Travel trends have a habit of pretending they are discoveries when, in truth, they are confirmations of where money is moving, where confidence is returning, and where consumers with both time and capital believe the world is still worth engaging with.
American Express’ newly released 2026 Trending Destinations list is precisely that: a data-backed snapshot of how, and where, the affluent global traveller intends to roam next. Drawn from worldwide Card Member bookings across 2025 and the counsel of Amex’s international travel consultants, the list reads less like a bucket list and more like a commercial map of post-pandemic confidence.
The ten destinations tipped to dominate travel demand in 2026 are:
Indian Himalayas; Killarney in Ireland; Las Vegas in the United States; Marrakech in Morocco; Marbella in Spain; Japan’s Okinawa Islands; Panama City; Costa Rica’s Papagayo Peninsula; Colorado’s San Juan Mountains; and St Julian’s in Malta.
At first glance, it appears eclectic. On closer reading, it is remarkably consistent: destinations offering either cultural depth, pristine natural isolation, established luxury infrastructure, or all three at once.
Why the world still wants to go somewhere it has never been
Despite inflation, geopolitical uncertainty and lingering airline capacity issues, the psychology of the long-haul traveller remains stubbornly optimistic. According to a 2025 Amex survey, 89 per cent of respondents say they feel more excited when travelling to a destination they have never previously visited.
The old instinct for discovery has not dulled. It has simply become better funded.
Some travellers are chasing altitude and silence in the Indian Himalayas. Others are drifting toward the green theatre of lakes and mountains in Killarney, where Ireland’s tourism economy now thrives as much on film crews as on fly-fishers. Meanwhile, the world’s most unapologetic entertainment capital, Las Vegas, continues to pull bookings with dependable consistency.
Las Vegas remains, tellingly, the most booked hotel destination by American Express Card Members through Amex Travel in 2024, a statistic that says less about gambling and more about Vegas’ success in reinventing itself as a dining, entertainment and major-events hub.
Hedonism at one end, hermitage at the other
The great paradox of modern travel demand is that extravagance and retreat are rising simultaneously.
At one end of the spectrum sits Marbella, which blends old Andalusian bones with the conspicuous polish of European coastal wealth. At the other are places such as Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, where the draw is silence, snowfall and isolation rather than spectacle.
Japan’s Okinawa Islands, scattered across more than 160 subtropical outcrops, represent another strain altogether: experiential travel anchored in water, food, and an ancient local identity that has survived modern tourism remarkably intact.
These are not destinations accidentally grouped. They reflect a post-pandemic recalibration in how travellers place value: fewer countries per trip, fewer checklists, more immersion.
Hotels are no longer just accommodation.
One quiet but powerful driver behind the 2026 list is the growing dominance of hotel-led travel ecosystems. Over the past year, American Express has added more than 400 new properties to its Fine Hotels + Resorts and Hotel Collection programs, bringing the global portfolio to more than 3,100 curated hotels across 114 countries.
This is not merely an expansion. It is the vertical integration of the traveller’s experience from airfare to pillow choice.
“Travel is an incredible passion for our Card Members and we know they are looking for curated inspiration for the range of trips they want to take,” said Audrey Hendley, president of American Express Travel. “The 2026 Trending Destinations list offers that curated inspiration and booking with Amex Travel offers premium benefits and experiences that we know are meaningful to Card Members.”
The return of local character – not just luxury
Perhaps the most revealing data point in the release is not geographic at all. Eighty-seven per cent of surveyed travellers now prioritise hotels with locally inspired design and cultural elements, while 79 per cent actively seek unique itineraries and non-standard accommodation.
The age of generic luxury is visibly waning.
In Malta, the Phoenicia-Malta embeds travellers in local history rather than sealing them off from it. In Panama City, the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo occupies a renovated social club within the city’s historic district, a deliberate refusal to separate accommodation from cultural context.
What the data suggests is not simply a preference for charm. It suggests fatigue with sameness.
Hidden gems now outperform headline resorts.
Equally telling is the rejection of conspicuous tourism. Eighty per cent of respondents now favour so-called “hidden gem” properties over mass-market resorts.
Discretion has become the new luxury signal.
That preference has elevated properties such as Dunton Hot Springs in Colorado, an isolated alpine retreat built around restored mining cabins, and The Killarney Park Hotel, whose value lies precisely in its lack of spectacle.
These destinations do not advertise loudly. They reward lingering.
Food has become the primary driver.
Once a supporting factor, cuisine now drives destination selection in its own right. Seventy-two per cent of respondents ranked food and social life among their top three decision influences, eclipsing shopping and even weather.
Marbella’s gastronomic revival is being reinforced by boutique properties such as La Fonda Heritage Hotel. At the same time, Las Vegas’ culinary economy, anchored by more than 20 restaurant venues at Wynn and Encore alone, has become a tourism industry in its own right.
In practical terms, cities now market their kitchens before their beaches.
Family travel is no longer second-tier
Another structural change underpinning the 2026 outlook is the commercial maturation of family travel. Among Millennials and Gen Z now entering their peak earning years, family-specific facilities rank among the most decisive factors in booking decisions.
The response from hotels has been commercial, not sentimental. In Okinawa, Rosewood Miyakojima now offers daily structured cultural and environmental programs through an Explorer’s Club. In Costa Rica, Andaz Peninsula Papagayo operates a thoroughly segmented family zone, complete with kids’ club, family pools and water-sport infrastructure.
Families now travel as revenue engines, not discounted segments.
What this means for Australia’s outbound market
For the Australian travel sector airlines, wholesalers, insurers and high-end agents alike, the Amex list operates as an advanced indicator of where outbound dollars will shift over the next 18 to 36 months.
The preference for authenticity over spectacle, for immersion over motion, and for discreet luxury over showpiece resorts will shape everything from aircraft deployment to lounge investment and premium cabin pricing.
More quietly, it also reveals something about sentiment. The high-value traveller is no longer travelling to “make up for lost time”. They are travelling to restructure how time itself is used.
A map, not a marketing slogan
American Express insists its 2026 Trending Destinations list is about inspiration. In reality, it is something more instructive: a commercial map drawn in bookings, not adjectives.
It shows where confidence has returned first, where consumers are once again willing to commit six figures to a single journey. Where airlines will follow with aircraft, and where capital will quietly follow with hotels, marinas and restaurants.
From the silence of the San Juan Mountains to the engineered excess of Las Vegas, the world’s next phase of travel is already underway.
It is deliberate. It is curated. And, increasingly, it refuses to be rushed.
by Susan Ng – (c) 2025
Read Time: 6 minutes.
About the Writer
With the polish of an international hotel professional and the heart of a born storyteller, Susan Ng has spent years behind reception desks, in banquet halls, and among linen carts, learning what genuine hospitality feels like, not just looks like. From the first greeting to the last goodnight, she understands that excellence lives in the small, unshowy gestures that linger long after checkout.
Away from the bustle, Susan’s curiosity found another front desk: the blank page. Her candid, thoughtful, sometimes wry blog pieces drew a quiet but loyal readership who sensed the truth behind her words. Today she’s turning that same eye for grace and imperfection toward the written world, offering stories rich in empathy, insight and lived detail. Every time, expect warm, genuine and polished writing like the perfect check-in.
