The key facts
- Expedia and Skyscanner compiled lists based on search query growth: Perugia (+35%) and Chichester (+30%), Malmö, Trapani, Samos, Kittilä
- Booking.com highlighted Reims, Bratislava and Pescara; Lonely Planet — Veneto, Šibenik, León, Skanör-Falsterbo and Dessau
- Fora Travel records growth in 2027 bookings: Malta +129%, Slovenia +152%, Finland +138%
Forecasts for 2027: Europe in the Spotlight
The tourism industry is publishing forecasts for 2027, and Europe holds a prominent place in them. The lists are compiled on different principles: the Expedia and Skyscanner platforms ranked destinations by annual growth in search queries, Booking.com by its own trends top ten, Lonely Planet and National Geographic by expert assessments, while Intrepid Travel released a 'Not Hot List' of little-known places where tourist spending can bring real benefit to the local economy.
Growth in Search Queries and Bookings
Expedia's top 10 includes two European cities: Perugia in Italy (seventh place, a 35% growth in queries from 2025 to 2026) and Chichester in southern England (+30%). Skyscanner's list features four European destinations: Malmö, Trapani in Sicily, the Greek island of Samos and Kittilä in Finnish Lapland. Booking.com named Reims, Bratislava and Pescara. According to Fora Travel, bookings for next year are growing across Malta (+129%), Slovenia (+152%) and Finland (+138%), while the British consortium Advantage Travel Partnership highlighted Albania with its beaches and relatively affordable prices.
Cultural Events and Quiet Alternatives
Some of the forecasts are tied to events in 2027. Latvia's Liepāja will become the European Capital of Culture — more than 500 events are planned. Normandy will mark the 1000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror with more than 1,000 events, Santander is preparing to host two major art museums, and in Scotland's Dumfries and Galloway an observatory for stargazing will open next summer. In Leipzig, the Music Trail is being expanded with a new 7.2-kilometre loop.
What Guidebook Publishers Recommend
Lonely Planet included five European destinations in its Best in Travel 2027: the Veneto region in Italy (with advice to explore the region around tourist-overcrowded Venice — from the Dolomites and Lake Garda to Verona and Padua), Croatia's Šibenik, Spain's León as an alternative to overcrowded spots, the Swedish twin towns of Skanör-Falsterbo against the backdrop of the growing popularity of 'coolcationing' — holidays in cooler places — and Germany's Dessau, 'synonymous with the Bauhaus movement'. National Geographic chose six European spots: Norway's Vestland, Poland's Tricity (Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot), Leipzig, Normandy, Santander and Dumfries and Galloway.
Little-Known Destinations and the Luxury Segment
Intrepid Travel's list features three European places: Greece's Alonissos with Europe's largest marine protected area and the country's first underwater museum, Liepāja and Sweden's Dalsland with more than 2,000 lakes and 850 km of gravel cycling routes — getting there has become easier thanks to a new railway line between Malmö and Oslo. In the luxury segment, according to the Virtuoso Luxe report, Greece has been named the most popular honeymoon destination for 2027, ahead of Bali and the Maldives; Italy took fourth place, France eighth. At the same time, wealthy couples are increasingly looking for quieter alternatives to iconic destinations — from Ischia and Puglia to Provence and the Dolomites.
