Travel, hospitality and wellness communications agency Lemongrass Marketing has published its annual travel trend report 2027, identifying 15 trends shaped by five broader forces: human sustainability, depth and meaning, joy and connection, trust in an AI world, and intentional consumption.

According to the report, a common thread runs across all of them: in a world characterised by uncertainty, acceleration and information overload, people are searching for clarity, connection, meaning, hope and a greater sense of balance.

Force 1: Human sustainability

• The Anti-Optimised Holiday - Travellers no longer aspire to return home transformed but truly rested, favouring simpler itineraries, longer stays in fewer places and more unstructured time.
• Nervous System Design - Hotels are rethinking wellbeing through the lens of nervous system health, with wellness becoming part of the architecture, atmosphere and experience of a place. According to the report, 35% more guests choose to spend time in hotel spaces with biophilic elements such as natural lighting, plants and water structures.
• Male Reset - Men are increasingly using travel as a vehicle for physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, with examples including Both Sides Retreats and Broughton Sanctuary’s ZERO Reset Men’s Retreat.
• From “Coolcations” to Adapted Destinations - A cooler destination isn’t necessarily an unaffected one, so beyond escaping the heat, travellers now also consider how prepared destinations are for tumultuous conditions.

Force 2: Depth and meaning

• From Bucket List to Depth List - The shift is from collecting culture to engaging with it, creating opportunities for museums, expert-led experiences, workshops and destinations positioned around ideas, such as Vienna, Oxford and Cascais.
• Citizen Science - Travellers are logging wildlife sightings, collecting water samples and recording bird calls, supported by the Citizen Science Guidance and Implementation Toolkit from Travel by B Corp and the NOVA School of Business and Economics.
• Earned Travel - Travellers are opting out of optimisation in favour of experiences that require effort and engagement, such as Black Tomato’s Get Lost experiences.

Force 3: Joy and connection

• The Joy Economy - Travellers are choosing experiences that simply feel delightful, seeking play, hope, restoration and genuine human interaction over luxury or Instagrammable happiness.
• Storied Landscapes & Mystic Travel - Fantasy and folklore are driving travel to atmospheric places, from VisitScotland’s Outlander campaign to Namibia’s Kwessi Dunes Lodge and Budapest’s Kimpton BEM Hotel.
• Female Narratives - Attention is shifting to who helps travellers understand a place, with female guides, historians, makers and community leaders becoming the protagonists.
• The Giving Journey - Hospitality businesses are creating space for guests to engage with existing local initiatives, with Iberostar’s Wave of Change cited as a blueprint.

Force 4: Trust in an AI world

• Epistemic Vigilance and the AI Trust Gap - As AI-generated recommendations become ubiquitous, first-hand human knowledge takes on greater importance, and trust becomes a point of differentiation for travel brands.

Force 5: Intentional consumption

• Luxury’s Great Trade-Off - Outside the ultra-high-net-worth market, luxury increasingly means combining pricey purchases with inexpensive alternatives, such as flying economy while staying in a top-tier hotel.
• Journeys Without Sacrifice or Sermon - The most sustainable option increasingly wins because it delivers the better experience, with rail travel such as Belmond’s Britannic Explorer chosen for the journey itself.
• Near is the New Far - Short-haul destinations, domestic breaks and regional journeys are more appealing than ever, with 43% of UK adults choosing domestic holidays instead of travelling abroad this year.

Mirjam Peternek McCartney, Founder and CEO of Lemongrass Marketing, said: “AI is not replacing the need for travel expertise; it is increasing the need to know who and what we can trust… In an age of almost limitless information, trust may become travel’s real currency. The brands that matter will be those whose knowledge, judgement and stories are worth believing.”

The report features contributions from industry figures including Levison Wood, Anna Bjurstam of Wahayla, Doug Lansky, Lorna Parkes of National Geographic Traveller (UK), Mike Bevens of Sawday’s, Canopy & Stars and Paws & Stay, and Rochelle Turner of Travel by B Corp.

For more information, visit lemongrassmarketing.com.