Skyscanner and Expedia have crunched the search data: these are the 12 fastest-growing destinations for 2027, from Bishkek and Malmö to Lake Tahoe and Hyogo, with concrete tips on what to do there.
In short
• Fastest-growing (Skyscanner): Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, with flight searches up 501%.
• Expedia's destination of the year: South Lake Tahoe, California, up 195%, ahead of Hyogo, Japan.
• Winter sun without a long flight: Hurghada in Egypt and Sal in Cape Verde.
• Fewer crowds, plenty to do: Trapani in Sicily, Samos and Hyogo.
• Northern lights: Kittilä and Levi in Finnish Lapland, best from September to March.
The fastest-growing destinations for 2027 are Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, with flight searches up 501% on Skyscanner, and South Lake Tahoe in California, with searches up 195% on Expedia. Hurghada, Malmö, Trapani, Samos, Chongqing, Da Nang, Sal, Kittilä, Guatemala City and Hyogo in Japan are also surging.
So the places people will flock to in 2027 are not Paris, Rome or Tokyo. They are a Central Asian capital, a port city in Sicily, a Swedish city with a sauna in the sea and a lake on the border between California and Nevada.
Both companies released their 2027 trend reports in October 2026. Skyscanner ranked destinations by the year-on-year rise in return flight searches. Expedia looked at flight and accommodation searches from 1 September 2025 to 27 July 2026, compared with the same period a year earlier. The message is the same: travellers want new places, with fewer crowds and better value.
Here are the 12 destinations to watch in 2027, and what you should actually do when you get there.
The percentages show the increase in return flight searches compared with the year before, based on Skyscanner's UK search data. Other markets have other winners: Italian travellers sent Sal in Cape Verde up 339%, while Canadians put Cardiff on top.
This year's big surprise, by a wide margin. Kyrgyzstan's capital got a boost from the BBC series Race Across the World, but the real draw is the setting. Ala-Archa National Park, with glaciers and alpine trails, is less than an hour's drive from the city centre. Spend a morning in the vast Osh Bazaar, and if you travel in early autumn, look out for the eagle-hunting festivals around Song-Kul Lake.
Good to know: Many nationalities can visit Kyrgyzstan visa-free, but check the current rules before you book. Summer and early autumn are best for hiking.
Hurghada is no secret, but it is one of the most reliable places for winter sun within a five-to-six-hour flight of much of Europe. The Red Sea is famous for crystal-clear water, and a boat trip to the protected Giftun Islands gives you some of the best snorkelling you can do without a diving licence. Leave the resort one evening and eat in El Dahar, the old town with bazaars and local restaurants.
Good to know: The sea is warm enough for swimming most of the year. On land, November to April is the most comfortable.
New flight routes have made Malmö easier to reach, and searches have more than doubled. Do as the locals do: book a sauna at Ribersborgs Kallbadhus, the open-air bathhouse out on the pier, and jump into the Øresund. Then eat falafel, which is almost the city's national dish. Copenhagen is 35 minutes away by train, so you can easily take in two countries on one long weekend.
The western tip of Sicily is having a moment. Take the cable car up to the medieval hilltop town of Erice, watch the sunset over the windmills and salt pans, and catch the ferry to Favignana for turquoise coves. San Vito Lo Capo, one of Sicily's best beaches, is about an hour away by car.
New flight routes have put this green, mountainous island on the map. Samos is the birthplace of Pythagoras and home to the UNESCO-listed Tunnel of Eupalinos, a kilometre-long aqueduct dug through a mountain in the 6th century BC. Swim beneath the waterfalls at Potami, and end the day in the fishing village of Kokkari.
A megacity built on steep hills where two rivers meet. After dark, Chongqing looks like the set of a science fiction film. Head to Hongyadong for the illuminated stilt houses, ride the cable car across the Yangtze, and try the city's famous numbing hotpot.
Good to know: China has expanded visa-free entry and transit rules for many countries. Check what applies to your passport before you book.
