Noctourism? Forest Bathing? 7 Travel Trends You Should Know

Ever heard of sleep tourism? What about blue mind travel? All the noise surrounding the latest travel trends is enough to make your head spin, but some buzzwords describe trends that offer up real value. Adopting these approaches can open us up to new experiences and impart greater meaning on our travels. With that in mind, here are seven travel trends we think you should know.

Slow Travel

Many travelers are eager to check off as many bucket-list attractions as possible on their vacations. It’s easy to understand the motivation, especially if you don’t travel often, have limited vacation days to use, or are jetting off to a faraway destination. But there are some pros to taking your time instead. The increasingly popular practice of “slow travel” encourages you to savor every minute of the journey, making sure you’re present in every place.

Slow travel means connecting mindfully, respectfully, and responsibly with the environment and the people you encounter on your journey. It’s about making memories instead of barreling through bucket lists. It is, ultimately, about genuine discovery.

Forest Bathing

The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, which literally translates to “forest bath,” was first developed in the 1980s. Created as a way to combat urban stressors and city life, forest bathing is a practice that asks you to observe your surroundings using your five senses. By paying close attention to the natural world, forest bathing encourages people to slow down in order to foster a connection to something outside of themselves.

This might mean taking some deep breaths and centering yourself before you observe your surroundings. Next, spend time noticing the colors of the leaves, the smell of the forest floor, or the texture of tree bark. Another helpful tip for forest bathing is to pretend that you’re seeing the woods for the first time and to use this curiosity to consciously connect with nature. 

Blue Mind Travel

It’s not just your imagination: The feeling of calm that washes over us when we’re sunbathing at the beach, enjoying lake life on a boat, or soaking our muscles in a natural hot spring may actually be a semimeditative state affecting our bodies. Late marine biologist Dr. Wallace J. Nichols’ “Blue Mind Theory” suggests that being in or near water can impact overall quality of life by improving focus and creativity, bridging a connection to nature, reducing stress and anxiety, and elevating mood.

Water’s ability to both energize and calm is why many tourists are hopping on the “blue mind travel” trend, seeking vacations near a river, stream, lake, waterfall, or ocean. Many properties around the world specialize in unique water access or treatments so that guests can experience the benefits of blue mind travel.

Noctourism

Nocturnal tourism or noctourism (sometimes called “night tourism”) is a growing travel trend focused on experiences that specifically take place at night. This type of light spectrum-specific travel has gained popularity as travelers search for unique experiences beyond traditional daytime sightseeing. Reasons for noctourism’s growing popularity include avoiding crowds, sheltering from sweltering daytime temperatures, and reveling in the magic of illumination — be it natural or human-made. 

Post-pandemic “revenge travel” led to overcrowding of previously alluring destinations, causing tourists to seek out other destinations with fewer visitors. But hidden gems rarely remain hidden for long, and noctourism can offer travelers a way to see the same sites, at a different time, along with celestial sights that are impossible to view in more populated areas or extravaganzas created specifically to be experienced when the lights are low.

Sleep Tourism

How far would you travel for a good night’s rest? For sleep tourists, the answer is a no-brainer: They’ll go anywhere to catch some z’s — and that’s part of the appeal. “Sleep tourism” is a relatively new facet of the travel industry, but its market value is already estimated at over $640 billion. Hotels in every price range are offering sleep-oriented amenities and services — from handmade Swedish beds to infrared spa treatments, sleep-inducing meals, and even sessions with sleep scientists.

Mystery Tours

Before you visit a new destination, it’s likely that you spend a significant amount of time researching it. You plan which famous landmarks to visit, uncover the coolest secret gems, and book reservations at the best places to eat and sleep. But what if you threw all that out the window and embraced your spontaneous side? That’s exactly the appeal of mystery tours, which are growing in popularity among some travelers.

One high-profile mystery tour was “Destination Unknown,” a unique concept introduced by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) in February 2024. The airline invited members of its loyalty program the chance to book a mystery flight in April to a secret destination. In the end, 180 lucky passengers were randomly chosen to score tickets for the mystery trip. Even the airline’s CEO didn’t know where the plane was headed (fortunately, the pilots did) — and passengers didn’t find out until about two hours into the journey. (The mysterious destination turned out to be Athens, Greece.)

There are several other travel companies that specialize in surprise vacations. With Pack Up + Go, for example, you provide a budget and a few other parameters, and the company plans the entire trip for you — all the details are sealed in an envelope you open right before you depart.

Townsizing

According to Priceline’s 2025 travel trends report, townsizing is all about the search for, or return to, simplicity. Forget the agendas and alarm clocks — townsizing destinations are places that invite you to linger over breakfast, wander without maps and apps, and allow days to unfold naturally. It’s less about checking the boxes of visiting big tourist destinations and popular cities and more about discovering places that are off the tourist radar. 

Townsizing destinations often sit just outside major cities, offering a fresh perspective without the hassle and logistics of a full-blown vacation. You’ll typically find fewer crowds and lower price tags, perfect for budget-friendly and spontaneous trips. That could be a coastal village with a historic lighthouse and a gentle sea breeze or a mountain retreat close to hiking trails and fishing spots. It’s all about local businesses, traffic-free roads, and easy access to the countryside.