Picture this: you’re nursing a lukewarm cappuccino in an airport café in Mumbai, glancing at a departure board flickering with gate changes. The hum of trolleys, the occasional boarding announcement in accented English, the faint scent of stale coffee, somehow it all feels cozy. Somewhere between sip three and check-in, a thought forms: travel is shifting. It’s no longer just about ticking countries off a list, but about weaving stories around who you are. The travel trends 2026 whisper exactly that.
Here’s what the Skyscanner travel trends report teases, and why your next trip might look very different (in a good way). First, begin by booking cheap flight tickets online.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- The New Mood: Personalized, Purposeful, Sensory
- Glowmads: Beauty Becomes the Trip
- Self to Shelf Discovery: Food Journeys Off the Beaten Plate
- Altitude Shift: Peace in the Peaks
- Bookbound: Travel Inspired by Stories
- Catching Flights and Feelings: Meeting Souls On the Move
- Family Miles & Destination Check-In
- What It Means for India & Indian Travellers
- Other Travel Trends 2026
- Summing Up:
- Akbar Travels Services
The New Mood: Personalized, Purposeful, Sensory

Image credit: Unsplash/Sunguk Kim
Travel in 2026 isn’t a default; it’s a deliberate choice. The Skyscanner travel trends 2026 from India angle shows that travellers are moving beyond escape. Trips become personal expressions. You choose destinations around a beauty ritual, a book you loved, or a design-heavy hotel. (Yes, the best hotel bookings are now the show, not just somewhere to crash.)
And yes, the word “personal” keeps creeping into every line of the travel trends report. It’s not accidental. Because travellers don’t just go somewhere; they bring themselves along with their unique quirks, moods, and sacred routines.
Glowmads: Beauty Becomes the Trip

Image credit: Unsplash/Rosa Rafael
Maybe you’ve suffered that plane-dry skin, that 3 a.m. mask session in a cramped hotel bathroom. In 2026, that’s not a mishap; it’s part of the plan. Enter Glowmads, the trend where beauty, skincare, and wellness routines become trip drivers. You route your flight so you land near a famed apothecary, or choose a city for its cult K-beauty boutiques.
Imagine strolling Tokyo’s backstreets just to grab a face mask you’ve only seen on Instagram, inhaling that blend of medicinal herbs and humidity. Or soaking in a Korean spa at midnight. It’s not indulgence; it’s part of the journey now.
Self to Shelf Discovery: Food Journeys Off the Beaten Plate

Image credit: Unsplash/Vernon Raineil Cenzon
Restaurants? Sure. But the real adventure now is supermarket alleys, night-market stalls, snack shelves you’d never shop at back home. Shelf Discovery is the trend where food tourism becomes layered, spontaneous, and often delightfully weird.
Explore: A Colourful Journey Through Night Markets in Bali.
Altitude Shift: Peace in the Peaks

Image credit: Unsplash/Fabrizio Conti
Mountains have always been mystical. In 2026, they will become essential. The Altitude Shift trend brings the peace of altitude, offering year-round mountain escapes, away from heat and crowds.
Picture yourself hiking a trail at dawn, mist pooling in valleys, the smell of pine, your breath puffing. Or curling up in a chalet with a fireplace, wind rattling shutters outside. Summers turn colder, crowds thin, and you feel more you. Secure all-inclusive holiday tour packages to begin the climb!
Bookbound: Travel Inspired by Stories

Image credit: Unsplash/Eliott Reyna
You loved a novel set in Lisbon? You’ll trace its alleys. That dusty fantasy you read as a teen? You’ll walk its landscapes. Bookbound means your reading list becomes your itinerary.
It’s the sort of trip where you visit a café a protagonist once drank from, wander library corridors, or retreat to silence and write your own lines. It gives travel a narrative spine.
Explore: Wandering Through Pages: Best Bookstores in New York.
Catching Flights and Feelings: Meeting Souls On the Move

Image credit: Unsplash/NOAA
This is the heart of it: travel is becoming a way to feel and connect. The Catching Flights and Feelings trend highlights how solo travellers (and even couples) now seek serendipity: meeting new people, maybe a “chance soulmate,” or making spontaneous friendships.
814 million+ people in the world, and you think your neighbour’s your soulmate? No right? So, go exploring by applying for online visa services for 180+ countries to find them around the globe.
Family Miles & Destination Check-In

Image credit: Unsplash/Arthur Poulin
Multi-generational trips are getting reimagined. Grandparents, kids, everyone’s included, but not on the same old plan. Family Miles means activities that flex: quiet book corners, nature hikes, and cooking classes.
And hotels are rising to celebrity status, as Destination Check-In means stays are part of the story. You choose your destination because there’s a design hotel, a spa castle, a library retreat. Your sleep becomes part of your experience.
What It Means for India & Indian Travellers
In India, these global trends remix with local flavours; the travel trends 2026 in India breathe in heritage, rituals, and spices. Indian travellers are gravitating toward cultural tourism, such as festivals, tucked-away towns, and traditions.
Also, flights and hotels remain price-sensitive data points. The Skyscanner travel trends India perspective shows many travellers head to price tools and comparison apps, booking early, chasing deals.
So yes, a budget hotel in Udaipur or Goa, or a cheap flight to Goa; that sort of deal still matters. When building that “you” trip, the quieter stays and under-crowded months look smarter.
Other Travel Trends 2026

Image credit: Unsplash/Manuel Moreno
Besides Skyscanner, Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo have also released some travel trends expected to blossom in 2026. They are:
- Fan Voyage: Combining sports events and travel.
- Salvaged Stays: Updated hotels with outdated architecture.
- Hotel Hops: Multiple venue trips.
- Farm Charm: Opting for farms or homestays as hotels.
- Set-Jetting Forecast: Inspired by TV shows or movies.
Let this be a nudge: chart a trip around you. Because International travel trends in 2026 say that this is your chapter.
Summing Up:
In 2026, travel becomes deeply personal. Trends like Glowmads (beauty travel), Shelf Discovery (snack-shop wandering), Altitude Shift (quiet mountains), Bookbound (journeys inspired by literature), and Catching Flights and Feelings (meeting souls on the road) redefine how people roam. In India, cultural richness, price-savvy booking, and immersive stays blend with global vibes. Travel is no longer about escape; it’s about bringing your whole self along.
Also Read:
- Best Places to Travel in 2026 That You’ve Got to Explore Once In a Lifetime!
- Business Travel Trends 2025: What Does the Future Look Like?
- Sleep Tourism: Everything About the Rising Travel Trend!
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