Da Nang combines a long city beach with easy day trips. Walk across the Golden Bridge, held up by giant stone hands in the Ba Na Hills, explore the Marble Mountains, and take a short trip to the lantern-lit old town of Hoi An.
Sal is winter sun without jet lag for Europeans: the island is only one to two hours behind most European time zones, and it is summer all year, with around 25°C even in January. Santa Maria has a long white beach and some of the best kitesurfing conditions in the Atlantic. Float in the salt crater at Pedra de Lume, where the water is so salty you cannot sink.
Kittilä Airport is the gateway to Levi, one of the largest ski resorts in Finnish Lapland. Come for husky and reindeer safaris, snow-covered forest trails and, from September to March, a good chance of seeing the northern lights.
Good to know: Book December early. Christmas week is the busiest and most expensive time of year. If you would rather get your festive fix in a city, see our guide to Europe's best Christmas markets 2026.
Guatemala City is the country's main gateway. Most travellers head straight on to the colonial town of Antigua, an hour away, where volcanoes rise behind the cobbled streets. From there, Lake Atitlán and its villages are a few hours further.
Expedia's destinations of the year barely overlap with Skyscanner's list, which says a lot about how strong the appetite for new places is. Two of them stand out.
Expedia's number one. North America's largest alpine lake works all year round: skiing at Heavenly in winter, kayaking and paddleboarding on crystal-clear water in summer. Drive the road along Emerald Bay for the classic viewpoint, and walk across the state line into Nevada in the middle of town.
If Kyoto and Tokyo feel too crowded, Hyogo is the answer. The prefecture is home to Himeji Castle, Japan's most impressive original castle, the hot-spring town of Arima Onsen and the port city of Kobe, famous for its beef. Kobe is about 30 minutes by train from Osaka.
Also on Expedia's list: Busan (South Korea), Punta del Este (Uruguay), Sedona (Arizona), Perugia (Italy) and Chichester (England).
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Travelling by exchange rate. Skyscanner calls them Currency Chasers: travellers who choose places where their money goes further. On Skyscanner's best-value destinations list, airfares to Bilbao are down 66% and to Wrocław down 47%.
Fully offline. More people are planning trips where the phone stays switched off. Lapland, Kyrgyzstan and the quieter Greek islands are perfect for it.
Shopping with a purpose. According to Skyscanner's trend report, 43% of travellers say they have travelled somewhere to buy something they could not get online, from local crafts to regional clothing.
Travel inspired by the screen. Expedia calls it set-jetting. Searches for Monaco on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo rose by more than 120% in the 30 days after Emily in Paris confirmed filming there.
Book early for the trending places. Prices on new, popular routes tend to climb as demand picks up.
Travel in shoulder season. Trapani and Samos in May or late September give you a warm sea without peak-season prices.
Pair a trending spot with a classic. Malmö and Copenhagen, Da Nang and Hoi An, Hyogo and Osaka.
Keep your ideas in one place. Save the restaurants, viewpoints and day trips you find while reading, and half the planning is done by the time you book.
Plan your 2027 trip with Travel Outenza. Save places from this list, build a day-by-day plan and invite your travel companions, all in one app. Download it free from the App Store and Google Play.
Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan tops Skyscanner's list with a 501% rise in flight searches. On Expedia, South Lake Tahoe in California leads with a 195% increase.
South Lake Tahoe in California is number one, with searches up 195%, ahead of Hyogo in Japan at 95%. The list is based on flight and accommodation searches on Expedia from September 2025 to July 2026.
Samos, Trapani, Hyogo and Sal offer big experiences with far fewer tourists than their better-known neighbours.
Hurghada in Egypt and Sal in Cape Verde are warm all winter and have little or no time difference from most of Europe.
Kittilä and Levi in Finnish Lapland are on the rise. September to March gives you the best chance.
According to Skyscanner, airfares have fallen the most to Bilbao in Spain (down 66%) and Wrocław in Poland (down 47%) compared with the year before.
Collect the places that inspire you, build a day-by-day itinerary and keep every ticket, booking and note in one place.
Free to start. Save the places from this article to a trip, plan your days and share the trip with your travel companions.
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
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