While not one Australasian city or region made its top 10 trending destinations for 2026, American Express Travel reckons these hotspots will be on everyone’s travel wish lists next year.
Using American Express card member bookings in 2025 and insights from its global advisor network, Amex Travel has highlighted 10 trending destinations to know in 2026.
In Asia, these include off-the-beaten-path locations, such as the Indian Himalayas, India and the Okinawa Islands, Japan, while Africa’s only entrant was Marrakech, Morocco.
Europe-bound travellers should add Killarney, Ireland; Marbella, Spain; and St Julian’s, Malta to their lists, according to Amex Travel.
In the Americas, Amex travellers are keen on bright lights and natural sights from Las Vegas, Nevada and Panama City, Panama to the San Juan Mountains; Colorado and Papagayo Peninsula, Costa Rica.
Las Vegas was also the number one destination for hotels booked by American Express cardholders in 2024 and comes as Amex Travel expanded its curated global accommodation portfolio by 400-plus properties to offer more than 3,100 hotels in 114 countries.
A 2025 Amex Travel survey found 89 per cent of respondents feel more excited to travel when going to a hotel or destination they’ve never visited before.
Similar to other recent research, the study shows travellers also want to book hotels with local touches (87%) and unique accommodations or itineraries (79%) or hidden gems (80%).
Culinary experiences also highly influence travellers’ choice of destination with 72 per cent rating food and social scene in their top three considerations, followed by entertainment and sports events (59%).
