Intrepid Travel has released its highly anticipated 2026 “Not Hot List,” spotlighting 10 under-the-radar destinations primed to welcome more visitors in the year ahead. Curated with insights from local experts, trend analysts and Intrepid’s global teams, the annual list aims to inspire curious travelers while helping spread tourism’s benefits more evenly across the globe.
The 2026 edition identifies regions that currently attract relatively few international visitors but are ready for growth thanks to new investments, infrastructure and experiences. Alongside the list, Intrepid has launched brand-new trips to six of the featured destinations, including Sierra Leone, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Türkiye, Romania and El Salvador.
“We know that 80 percent of travelers visit just 10 percent of the world’s tourism destinations and we recognize that we have a role to play in influencing that,” said Erica Kritikides, general manager of Experiences at Intrepid Travel. “The selection criteria for our ‘Not Hot List’ reflects an approach to tourism that we’ve long championed. While some destinations receive millions—even tens of millions—of visitors each year, many lesser-known places go virtually unnoticed by travelers. 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 2026 “Not Hot List”
- Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone
- Tien Shan Mountain Range, Kyrgyzstan
- Sierra Norte, Mexico
- Vis Island, Croatia
- Gaziantep, Türkiye
- Arunachal Pradesh, India
- Via Transilvanica, Romania
- Ruta de las Flores, El Salvador
- Oulu, Finland
- Great Basin National Park, NV, United States
Spotlight Highlights
The new list spans emerging destinations and overlooked gems within familiar markets. Sierra Leone’s Tiwai Island, recently inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, makes its debut, while Finland’s Oulu is set to take the global stage as the “European Capital of Culture 2026.” In Kyrgyzstan, the expansion of the Kyrgyz Nomad Trail in the Tien Shan Mountains adds more than 621 miles for trekkers.
This year’s Not Hot List builds on the momentum of previous editions. In 2025, Intrepid’s pick of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan gained international attention when it was featured in The New York Times’ “52 Places to Go” list. Likewise, Greenland’s Disko Island, another earlier pick, is now benefitting from major tourism investment, with two international airports set to open in 2026.
Advisors can access the full 2026 Not Hot List and details on the newly launched trips at www.intrepidtravel.com/not-hot-list.
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