Forbes lists eight coolcations for 2026

Forbes did not appear to publish a new April 2026 list of eight “coolcations.” The clearest Forbes reporting tied to this claim is a June 17, 2025 article showing the coolcation trend gaining traction through airline and booking data. (forbes.com) In that Forbes piece, David Nikel defined coolcations as trips to cooler climates instead of the usual summer beach break. He pointed to travelers shifting from the Mediterranean toward Scandinavia, especially Norway. (forbes.com) The most concrete numbers came from Scandinavian airline SAS. Forbes reported summer 2025 bookings from France to Norway were up 22% from a year earlier, while Kristiansand saw a 52% jump in arrivals from Spain, Italy and France. (forbes.com) Forbes also cited a European Travel Commission finding that 28% of European travelers were actively seeking cooler-climate destinations to avoid extreme summer heat. The same article said search interest in coolcation-related terms had grown 300% year over year, and Virtuoso had recorded a 44% increase in bookings to cooler destinations such as Norway, Iceland and Canada. (forbes.com) The backdrop is rising heat and crowding in southern Europe. Another Forbes report from July 2024 said overnight stays in northern Europe since 2019 were up 38% in Denmark, 18% in Norway and 9% in Sweden, while cities such as Paris and Berlin were already hitting 30 degrees Celsius by late June. (forbes.com) That helps explain why “coolcation” has stuck as a travel label. The pitch is less about one definitive Forbes list and more about a measurable change in where summer travelers are looking: north, higher, and away from the hottest, most crowded resort corridors. (forbes.com)