The destinations best placed to capitalize on off-the-beaten-path travel are the ones on the beaten path

Finlay Millar | Senior Strategist | 15 October 2026

The ultimate travel goal used to be ticking off bucket-list destinations and getting a picture alongside every iconic site. Today’s travelers see things differently. 83% of Millennials and Gen Z prioritize unique, authentic experiences over popular tourist attractions, and 43% of all travelers plan to avoid overcrowded destinations this year (up 11% YoY).

Creators are moving the same way. When we asked our global creator network where they were heading in 2026, Europe (58%) and Japan (37%) still topped the list. But the places they actually named were far more varied: Gdańsk, Bratislava, Norway, rural Japan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Gansu, alongside less-explored regions of the Middle East. Second cities, rural regions and provinces most travelers couldn’t place on a map.

BD data shows travel audiences share these desires. Save rates, one of the strongest intent signals on social, ran higher for less familiar destinations like Kazakhstan and Iceland than for established favourites like France and Italy.

A trip no one else has had

The unknown is certainly part of the draw, but what travelers are really avoiding is a replica of a trip everyone else has already had. 89% of Millennials and Gen Z say it’s important to leave room in their itineraries for local food discoveries, and 66% would skip a must-see attraction if a local pointed them to a hidden gem nearby. In New York, London or Paris, it can feel like everyone comes home with the same trip. They want to be pointed somewhere different.

Crowds and cost play a part too, but most people are after a trip that’s uniquely theirs. 82% of surveyed Millennials and Gen Z say they’re likely to do something completely out of the ordinary while traveling simply because it makes a good story. And the best stories don’t end with someone across the table saying “the exact same thing happened to me!”

Yet the destinations best placed to give travelers that story are the ones they seem to be leaving behind.

The shelf life of the unknown

Travelers often see themselves as more adventurous than their choices suggest. On paper the best destinations for a great story are the ones most people have never heard of, but most people are still more likely to go somewhere already gaining social momentum than somewhere they know nothing about. Once these emerging destinations grow in popularity, the limits of what there is to do (and the infrastructure to support it) get exposed. Look at Seceda in the Dolomites. In the summer of 2025, social media drew queues of up to 4,000 people a day, and local farmers had to install turnstiles charging €5 to cross their land.

Right now it’s mostly emerging destinations capitalizing on this trend, but if a destination's whole position rests on being somewhere no one’s been, it loses it the moment people arrive. What lasts is being somewhere each traveler can make their own, and the time to build that is now, while the attention is there. Offer the routes, experiences and local guides that let different travelers have different trips, so the place still feels like theirs once the crowds arrive.

One city, a thousand trips

For bigger destinations, a million visitors can have a million different trips in the same city. Come home from New York talking about the Empire State Building and it won’t make much of a story. Come home talking about a noodle bar in the basement of a coffee shop and you have one no one else at the table can match. That’s depth, and known destinations have more of it than anywhere. They just let the icons do most of the talking.

Travel trends like this one get read as picking winners and losers. Look at the motivation underneath, and the opportunity runs much wider, as long as destinations show more than their landmarks. The bigger the name, the less excuse there is.

Depth is a content job

For the most iconic destinations, the upside is larger. Show your depth. 

That means creator-led storytelling from people who know the city, not people passing through. It means always-on content that reaches every type of traveler, rather than a few viral hits built around the same landmarks. And it means putting people at the center: across BD’s channels, personal storytelling drives 30% higher engagement and 22% more saves than polished content. 

Beyond content, brand the different parts of your destination. Frame it as a place travelers can make their own, and measure success by how far visitors explore, not just how many arrive. A major destination could take it literally: an official itinerary builder that never puts together the same trip twice, so every visitor arrives with a version no one else has had.

The destinations best placed to capitalize on off-the-beaten-path travel are the ones on the beaten path.

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