For residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the wider GCC, where much of the world is within a flight connection, the question is increasingly not whether to travel, but where to go next.
The next holiday is getting farther away
The answer in 2026 appears to be a mix of familiar escapes and more ambitious journeys. The Maldives, Thailand and Mauritius continue to be popular choices for UAE travellers looking for sun, relaxation and an easy escape. But travel data also points to growing interest in destinations that require more time and planning.
According to dnata Travel, the Maldives accounted for around one in five international hotel bookings made by UAE travellers for summer 2026. Thailand, Mauritius, Canada and Australia were among the other leading choices, while Japan and the United States also featured in the top 10.
Skyscanner’s 2026 travel trends research points towards a more adventurous traveller as well. More than half of UAE travellers surveyed said they expected to spend more per person on travel, while destinations such as Bhutan, Bulgaria and Spain featured among the fastest-growing searches.
The pattern is interesting. Residents are not necessarily looking only for the most obvious destinations. There is growing curiosity about places and experiences that offer something different.
Travel with a reason
Perhaps the bigger change is in what people want to do once they arrive.
Hilton’s research among UAE travellers found that 45 percent cited spending quality time with family and friends as a key reason for leisure travel, while 42 percent were looking primarily to rest and recharge. Learning about other cultures was important to 31 percent, while 28 percent were seeking one-of-a-kind experiences. Wellness also remains a strong motivation, with 43 percent saying they often book wellness or spa experiences while travelling.
That helps explain the growing appeal of more curated holidays — a food journey through Italy, a wellness retreat in Bali, Indonesia, an architecture-focused trip through Japan or a road trip built around a particular landscape.
For Dubai residents, long-haul travel can work particularly well for this kind of holiday. With direct and one-stop connections to much of the world, travellers can spend two or three weeks exploring a destination rather than trying to squeeze everything into a few days.
Latin America is an obvious candidate. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico offer food, music, history, landscapes and vibrant cities, but they also reward travellers who slow down. Emirates connects Dubai with several major cities across the region, including São Paulo, Brazil; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Mexico City, Mexico, making a continent that once felt extremely distant more accessible from the UAE.
When a book becomes the itinerary
There is another possibility: travelling around an interest rather than around a country.
Literature is a good example. Skyscanner’s research found that 55 percent of travellers have either booked or would consider booking a trip inspired by literature, while hotel bookings using its library filter increased significantly year-on-year.
For a literature enthusiast, Latin America could become an extraordinary journey.
Imagine starting in Mexico City, Mexico, exploring the places where Gabriel García Márquez lived and wrote, including the city where he worked on One Hundred Years of Solitude. From there, travelling to Cartagena, Colombia, and the Caribbean landscapes that shaped much of his imagination, before continuing to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to explore the city of Jorge Luis Borges, its bookshops, cafés and neighbourhoods.
The journey could then continue into Chile, following the world of Pablo Neruda and ending among the landscapes and coastal towns that influenced his poetry.
It would be less about visiting a checklist of literary landmarks and more about understanding the places behind the books – tasting the food, walking the streets, meeting local people and seeing the landscapes through the eyes of the writers.
The same approach can be applied to almost anything: cinema, gastronomy, architecture, music, history or wellness.
For the UAE’s well-travelled residents, therefore, the next big journey may not necessarily be about collecting another destination. It may be about finding a reason to go there. And perhaps that is why a place as far away as Latin America is beginning to look less like an ambitious travel dream and more like a very possible next holiday.
