‘Coolcations’ Are Rising

Travelers are increasingly planning summer trips around temperature, not just price or school calendars, as “coolcations” gain ground in 2026. (openjaw.com) Trip.com Group said searches for cooler destinations and “coolcations” rose 74% year over year since the start of 2026. The company also said those searches jumped 237% from June through August 2025 versus the same period in 2024. (openjaw.com) The same data showed stronger summer flight bookings to Iceland, Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland and Wales. Iceland, where average summer temperatures run about 11 degrees Celsius, posted an 85% increase in air searches for summer 2026. (openjaw.com) The shift is happening alongside another reality: many Americans still want the classic beach trip. Tripadvisor said on April 22 that Myrtle Beach led U.S. summer destination searches, while East Coast and Florida beaches dominated domestic demand. (prnewswire.com) Tripadvisor said Cancun was the top international destination for U.S. travelers for the third straight year. For domestic holiday travel, beach markets including Clearwater, Florida, also ranked among the most in-demand spots around the Fourth of July. (prnewswire.com) Heat and weather risk are becoming part of trip planning well beyond one search trend. Booking.com said 74% of travelers globally now consider extreme weather when choosing a destination and 74% also consider it when choosing when to travel. (booking.com) Booking.com also said 31% of travelers had canceled a trip because of extreme weather risk, often before departure. More than half of respondents said extreme weather is a major stressor in travel planning. (booking.com) That is feeding changes in how trips are built. Euronews, citing Booking.com’s 2026 Travel & Sustainability Report, reported that travelers are increasingly choosing off-season departures, less crowded destinations and itineraries designed to spread tourism pressure more evenly. (euronews.com) The same report said 85% of surveyed travelers consider sustainable travel important or very important. In practice, that includes avoiding overtouristed places entirely or combining stops in ways that reduce repeat flights and concentrate spending across more destinations. (euronews.com) For summer 2026, the market is splitting rather than fully shifting: beach demand remains strong, but more travelers are adding temperature, crowding and disruption risk to the list of things they check before booking. (prnewswire.com; openjaw.com; booking.com)