If you feel like everyone around you is talking about travel right now, it’s because they are. A survey American Express ran in 2025 found that basically the entire planet—99 percent of respondents—was already thinking about their next trip. That tracks. People want out. Sometimes to somewhere quiet, sometimes somewhere loud, sometimes somewhere they’ve already been but want to see differently.
American Express Travel puts out a Trending Destinations list every year, and the 2026 version pulls from actual booking data and real conversations their travel advisors are having on the ground. It’s not about fantasy trips. It’s about where people are actually pointing their money and time next. Early February 2026 might’ve been cold in New Jersey, but these are the places people are escaping to the most.
Here’s what made the cut.
1. Okinawa Islands, Japan
Okinawa doesn’t feel like the Japan most people picture. It’s warmer, slower, and way more relaxed. The islands sit far south, closer in spirit to the tropics than Tokyo, and once you’re there, it’s easy to understand the appeal.
People go for the water first. Clear enough to see straight through, calm enough to spend all day in. Snorkeling, diving, floating—whatever pace you’re on works here. Kabira Bay gets all the photos, but the real draw is how easy it is to bounce between beach time and history. Shuri Castle, old Ryukyuan sites, food that doesn’t taste like anything else in the country. Okinawa rewards patience.
2. Indian Himalayas
This one’s for people who want the scale turned all the way up. The Indian Himalayas don’t ease you in. They hit immediately—peaks stacked on peaks, long roads carved into mountains, weather that changes fast.
Places like Ladakh and Sikkim pull travelers in for the monasteries and the rhythm of daily life, while Dharamshala has its own gravity thanks to the Dalai Lama’s presence. Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, but that’s part of the appeal. Snow leopards, ibex, blue sheep—it’s a region where nature doesn’t perform on schedule.
3. Marbella, Spain
Marbella has figured out how to live in two modes at once. You can do beach mornings and late nights without ever feeling like you picked the wrong version of the town.
The old town is the anchor—tight streets, white walls, orange trees, places that make you slow down without asking. Then there’s Puerto Banús, which is the opposite: yachts, cars, restaurants that know exactly what they’re doing. Marbella works because you can slide between both without effort.
4. Killarney, Ireland
Killarney feels like the Ireland people imagine before they arrive. Green everywhere. Lakes that look unreal when the light hits right. Old stone buildings that don’t need explaining.
It sits along the Ring of Kerry, which already guarantees traffic, but the town holds its own. Pubs fill up. Locals linger. Once you head into the national park, things open up fast—red deer, long walks, places like Muckross House that quietly remind you how much history is packed into a small area.
5. Las Vegas, Nevada
Vegas isn’t subtle, and it doesn’t pretend to be. That’s why it still works.
American Express data showed it was the most-booked hotel destination in 2024, and that’s not shocking. Shows rotate constantly. Restaurants come and go at speed. Shopping is everywhere. The Strip is still the Strip, but the city keeps finding new ways to keep people moving through it. The monorail helps, too.
6. Papagayo Peninsula, Costa Rica
Papagayo is where people go when they want nature without roughing it. The peninsula sits inside a protected area, so the wildlife shows up whether you’re looking for it or not.
Monkeys in the trees. Sloths doing sloth things. Beaches that stay quiet even when resorts are full. Most days are simple: water in the morning, shade in the afternoon, dinner when the heat breaks. Places like El Mangroove lean into that rhythm instead of fighting it.
7. Marrakech, Morocco
Marrakech is busy in the best way. Sounds, smells, movement—everything overlaps.
The medina pulls you in fast, and the souks don’t let go. Textiles, metalwork, pottery, things you didn’t know you wanted until you’re holding them. Koutoubia Mosque towers over the city, and Jemaa el-Fnaa changes personalities depending on the hour. Calm during the day, alive at night.
8. San Juan Mountains, Colorado
The San Juans don’t try to impress. They just exist at full volume.
High peaks, open roads, lakes that feel untouched. The San Juan Skyway is worth the drive alone, especially when the colors shift. Some people come for hiking, others for off-roading, others just to be somewhere that feels bigger than they are. Mesa Verde sits nearby as a reminder that people have been moving through this land long before it was a destination.
9. St. Julian’s, Malta
St. Julian’s runs on contrast. Calm water during the day, loud nights once the sun drops.
Spinola Bay is the center of it all—walkable, scenic, and easy to settle into. The promenade fills up around sunset, and once it gets dark, Paceville takes over with bars, clubs, and live music packed close together. You can dip in or go all in. In 2024, the island nation of Malta brought in over 3.5 million visitors, a marked improvement over 2019’s 2.75 million. Although reports are not in yet, more people likely visited Malta in 2025 than the year previous.
10. Panama City, Panama
The skyline gets attention, but the canal steals it back. Watching ships move through the locks never gets old, no matter how long you stand there.
What sticks with people, though, is how much variety fits into one place. Food from everywhere. Neighborhoods that shift block by block. And then there’s Metropolitan Natural Park—right in the city, full of trees, birds, and animals that don’t care you’re nearby. Panama City isn’t polished. It’s functional, global, and constantly in motion.
That’s what people are circling for 2026. Not perfect destinations. Just places that feel worth the trip.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.