Expedia’s 2027 Trends: South Lake Tahoe Searches Up 195%
Expedia Group's Unpack '27 report, from Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, names the destinations with the fastest-growing searches, led by South Lake Tahoe, Hyogo and Punta del Este.
Expedia Group’s annual trends report is out. Unpack ’27, from Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo, combines the group’s search data with a OnePoll survey of 26,000 adults in 16 countries.
The search spikes
- South Lake Tahoe, California: +195%
- Monaco: +120%
- Hyogo, Japan: +95%
- Punta del Este, Uruguay: +65%
- Castle properties: demand up 20%
“Travel is about creating memories,” said Ariane Gorin, CEO of Expedia Group.
How to read it
These are growth rates in searches, not booking volumes, and they come from a supplier’s own platforms. Big percentages often start from small bases. Treat the list as a signal of where curiosity is heading, not a forecast.
What Canadians told Expedia
Expedia’s Canadian edition of the report, published the same day, draws on more than 2,000 Canadian travellers (part of a global survey of 26,000). Its headline for Canada: Niagara-on-the-Lake made the global Destinations of the Year list at No. 9, with searches up 35%, for its old-town streets, vineyards and lakeshore.
The Canadian numbers behind each trend:
- Trip Snacking (one-night stays): 79% of Canadians plan to book a one-night stay in the next year, rising to 85% of Gen Z and Millennials. The top reasons are a reset between longer trips (29%), concerts and sporting events (27%) and milestones (27%). Montréal is among the most-searched short-stay cities, with Hotel Birks as Hotels.com’s pick.
- Gothic Getaways: 55% of Canadians are interested in a Gothic-style hotel (62% of Gen Z and Millennials), and half have booked a hotel for its atmosphere alone. The Château Frontenac in Québec City makes Hotels.com’s list.
- Un-Adulting: 48% of Canadians say they’re likely to book a playful, adults-first trip in 2027, rising to 68% of Gen Z and Millennials. The Niagara Falls Zipline, 670 metres into the gorge, is on Expedia’s list of experiences.
- Hobby Hubs: 78% of Canadians are likely to take a hobby-focused trip, and 47% say hobbies shape their travel more than five years ago. Puzzles and board games top the list, followed by photography, stargazing and antiquing.
For Canadian advisors, the takeaway is short trips close to home: a one-night Niagara-on-the-Lake wine stay or a Château Frontenac weekend fits three of the four trends at once.
Sources
Jeff Cameron writes about neighbourhoods and the business of travel for Not An Atlas, usually from a desk buried in maps, beside a mug of tea big enough to count as carry-on. His first trip was to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where dipping his feet in the Gulf felt like a major expedition, and he's still chasing that first shock of “the ocean can be warm?” He always takes the window seat (nobody climbs over him to get to the washroom), lands already briefed thanks to an audiobook or two about wherever he's going, and sizes up every city by its first cup of coffee. He'll happily walk 45,000 steps in a day to find the side streets where a place really lives. Kraków, Utrecht and Turin are the underrated favourites he'd go back to tomorrow. Friends say curious, candid and composed. His mom says contrary, and she's probably right. Next stop: anywhere a first-class, round-the-world ticket will take him.
