Intrepid Travel releases its 'Not Hot List' of 2026 travel destinations
Developed in partnership with Globetrender, the new 'Not Hot List' showcases ten lesser-known places that are ready for more visitors, from El Salvador to the Great Basin National Park in the US. Olivia Palamountain reports
The "Not Hot List 2026" (available to download here for free) has been designed to direct travellers towards regions where their presence can have a positive impact. As Hazel MCGuire, chief marketing officer for Intrepid Travel said at a launch event last night for the report at London's Akara restaurant: "At Intrepid, we don’t believe the answer is ‘less tourism’ but rather ‘better tourism’."
While a handful of headline destinations receive millions – even tens of millions – of visitors each year, many places go virtually unnoticed by mainstream tourism. With the Not Hot List 2026, the intention is to inspire travellers to discover different and unique experiences, with communities that can truly benefit from more visitors.
Places that have been selected include: El Salvador (the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender), Sierra Leone's newly UNESCO-listed Tiwai Island, Kyrgyzstan's Tien Shan Mountain range (a "trekker's paradise") and Finland's Oulu, named European Capital of Culture 2026, alongside lesser-known regions in popular countries such as Croatia and Mexico.
Globetrender founder and CEO, Jenny Southan, says: “The Not Hot List isn’t about chasing what’s fashionable – it’s about championing what’s overlooked. It flips the usual ‘must-visit’ narrative on its head – spotlighting destinations that are undervalued, under-visited and under the radar.
"In a world where travel is often driven by algorithms and overexposure, we want to direct curious travellers to places that deserve more attention for all the right reasons. These are places where tourism can be a force for good in 2026 – providing cultural exchange, economic investment and job creation.”
The Not Hot List 2026 list addresses growing tension between tourism's economic benefits and its environmental and social costs, offering alternatives for travellers seeking authentic experiences without contributing to destination overcrowding.
New research commissioned by Intrepid reveals that 44% of British travellers now consider overtourism when choosing summer holiday destinations – nearly double the percentage who cited this concern in 2022. Additionally, 45% of respondents reported having holidays negatively affected by overcrowding, highlighting growing traveller frustration with mass tourism destinations.
The selection process for the list used third-party statistics and local expert insights to identify destinations meeting three criteria: receiving fewer visitors than comparable places, demonstrating tourism readiness through new initiatives, and holding particular relevance for 2026.
Other examples include Arunachal Pradesh in India, which has unveiled a new "adventure zone" with a zip line, bungee jump, glass bridge and giant swing; and Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia region, recovering from earthquake damage in 2023 with new tourism infrastructure.
Erica Kritikides, general manager of experiences at Intrepid Travel, says: "We know that 80% of travellers visit just 10% of the world's tourism destinations and we recognise that we have a role to play in influencing that. A key consideration when we're developing trips is how we can spread the economic benefits of tourism more widely and how our presence in a destination can positively impact the communities we're visiting."
The company has launched new trips to six featured destinations, including Sierra Leone, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Turkey, Romania and El Salvador (pictured below), supporting its commitment to dispersing tourism benefits beyond traditional hotspots.
Last year's Not Hot List (also co-authored by Globetrender) demonstrated measurable impact, with Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan region subsequently appearing in The New York Times' "52 places to go in 2025" list. Greenland's Disko Island, meanwhile, has two new international airports opening in 2026 to support tourism growth.
