More travellers are starting with a feeling, not a destination.
Not “I want to go to Japan.” More like “I need a week where I actually sleep properly. Where I eat well. Where I come home feeling like myself again.”
Skyscanner’s 2026 Trends Report has a name for these travellers. They are calling them Glowmads. And the data behind the trend is worth paying attention to.
TL;DR
- Skyscanner’s 2026 Trends Report identifies “Glowmads” as a growing travel booking category
- These travellers build holidays around skin, sleep, spa and beauty experiences
- Top destinations include Japan, France, Greece, Portugal and Hungary
- Friendship groups, mums’ escapes and solo female travellers are the core booking segments
- “Skin, sleep and spa” framing is resonating strongly with wellness-curious audiences
Who Are Glowmads?
The name is new. The behaviour has been building for years.
A Glowmad builds their holiday around how they want to feel, not what they want to see. The destination gets chosen for its wellness offering. The itinerary takes shape around rest, ritual and restoration.
This is not about luxury for luxury’s sake. Glowmads span a wide budget range. What connects them is intention. They are choosing hammams in Marrakech. Japanese onsen towns. French thalassotherapy spa hotels. Budapest’s thermal bath culture. Portuguese wellness retreats tucked into the hills above Lisbon.
They are mixing beauty shopping with spa treatments. Onsen soaks with noodle walks. French pharmacy hauls with long lunches and facials.
For them, travel is self-care with a passport.
The Numbers Behind It
Skyscanner’s 2026 Trends Report draws from billions of search data points and insights from more than 20,000 global travellers. Beauty and wellness-led travel stands out as one of the most significant emerging booking categories this year.
The pattern is consistent. Travellers are choosing destinations and building itineraries that feel personal. Less like an escape from life. More like an expression of who they are.
For Glowmads, that means a trip where every day is doing something good for them. Not in a punishing, structured fitness sense. In a warm, indulgent, deeply restorative sense.
The destinations rising fastest in this category are not random:
- Japan leads for skincare culture and onsen towns
- France for spa hotels, thalassotherapy and beauty shopping
- Greece and Portugal for outdoor wellness, thermal springs and sea-air retreats
- Budapest for accessible, affordable thermal bath culture with a fantastic boutique hotel scene
These are bookable destinations. Available now. For clients who are already searching.
The Booking Angle
This trend opens doors with a client segment that does not respond well to price-led conversations.
Wellness-curious clients are looking for the right experience, not the cheapest room. That translates to higher booking value, stronger add-on potential and clients who talk about their trip to everyone they know.
The “skin, sleep and spa” reset framing positions a glow-getaway as an investment in themselves. That language reduces the hesitation barrier that can slow a booking.
Package ideas worth building:
- Budapest thermal break for friendship groups (3 nights, boutique hotel, Szechenyi or Gellert bath entry, optional massage add-on)
- Japanese onsen stay near Hakone or Kinosaki (4 to 5 nights, traditional ryokan, private onsen experience)
- French spa hotel long weekend in Normandy or Provence (3 nights, half-board, spa access included)
- Portuguese wellness retreat outside Lisbon or in the Alentejo (4 nights, yoga, thermal springs, local cuisine)
Each works as a standalone booking. Each also works as an add-on to a wider itinerary.
Try this: Look at your enquiries from the past six months. Who asked about wellbeing, rest or proper time away? Who mentioned needing to recharge? Chances are, you already know a few Glowmads. A warm, timely follow-up this week could convert those conversations into bookings.
For Your Client Conversations
Language matters here.
Clients drawn to glow-getaway travel respond to warmth and permission. Many feel a spa-focused trip needs to be justified. Your role is to remove that hesitation.
Frame the trip around outcomes. Better sleep. Better skin. A proper reset. Coming home feeling like themselves again.
“Skin, sleep and spa” lands well because it is specific enough to feel intentional and light enough to feel appealing. It does not sound clinical. It sounds like exactly what someone exhausted by a busy year actually wants.
For friendship groups, the social angle is everything. Budapest works brilliantly here. Affordable flights, incredible thermal bath culture, a vibrant food scene, and an energy that suits a group who want to relax and laugh in equal measure.
For solo travellers, the structure and comfort of a wellness-focused itinerary is a genuine draw. A retreat or spa hotel often feels safer and more welcoming as a solo trip than an adventure itinerary. This is a door worth opening.
You might also be wondering: is this broad enough to build content around? The answer is yes. It targets specifically enough to resonate with women aged 30 to 55, friendship groups and parents looking for a proper break, and broad enough to apply across multiple destinations and budgets.
One More Thing
Glowmad travel is not going to replace mainstream holiday bookings. It will sit alongside them as a reliable secondary category with strong repeat booking rates.
Travellers who have one great wellness trip tend to come back for another. The Budapest friendship group that wants to try Portugal in autumn. The solo traveller who asks about Japan once they have experienced their first ryokan. That is the pattern worth nurturing.
