Globetrotting 2026

Every January, travellers start plotting their next big escape, and 2026 is shaping up to be all about longer stays, lighter footprints, and trips built around what you love.

Here are the travel trends set to lead the year.

By Vanessa Rogers on behalf of Executive Placements

Settle in abroad (without paying hotel prices)

‘Why rush?’ is the 2026 travel mood. With remote work and flexible schedules still powering longer trips, home swapping is booming – especially for travellers who want to stay weeks (or months) after they’ve paid for the long-haul flight.

Swap your place back home for someone else’s apartment, townhouse, or cottage abroad, and you can live like a local for a fraction of the cost of hotels or short-term rentals. Platforms like HomeExchange, Love Home Swap, and HomeLink offer membership-based access to global swap communities, which is ideal for slow travellers, families, and digital nomads.

Travel lighter (lower impact, higher meaning)

Sustainability isn’t a niche anymore; it’s a default filter.

As governments and industries push harder toward climate targets and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, travel brands are under pressure to cut emissions – and travellers are choosing experiences that protect places instead of consuming them.

Travel publishers like Lonely Planet continue spotlighting trips that back conservation and community-led tourism. This leads those in travel jobs to suggest:

• hiking and horseback safaris in Kenya that support local guides and habitats;
• Costa Rica stays focused on renewable living and eco-lodges.
• conservation-first whale watching in New Zealand;
• eco-diving in the Caribbean through marine-safe operators; and
• Bhutan for low-volume, high-respect travel – temples, trails, and yak meadows included.

Bottom line: in 2026, ‘bucket list’ looks more like ‘give-back list’.

Head off to the races (sport is the new sightseeing)

Fitness travel has officially become a main character, those in travel jobs are noticing.

As wellness culture keeps growing globally, more travellers are planning trips around events, training, and once-in-a-lifetime sporting moments, not just museums and menus.

That could mean booking packages for:

• golf tournaments (hello, Mauritius);
• MotoGP weekends in Europe;
• major marathons like London – race day and city break in one; and
• cycling trips inspired by iconic events like the Tour de France, with routes built for serious riders.

And for the truly committed: some travellers are even following pro-bodybuilding circuits across the USA and beyond, with gym-first itineraries included.

The takeout?

Travel in 2026 is less about ticking boxes and more about living somewhere new, travelling consciously, and building a trip around your identity – foodie, runner, nature lover, culture chaser, remote worker … you name it.

The world’s still your oyster. You’re just ordering it smarter now.