One Texas city makes list of top travel destinations for 2026
EL PASO, TX - AUGUST 15: View of El Paso, Texas and Juarez. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
EL PASO, Texas - Driven by a strong focus on affordability and a cultural fascination with desert landscapes, there has been a surge in people wanting to travel to previously under-the-radar destinations, according to the HomeToGo 2026 Travel Trends Forecast.
The report, which tracks evolving traveler sentiment and search data, identifies five key themes defining travel next year. Out of the five themes, 30 cities made the rising star list.
Texas makes the list
By the numbers:
For one Texas city, the movement is particularly strong. El Paso is seeing year-over-year search interest for vacation accommodations jump 191% for 2026 stays. El Paso falls into the "Neo-Western Revival," a trend fueled by pop culture that is pushing small, frontier-style towns across the American Southwest into the spotlight.
The HomeToGo analysis attributes the trend to the mainstreaming of country and Western aesthetics by artists like Beyoncé and Sabrina Carpenter, amplified by social media.
The study states that 31% of Americans are collecting inspiration from Instagram, and 29% from TikTok. For the millennial age bracket, 46% are taking inspiration from Instagram and 37% on TikTok. For GenZ, 50% are taking inspiration from Instagram and 54% from TikTok.
Why El Paso?
Rather than seeking out large resorts, vacationers are turning to smaller towns across the Southwest and Mountain West that have desert terrain and rugged canyons. Cities in California, Colorado and Arizona also made the Neo-Western Revival list.
According to hometogo.com, the median nightly price per person in El Paso is just more than $62.
What are the other travel trends?
- Wild, Rugged, Windswept: Remote landscapes with dramatic, untamed energy.
- Chocolate Box Charm: Pretty, compact settings with gourmet appeal.
- The Seaside Slowdown: Restorative beach retreats in far-away coastal locales.
- The Alternative Urban Circuit: Creative second cities with a strong local pulse.
Beyond the Neo-Western trend, U.S. travelers are driving growth in other niche areas, including urban exploration in Alternative Urban Circuits like Durham, North Carolina, where searches rose 195%, and trips to Wild, Rugged, Windswept coastal destinations like Depoe Bay, Oregon, which saw a 167% jump.
Overall, the appetite for travel is robust, with 76% of U.S. travelers planning a vacation in 2026. While 57% plan to spend more than in 2025, price remains the top priority for 52% of Americans. As a result, 68% are open to traveling during less busy seasons to save money and avoid overcrowding, with nearly one in three actively seeking hidden gems.
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Travel on a budget
The global forecast shows a clear move toward niche, affordable locales, with all 30 "rising star" destinations worldwide boasting a median nightly price of less than $100 per person.
In Europe, the Chocolate Box Charm trend spotlights small, picturesque cities with gourmet appeal, such as Annecy, France, which saw an extraordinary 894% surge in searches, and Orvieto, Italy, with a 616% increase.
The Seaside Slowdown trend, driven by the 23% of travelers prioritizing mental rest and recovery, is boosting interest in laid-back, long-haul beach destinations. Searches for Weligama, Sri Lanka, soared 223%, and Hout Bay, South Africa, saw a 292% increase. Meanwhile, the interest in remote scenery also boosted international Wild, Rugged, Windswept locations like North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, which saw search interest rise 311%.
Methodology
The HomeToGo 2026 Travel Trends Forecast is based on a combination of data sources:
- Survey Insights: Conducted online among a sample of 1,000 U.S. respondents, aged 18 or older, between Nov. 26 and Nov. 28, 2025.
- Search and Price Insights: Based on observed searches carried out on hometogo.com between Aug. 1, 2025, and Nov. 15, 2025, for stays with a check-in date during 2026.
- Rising Star Lists: Destinations that do not appear in the most-searched locations worldwide but have seen a year-over-year search increase of more than double.
The Source: Information in this article is from HomeToGo.