The new year is coming at us fast: 2026, here we come! At this time of year the reports and articles about travel trends are rife, and I like to look through them all and see what might be happening in tourism and whether or not I like it (by which I mean, of course, does it fit with a thoughtful travel ethos?).

In this episode, I take you through some of the key trends identified by numerous players in the travel industry and also figure out which destinations are being predicted most often as being 2026 hotspots. I also chat with some experts, starting with Brett Mitchell, Managing Director of Intrepid Travel for Australia and New Zealand, who describes key trends Intrepid has identified and discusses their annual "Not Hot" list. I then chat with Melanie Fish, Vice President of Global PR for the Expedia Group, who explains how their "Unpack 26" study has included a new feature this year which I particularly like.

Links:
Intrepid Travel's Not Hot List 2026 - https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/newsroom/releases/2026-not-hot-list 
Unpack 26 from Expedia - https://www.expedia.co.uk/unpack26/
Hilton 2026 trends report - https://stories.hilton.com/2026-trends
Booking.com 2026 trends report https://news.booking.com/the-era-of-you-bookingcom-predicts-the-top-trends-defining-travel-in-2026-with-individuality-taking-center-stage/
Skyscanner 2026 travel trends - https://www.skyscanner.com.au/travel-trends
Priceline 2026 travel trends - https://www.priceline.com/partner/pcln-promotions-2026-travel-trends-report-pr
Explore Worldwide 2026 travel trends - https://www.exploreworldwide.com.au/travel-trends-2026
Trafalgar 2026 travel trends - https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/2026-travel-trends/
Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2026 - https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel 
Contiki top 2026 travel destinations - https://www.contiki.com/six-two/article/top-travel-destinations-in-2026/
Virtuoso best destinations 2026 - https://www.virtuoso.com/travel/articles/the-best-travel-destinations-2026
Forbes 26 best trips for 2026 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2025/08/21/the-26-best-trips-for-2026-according-to-travel-experts/
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com 
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/371

The new year is coming at us fast: 2026, here we come! At this time of year the reports and articles about travel trends are rife, and I like to look through them all and see what might be happening in tourism and whether or not I like it (by which I mean, of course, does it fit with a thoughtful travel ethos?).
In this episode, I take you through some of the key trends identified by numerous players in the travel industry and also figure out which destinations are being predicted most often as being 2026 hotspots. I also chat with some experts, starting with Brett Mitchell, Managing Director of Intrepid Travel for Australia and New Zealand, who describes key trends Intrepid has identified and discusses their annual "Not Hot" list. I then chat with Melanie Fish, Vice President of Global PR for the Expedia Group, who explains how their "Unpack 26" study has included a new feature this year which I particularly like.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Intrepid Travel's Not Hot List 2026 - <a href="https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/newsroom/releases/2026-not-hot-list">https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/newsroom/releases/2026-not-hot-list</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Unpack 26 from Expedia - <a href="https://www.expedia.co.uk/unpack26/">https://www.expedia.co.uk/unpack26/</a></li>
<li>Hilton 2026 trends report -&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.hilton.com/2026-trends">https://stories.hilton.com/2026-trends</a></li>
<li>Booking.com 2026 trends report <a href="https://news.booking.com/the-era-of-you-bookingcom-predicts-the-top-trends-defining-travel-in-2026-with-individuality-taking-center-stage/">https://news.booking.com/the-era-of-you-bookingcom-predicts-the-top-trends-defining-travel-in-2026-with-individuality-taking-center-stage/</a></li>
<li>Skyscanner 2026 travel trends - <a href="https://www.skyscanner.com.au/travel-trends">https://www.skyscanner.com.au/travel-trends</a></li>
<li>Priceline 2026 travel trends - <a href="https://www.priceline.com/partner/pcln-promotions-2026-travel-trends-report-pr">https://www.priceline.com/partner/pcln-promotions-2026-travel-trends-report-pr</a></li>
<li>Explore Worldwide 2026 travel trends - <a href="https://www.exploreworldwide.com.au/travel-trends-2026">https://www.exploreworldwide.com.au/travel-trends-2026</a></li>
<li>Trafalgar 2026 travel trends - <a href="https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/2026-travel-trends/">https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/2026-travel-trends/</a></li>
<li>Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2026 - <a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel">https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Contiki top 2026 travel destinations - <a href="https://www.contiki.com/six-two/article/top-travel-destinations-in-2026/">https://www.contiki.com/six-two/article/top-travel-destinations-in-2026/</a></li>
<li>Virtuoso best destinations 2026 - <a href="https://www.virtuoso.com/travel/articles/the-best-travel-destinations-2026">https://www.virtuoso.com/travel/articles/the-best-travel-destinations-2026</a></li>
<li>Forbes 26 best trips for 2026 - <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2025/08/21/the-26-best-trips-for-2026-according-to-travel-experts/">https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2025/08/21/the-26-best-trips-for-2026-according-to-travel-experts/</a></li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a></li>
<li>Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/371">https://notaballerina.com/371</a></li>
</ul>

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.

Tales from travel-lovers about why we travel and what we learn from it.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

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