Twenty-four percent of people say AI gives them too many choices when it comes to travel. Despite that, 22% say there are not enough meaningful options, according to Skyskanner’s Travel Trends 2026 report. Though AI adoption in travel planning is growing, travelers are also moving to more intentionality.
Travelers start planning by asking why, not where, in 2026. Here’s how to do it and why this may be your happiest vacation yet. Photo credit: Depositphotos.
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Hilton’s 2026 Trends Report declared 2026 the year of the “whycation,” citing a shift toward beginning with a motivation, not a destination. For many, the goal is well-being, defined not as spa treatments but by experiences that connect, inspire and even challenge. Here’s why this kind of travel makes us happier and how to plan your own whycation.
Travel memories make happier families
The point of travel for most families is to make memories. The Skyskanner Travel Trends 2026 report reveals that 57% of adults traveling with family see it as a chance to make memories. Another 33% see it as an opportunity to deepen connections. The response among Hilton survey respondents was even stronger, with 74% saying that travel has strengthened their family ties.
Shared storytelling strengthens family ties. Travel memories are at the heart of these stories, with one study finding that when asked to tell a family story, 78% of respondents told a travel story. Research from Marshall Duke, Ph.D., found that the more family stories a child knows, the stronger their emotional health and happiness.
Alyssa Mairanz, LMHC, CDBT, founder and executive director of Empower Your Mind Therapy, says travel triggers memory creation by disrupting normal routines and placing people in a novel environment. “People as a whole bond over shared experiences and shared emotions,” says Mairanz.
For Holland America Line guests, those shared experiences are based on nature and adventure. Forty-one percent of their survey respondents said their most lasting family memories come from outdoor travel. The company has responded by focusing its offerings on nature-based destinations like Iceland and Norway aboard their newest ship, Rotterdam, as well as Alaska.
Preparing to travel also provides opportunities for strengthening relationships. Mairanz often works with parents who seek a balance between supporting their children and giving them the independence and autonomy to prepare for adulthood. She encourages parents to give their children responsibility in the travel planning process, which creates a safe place for testing decision-making and communication.
A majority of families already incorporate this advice. Seventy-three percent of Hilton survey respondents who travel with their children or grandchildren actively encourage them to help plan family vacations.
Sarah Groen, CEO and owner of boutique travel advisory Bell & Bly Travel, also incorporates the family even before the trip begins. She draws on research that shows anticipating travel boosts overall happiness. Her team sprinkles pre-trip activities into the plan to boost anticipation and make the actual trip more meaningful.
A small but growing movement
For Groen, guiding clients to consider the “why” behind a trip is anything but a trend. She asks every client about the deeper reason behind their travels and has been doing so since starting her company in 2019. Groen draws on a master’s degree in positive psychology to shape travel experiences that balance happiness, meaning and purpose, and psychological richness.
Bella Bucchiotti of xoxoBella plans travel around where she can connect with the local food culture. “The trips that mean the most to me happen in small towns, learning traditional recipes that families have cooked for generations. Sharing a kitchen tells you more about a place than any sightseeing ever could,” Bucchiotti said.
For award-winning travel journalist Casandra Karpiak, experiencing an activity integrated into the local culture drove one recent travel decision. “I wanted to experience wild swimming in Braemar, Scotland, because it felt like the ultimate version of the practice. Cairngorms National Park has a rawness that heightens everything,” said Karpiak.
Is happiness the goal of travel?
In the world of positive psychology, experts consider happiness one of several elements that make a good life. As such, traveling purely for happiness is a worthy goal on its own. That’s good news for the 56% of survey respondents who say their top reason for leisure travel is to rest and recharge.
You don’t need to feel bad about wanting to lie around a beach resort. “Not all travel needs to have a deep purpose to achieve its goal,” says Mairanz. She reassures clients that rest and relaxation have concrete value and allow travelers a necessary reset before returning to their daily routines.
For travelers seeking tools and inspiration to manage stress, not just in the moment, but after they return home, a prescription for travel to Sweden may be just the thing. The country welcomes visitors who want to escape into nature, experience awe among the northern lights or embrace the slow-living coffee culture that researchers argue may have a real impact on both well-being and GDP.
Under the quirky marketing lies a wealth of science backing up the stress reduction, mood and physiological benefits of spending mindful time in nature. Whether you’re alone in the mountains or letting tropical waves guide your meditation, thoughtful time doing nothing but relaxing may be literally what the doctor ordered.
Meaningful experiences make fulfilled travelers
Meaningful experiences are those that positively impact others, says Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, Ph.D., and Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago. For cruisers aboard National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions ships, making a difference is part of the cruise. Guests participate in real scientific surveys under the guidance of the Visiting Scientist program. Work includes documenting plant and animal species during shore landings and contributing data to a global database used by scientists and policymakers.
On land, it’s hard to find a better match for travelers seeking meaning and purpose than a safari. Maija de Rijk-Uys, managing director of Go2Africa, says her clients often experience a sense of awe, which brings them perspective. “Travel can shift how people feel in ways that are hard to achieve in everyday life, particularly when it slows them down and places them in nature, away from constant noise and distraction,” says Rijk-Uys.
Go2Africa’s parent company, NawiriGroup, turns awe into awareness by educating visitors about the importance of community land and the fragility of the ecosystem. Nawiri believes when people create a connection with a place, they are more likely to recognize impact and sustainability as essential considerations in how they choose to travel.
Nawiri invests a portion of its revenue back into its local communities, going above and beyond the required park fees. Its investments fund programs like community-led conservancies in Kenya and Wildlife Management Areas in Tanzania, primary school through vocational training and regenerative agriculture. They also invest in initiatives that lower the cost of living with wildlife, such as predator protection, crop protection and better grazing systems.
Psychologically rich travel is full of surprises
Travel pushes us outside of our routines, which not only drives memory creation but also increases psychological richness, another factor in well-being. Oishi defines psychological richness as a life with diverse, unusual and interesting experiences. Unsurprisingly, Groen, the travel advisor, finds her clients score much higher on this marker than the average American.
Luckily, travelers don’t have to try very hard to achieve psychological richness in travel. Being aware of differences between your home environment and your travel destination can be enough to bust through stereotypes and trigger a shift in perspective. Leave yourself time for unstructured exploration, which gives you the space to be surprised, a key element in psychologically rich travel.
The impact for 2026
Travelers will make destination and activity decisions based on emotional motivations in 2026. They seek to avoid overtourism and increasingly plan trips based on niche interests and well-being goals. Family travel remains oriented toward connection. Travel advisors lead the way with itineraries that balance pleasure, meaning and challenge.
How to plan your own intentional travel
If you’re looking to plan your own whycation, start with what you want to feel as a result of your vacation. You have limited time off work and school; get clear on why you want to use that time to travel. Choose your location and activities to strike a balance between happiness, meaning and psychological richness.
If you have kids, involve them in the planning. Bring along conversation starters to encourage meaningful discussions at meals, or give them a journal as a travel gift to document their impressions. After you return home, make it a point to relive travel memories through storytelling.
Why, not where
Travel planning has never been easier, with AI tools, social media inspiration and more flights to more places than ever before. A growing number of trip planners, however, start with why, not where. By balancing happiness, meaning and psychological richness, you can create a trip that leaves you feeling both good and well.
Ashley Wali is a Seattle-based travel journalist and owner of Wanderlux, writing about luxury family travel, sports tourism and wellness travel. Her work has appeared in The Seattle Times, Boston Herald, The Philadelphia Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, and many more. Recent assignments have had her slurping oysters on Cape Cod and cruising the fjords of Norway.
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