Unpack '27: Seven travel trends advertisers can turn into action

From South Lake Tahoe, U.S. to Hyogo, Japan, Expedia's Destinations of the Year showcase the places where traveller interest is gaining momentum. Each location has a compelling storey that sparks a traveller's imagination on what they could do there, where they could stay and why now is the moment to go.

For destinations, hotels, airlines, activities and even brands beyond travel, this is an invitation to pair distinctive creative with a coordinated path to booking.

• Inspire wonder and awe from the jump. Use high-impact display advertising to build awareness with destination-led creative.
• Target travellers along the full booking journey. Connect inspiration, consideration and conversion with a full-funnel campaign.
• Convert with dedicated re-targeting. Keep the destination top of mind after a traveller leaves an Expedia Group site. Offsite advertising can help re-engage known travellers and bring them back with a more specific promotion or package.

The Un-Adulting trend captures a desire to step away from everyday responsibilities and focus on play, rest and uncomplicated enjoyment on holiday. From going on adults-only theme park trips to booking nostalgic activities, travellers are seeking out carefree experiences.

Demonstrating what the traveller gets to feel — not simply what they get to buy — is the creative opportunity for advertisers.

• Cruise into a captivating campaign. For cruise and leisure partners, build upper-funnel storytelling around an emotional idea that resonates — more time together, revisiting childhood nostalgia or the joy of a new experience.
• Bring activities to the forefront. Activity providers can use display advertising or native placements with a clear call to action: explore, save or book the experience.
• Make your brand integral to the experience. Brands outside travel can connect with this trend through a custom campaign. Work with Expedia Group Advertising's E Studio to bring your brand seamlessly into the conversation.

Today's travellers value flexibility: Planning a quick one-night stay in lieu of a weeklong holiday makes the next trip readily accessible. These snackable itineraries reward timely creative and low-friction paths to discovery and booking.

• Capture spontaneous bookings. For hotel partners, TravelAds Sponsored Listings can help a property stand out in search results. Use customised copy and photos to seal the deal.
• Plant the next idea. A short break or add-on trip often begins as an impulse. Use display advertising to make the CTA match the mindset: browse dates, see what's nearby or start planning.
• Promote your route. Target by origin, destination and travel dates with Flights Sponsored Listings to turn a spur-of-the-moment idea into a bookable trip.

Mood, mystery, architecture and history are at the centre of the 2027 hotel trend, Gothic Getaways. For lodging and destination partners, the value is in making the character of the hotel tangible — then giving travellers an easy way to experience it.

• Lead with distinctive property details.
  • Hotels can use customised copy and photos to bring forward the features that make a stay memorable with TravelAds Sponsored Listings.
• Team up on a co-op campaign.
  • Extend your marketing spend, highlight complementary selling points and present a fuller experience of your local haunts across hotels, destinations and local attractions.
• Bring the storey to life.
  • If the storey depends on mood and visual world-building, explore E Studio for custom content, integrations or shoppable storytelling.

At the heart of this trend is the idea that travel can be organised around a passion, not just a place. Everything from mahjong to crafting and antiquing can create a powerful reason for travellers to choose a destination, plan a trip or extend a stay — and presents an opportunity especially for non-travel brands to play an integral role in their experiences.

• Connect the passion to the place.
  • Leverage display advertising to segment messages by audience and moment where appropriate and use clear creative signals so travellers understand the connection at a glance.
• Stay present.
  • Travellers may move between social, streaming, search and other channels while researching an interest-led trip. Keep pace with offsite ads.
• Think bigger.
  • Use EG Reach+ to reach new audiences across formats such as display, YouTube and connected TV. Find travellers whose behaviour signals an affinity for the relevant hobby, then tailor your creative accordingly.

In 2027, travellers are seeking distinctive holiday rental stays and meaningful experiences beyond traditional coastal hotspots. Advertisers can compete by showing both what awaits at the destination and the memorable experiences along the journey.

• Sell the complete escape.
  • Build a co-op campaign that brings together accommodation, attractions and outdoor experiences in your destination to create a unified storey.
• Create demand before the search.
  • Offsite advertising can plant the first seed of inspiration. Use destination-led creative and a clear invitation to explore, then retarget engaged travellers with a more concrete call to action.
• Connect regional routes with real demand.
  • Airlines can highlight routes to less-obvious destinations with contextual ads in flight search results via Flights Sponsored Listings.

Expedia Group first spotted the Set-Jetting travel trend five years ago and it's enduring appeal is a testament to the power of film and TV magic in fuelling destination consideration. Advertisers can help travellers move from on-screen inspiration to their next unforgettable trip.

• Meet travellers where inspiration happens. Extend your campaign across digital, social, streaming or digital out-of-home environments with offsite creative.
• Make it real. Use display advertising to follow the emotional hook with practical information: where to stay, what to do, when to go or how to get there.
• Plan a custom campaign. Set-Jetting is a natural fit for custom storytelling, sponsored integrations and shoppable experiences. Work with E Studio to develop a creative idea that respects the source of inspiration while giving travellers a useful path into trip planning.

Unpack '27 is a reminder that traveller behaviour is rarely one-dimensional. Advertisers will come out ahead when they connect a cultural idea to a relevant experience — and then make that experience easy to explore and book.

Ready to turn these insights into your next campaign? Expedia Group Advertising offers a range of solutions built to reach travellers at every stage of trip planning.