sky Travel
Dark sky travel sits at the intersection of nature, wellness and a growing desire to escape overstimulating destinations. Booking.com’s travel predictions identified “noctourism” as a rising force, with more than 60% of surveyed travelers saying they were considering destinations with limited light pollution.
DarkSky International now lists more than 200 certified Dark Sky Places globally for this type of travel. The trend is partly about stargazing, but not only that. It is also about cooler evenings, slow itineraries and the appeal of places where darkness itself is the true, priceless luxury because so few travelers experience it in everyday life.
Dead-Zoning
(Человек с Земли С / Adobe Stock)
Dead-zoning is the harder-edged cousin of the digital detox. Priceline’s 2026 trend report uses the term for trips built around being genuinely unreachable, often in remote destinations where weak signal is part of the appeal, not an inconvenience. The idea is not just to use your phone less. It is to choose a place that makes work calls, notifications and compulsive checking of apps feel impossible — or at least deeply inconvenient. In an era when many vacations still get interrupted by Slack, email and group chats, dead-zoning turns disconnection into the main feature.
Wellness Travel
(Jaroslav Moravcik / Adobe Stock)
Wellness travel is no longer limited to yoga retreats and green juices on hotel menues. Booking.com’s 2026 predictions pointed to rising interest in longevity-focused trips, including experiences centered on physical and mental well-being, while McKinsey’s wellness survey found younger generations are especially likely to travel for wellness retreats.
What has changed in recent years is the sheer breadth of the category: it can mean a sleep-focused resort, a spa-and-hiking reset, a women’s or men’s mental health retreat, thermal bathing, meditation or simply a trip chosen because it supports how someone wants to feel when they come home. Many premiere hotels and resorts are now creating and offering high-end wellness programs customized for indivdual guests as part of their offering of ammenities. All in all, the wellness category in 2026 has become less niche and a lot more varied in global options.
Purpose-Driven Travel
This may be the broadest trend on the list, but it may also be the most popular across age groups and traveler demographics. More travelers are starting their plan with the experience they want — seeing the Northern Lights, taking a cooking course, soaking in thermal waters, a multi-day cycling trip, attending a festival — and only then asking where that experience can best be had. The trend describes a move toward more individual, passion-led trips, with a growing focus on meaning and purpose in travel. In short, the destination is no longer always the headline. Often, it just happens to be the setting for a very specific desire.
The common thread across all of these is that travel is becoming more selective and more personal. People still want beautiful places — they always will — but, increasingly, they want those places to deliver a particular feeling, narrative or function. Trips in 2026 are starting with intent, whatever that may be, then working backward from there to make the dream a reality.
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