Travel Well Spent: 2027 Travel Trends Report

Canadians are investing in travel, exploring new destinations and putting meaning into their trips in new ways, finds the newly released Travel Trends 2027 report from Skyscanner. 

“This year’s Travel Trends report explores the forces shaping traveller decisions,” says Bryan Batista, CEO of Skyscanner. “It reveals a traveller who is more deliberate, more discerning and increasingly seeking trusted recommendations to book with confidence.”

Best Value Destinations

While Canadians are being careful of their hard-earned dollars, the report shows that travel is still a priority for many, with 80 percent of respondents indicating that in 2027 they intend to travel as much or more than they did in 2026. Destinations that aren’t as expensive to get to may be of interest to those for whom budget is a major factor as they decide where to go. Skyscanner identified the following destinations as those with affordable accommodation options which have seen the biggest price drops (based on percentage) for those flying from Canada:

1. Cardiff, United Kingdom: 63 per cent price drop 
2. Nagoya, Japan: 50 per cent price drop 
3. Florence, Italy: 25 per cent price drop 
4. Nantes, France: 24 per cent price drop 
5. Okinawa, Japan: 22 per cent price drop 
6. Busan, South Korea: 20 per cent price drop 
7. St. George's, Grenada: 19 per cent price drop 
8. Thessaloniki, Greece 19 per cent price drop 
9. Hanoi, Vietnam: 16 per cent price drop 
10. Krakow, Poland: 16 per cent price drop

Trending Destinations

It’s not only the price point that draws Canadian travellers. Skyscanner tracked search volumes to determine which destinations are gaining traction with the largest increase in year over year searches to ascertain the top trending places to travel. There is some overlap with the best value destinations, as well as some unexpected spots in the top ten:

1. Cardiff, United Kingdom: +1045.91 per cent 
2. St. George's, Grenada: +156.39 per cent 
3. Tivat, Montenegro: +148.84 per cent 
4. Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia: +139.00 per cent 
5. Penticton, Canada: +137.38 per cent 
6. Salzburg, Austria: +119.28 per cent 
7. Bergen, Norway: +118.82 per cent 
8. Olbia, Italy: +116.83 per cent 
9. Podgorica, Montenegro: +115.90 per cent 
10. Tofino, Canada: +82.60 per cent 

 

Dollars and Sense

Flights and accommodations are the biggest spend for travellers, with 60 percent anticipating they will pay more for accommodations and 29 percent saying they will pay more for flights in 2027 than they did in 2026.  With tighter budgets comes more selective planning. Respondents reported they are willing to spend on tours and activities (45 percent), travel insurance (34 percent) and seat selection (29 percent). Some things that travellers were willing to splash out on last year took a hit this year, including paying to upgrade their hotel room, paying for extra baggage and paying for lounge access. 

 

Travel Trends 

The report also collated what it refers to as “The Why Behind the Where”. Many of these key trends reveal that Canadians are” travelling with greater intention, making more considered choices about where they go, what they experience and what they want to get out of every trip.”

The trends identified by Skyscanner are:

1. Signal Severance – Fifteen per cent of Gen Z travellers plan to disconnect in 2027. Driven by digital fatigue and constant connectivity, travellers are logging off to tune back in - with remote travel replacing endless scrolling with shared moments and deeper conversations.

2. Pilgra-merch - The best keepsakes are the ones you have to travel for. Travel Trends 2027 research found that travellers are building itineraries around unique regional apparel, artisanal crafts and location-exclusive items with 35 per cent of Canadian travellers taking a trip specifically for items they couldn't buy online. 

3. Together Trips - As couples marry later in life and move away from traditionally gendered celebrations, the classic 'stag' or 'hen' trip is giving way to a more inclusive era of joint travel - the ‘Together Trip.’ Thirty-six per cent of travellers are choosing combined celebrations because they’re simply more fun (49 per cent), cheaper (44 per cent), and far easier to organize (33 per cent). 

4. Grand Odysseys - In a fast-paced world, history offers context, grounding travellers in timeless human stories. Whether following sacred walking trails or exploring legendary ruins, modern tourists are turning to the past to enrich their present. Cinematic releases are driving real-world bookings, with epic films and TV like Gladiator and The Odyssey inspired 33 per cent of the travellers surveyed to plan a trip.   

5. Gym-cation - Health and fitness travel is inspiring people to seek out destinations where staying active and prioritizing protein-rich healthy choices is as easy as sightseeing. Seventy per cent of millennials are more likely to book a hotel which serves a nutritious breakfast and about four in ten (46 per cent) Gen Z travellers prioritise hotels with gyms - with Bangkok, Mumbai, New York, Phuket, and Seoul topping the list of destinations where travellers use Skyscanner’s hotel gym filter.

6. Sound Bound - Music has become one of the biggest drivers of global travel, but beyond stadium tours, regional sounds and local culture are driving destination choices. Cultural immersion is a priority as unique venues rank highly for both Gen Z (33 per cent) and Millennials (39 per cent). The setting is also becoming just as critical as the set list with eight per cent of travellers stating that the venue matters as much as the music, prompting fans to swap standard arenas for unique locations like ancient caves or pyramids. 

7. Currency Chasers - Savvy spenders can make their money go further in 2027 by actively matching destinations to take advantage of positive foreign exchange rates. Over a third (35 per cent) of Canadian travellers, including 66 per cent of Gen Z and 46 per cent of Millennials, have switched destinations to take advantage of better exchange rates, directly influencing destination choices. This shift is already driving real-time booking habits, with year-on-year searches to Vietnam soaring by 25 per cent thanks to favourable currency trends.   

To see the full report, please visit www.skyscanner.ca/travel-trends.

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