Editors’ travel secret

A lot of travelers still plan holidays like a grocery list: museum, cathedral, famous square, done by 4 p.m. The travel advice surfacing this week points the other way: build the trip around one person’s tastes, one neighborhood, or one odd local ritual, and the memories tend to stick longer. (booking.com) That idea is landing in a travel market that is fuller than it was before the pandemic. United Nations Tourism said international travel reached about 1.4 billion arrivals in 2024, which was 99% of 2019 levels, so the old “see the top 10 sights” playbook now often means longer lines and more crowded photos. (untourism.int) Crowding is pushing travelers toward smaller choices inside bigger trips. Expedia’s 2025 trend report says 63% of consumers were likely to visit a “detour destination,” meaning a less famous place added onto a classic itinerary like Paris plus Reims or Cancun plus Cozumel. (expedia.com) The shift is not just about geography. Booking.com said its 2025 research, based on more than 27,000 travelers across 33 countries, found rising demand for authentic and off-the-beaten-path experiences instead of standard sightseeing templates. (booking.com) Airbnb saw the same pull toward local texture in summer travel. Its newsroom said 1 in 5 guests globally chose Airbnb over other accommodation types because they wanted a local travel experience, and it highlighted interest in less crowded food destinations rather than the usual culinary capitals. (airbnb.com) That helps explain why travel editors keep nudging readers away from checklist tourism. A handmade market at 8 a.m., a neighborhood bakery with six stools, or a ferry ride commuters actually use gives you a story with a shape, while the 300th photo of a landmark usually blurs into every other trip. (booking.com) The industry is already packaging this instinct back to travelers as a product. Forbes’ 2025 travel trends coverage described “hyper-personalisation” as a major demand shift, with companies selling curated and bespoke itineraries built around interests like food, wellness, or local craft instead of broad luxury alone. (forbes.com) There is also a practical reason this style of trip feels better on the ground. Which? said its recent analysis of European tourism data found some of the worst overtourism pressure in the continent’s most famous hotspots, which makes the quieter side street, secondary town, or niche tour not just more original but often easier to enjoy. (which.co.uk) So the new travel flex is not “I saw everything.” It is “I found the one thing that fit me,” whether that is a midnight food stall, a tiny island beyond the headline destination, or a museum so specific that only 40 people visit it before lunch. (expedia.com)