Travel planning platform Kayak has released a list of places expected to come into the spotlight in 2026 — and Almaty is among them.
The study is based on Kayak’s internal data, an analysis of TikTok search queries, and a survey of 14,000 travelers. Most respondents said they intentionally seek out destinations that rarely appear on social media. For 69% of Gen Z and 66% of millennials, this is an important factor when choosing where to travel.
Growing interest in such places is also reflected on social media. Over the past year, the number of TikTok posts using the hashtag #hiddengems has increased by more than 50%.
Kayak’s final list includes ten destinations that could become major tourism hubs in the future. They are:
- Cork, Ireland
- Chongqing, China
- Harbin, China
- Zakynthos, Greece
- Shenzhen, China
- Almaty, Kazakhstan
- Hilo, Hawaii, USA
- Nouméa, New Caledonia
- La Romana, Dominican Republic
- Luxembourg
