2026 is the year of 'travel without a reason'

Travelers are seeking more personalized experiences that go beyond pre-planned itineraries, according to the 10th annual Travel Trends Forecast from online travel platform Booking.com, which has just been released.

Technology and a social desire for exploration are gradually redefining modern long-distance travel - Photo: Getty Images

In its 10th year, Booking.com's travel trend forecast continues to highlight the rapid changes in the travel market and the challenges businesses face in adapting to meet new demands.

Setting off "without a reason"

Accordingly, in 2026, travelers will say no to conventional travel experiences and aim to pursue their own unique passions.

As a result, Vietnamese travelers will be making their own decisions about when and why they travel. Celebratory trips are no longer limited to traditional celebrations such as weddings, honeymoons, or baby showers.

In particular, technology will play a crucial role in helping travelers experience "ultra-personalized" trips.

"One thing we noticed is that 86% of travelers will use AI or apps to understand how their skin will react to the weather in the destination," Mr. Branavan Aruljothi - Country Manager in Vietnam of Booking.com - shared at the announcement in Ho Chi Minh City on December 9.

The report noted that “no-reason” travel is on the rise, with 71% of Vietnamese travelers saying they don’t need a specific reason to decide on a trip, and 21% are willing to go to a dream destination without waiting for any traditional milestones.

The wave of travel celebrating personal milestones shows that travelers are confidently honoring their individual achievements in their own way and viewing travel as a form of self-expression. Up to 84% of Vietnamese travelers said they would absolutely book a vacation simply because they have worked hard and deserve to enjoy themselves.

In addition, new reasons for traveling are increasingly popular: celebrating a new job or promotion (33%), marking the end of a relationship (17%), or simply showing off a new outfit (12%), or receiving an unexpected tax refund (7%).

Achievements related to health and well-being are also becoming a strong motivator for travel, with 33% of travelers stating they travel to mark significant health milestones such as successfully quitting alcohol or changing their physique.

At the core of the personal milestone travel trend is traveling for whatever brings joy, honors the self and gives travelers the opportunity to be themselves freely and fully.

A deeper experience

Mr. Branavan Aruljothi said that by 2026, travel will no longer be simply a vacation but will gradually become a way for tourists to express themselves, with travel and discovery itineraries built on personal interests that once seemed too private or too "niche".

Travelers are increasingly turning their trips into a personal experience to test the compatibility of their relationships, to enter a magical romantic world that only exists in books, or to redefine familiar experiences such as long-distance travel, beauty tourism...

Likewise, the way it is experienced also changes.

"Before, every time I went to a new country or city, I always looked for good restaurants and typical local dishes. But now, I not only go there to enjoy the food but also bring special ingredients that are only available in those countries back home to cook my own dishes," Mr. Branavan Aruljothi shared about the current experiential tourism.

The Booking.com Travel Trend Forecast survey has a scale of nearly 30,000 participants from 33 countries and territories, including 505 people from Vietnam, reflecting partly the travel style and travel preferences of tourists in 2026.

According to Mr. Branavan Aruljothi, the surprising thing is that the trend of Vietnamese tourists is quite close to the trend that is forming in the world.

Over the years, the results from Booking.com's annual Travel Trends Forecast report have predicted many shifts in travel trends, from the "cool-cationers" trend where travelers seek cool destinations to escape the extreme heat, to the Conscious Travelers trend where travelers have a higher awareness of the environment and society in their choice of travel destinations.

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HAI KIM

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/2026-la-nam-cua-nhung-chuyen-di-du-lich-khong-ly-do-20251209201719351.htm