From Bishkek to Malmö: These are the travel destinations on the rise for 2027

Every year, there’s a handful of places that go from ‘where’s that?’ to all over your feed, and Skyscanner reckons it knows which ones are next. The travel search engine has just revealed its top trending destinations for 2027, based on places with some of the biggest year-on-year rises in return flight searches.

It’s an eclectic bunch, from a Central Asian capital to a frozen corner of Finland.

Top of the list by a mile is Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where searches have rocketed by 501 percent. There’s a fair chance the BBC is to blame, with Skyscanner pointing out that the city featured on the latest series of Race Across the World. Ala-Archa National Park, with its glacier views and alpine trails, is an easy escape from town, and in October you can catch the Golden Eagle Festival near Song-Kul lake, where hunters show off their birds. Before you head for the hills, lose an hour in the sprawling Osh Bazaar and come home with a lovely pair of felt slippers.

Egypt’s Hurghada came second, with searches up 186 percent. It isn’t exactly a secret, but with Red Sea water this clear, it’s easy to see why it’s pulling people in. Most visitors never leave the resort strip, which is a mistake. The old downtown, El Dahar, has souqs and local restaurants, so swap the hotel buffet for dinner there at least once. By day, get on a boat to the Giftun Islands, a protected marine reserve with some of the best snorkelling around.

Searches for Malmö have more than doubled (up 103 percent), helped along by new routes making the Swedish city easier to reach. Do what the locals do and head to Ribersborgs Kallbadhus, the seaside bathhouse known as ‘Kallis’, for a sauna and a cold plunge with views of the Öresund Bridge, a spot Time Out Sweden says is best at sunset. Then eat falafel, which in Malmö is taken far more seriously than fast food, and everyone has a favourite. Our Swedish colleagues also rate Kafé Verket at Moderna Museet Malmö as possibly the city’s most stylish café. For somewhere to eat and sleep, see our guides to Malmö’s best restaurants and best hotels.

Two Mediterranean islands round out the top five. Searches for Trapani on Sicily’s western tip are up 95 percent. From here, you can get a cable car ride up to medieval Erice and ferries out to Favignana, with San Vito Lo Capo, one of Sicily’s best beaches, about an hour’s drive away. New flights have put Samos on the radar too (up 75 percent). The birthplace of Pythagoras is home to the UNESCO-listed Tunnel of Eupalinos, a kilometre-long aqueduct dug through a mountain in the sixth century BC by two teams working from opposite ends, plus waterfalls you can swim in at Potami.

Elsewhere, Chongqing, Da Nang, Sal, Kittilä and Guatemala City complete the list. There’s something for everyone, whether you’re after neon cityscapes, winter sun or the northern lights.

The trending destinations for 2027, according to Skyscanner

1. Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (up 501 percent)
2. Hurghada, Egypt (up 186 percent)
3. Malmö, Sweden (up 103 percent)
4. Trapani, Italy (up 95 percent)
5. Samos, Greece (up 75 percent)
6. Chongqing, China (up 70 percent)
7. Da Nang, Vietnam (up 68 percent)
8. Sal, Cape Verde (up 67 percent)
9. Kittilä, Finland (up 65 percent)
10. Guatemala City, Guatemala (up 63 percent)

ICYMI: The best-value travel destinations for 2027 that have been revealed by Skyscanner.

Plus: These are the world’s friendliest cities, according to hundreds of travellers.