Travellers have “had it” with hustle culture and performative living – and they’re increasingly not interested in maximising every minute of their hard-earned holidays, according to Lemongrass Marketing’s 2027 Travel Trends report.

The report by the UK-based communications agency notes that optimisation has defined travel for years, with hyper-curated itineraries, rewards programmes and pressure-filled bucket-list travel, but that is changing as people increasingly want to slow down and enjoy the moment.

Consumers were sold on fitness trackers, productivity apps and biohacking techniques to maximise and document every experience on the journey to personal growth, the report notes.

How travellers are changing

“Holidays became jam-packed with experiences, recommendations, upgrades and expectations, creating pressure to make every trip productive or life-changing.

“Today, though, travellers don’t aspire to return home transformed but rather truly rested.”

Lemongrass suggests travel brands should take note: “The temptation to keep adding more may backfire.”

Instead, “focus on what matters to guests now: simpler itineraries, longer stays in fewer places, and more unstructured time”.

“In other words, permission to stop performing and simply enjoy the moment instead.”

The 2027 Lemongrass Travel Trends report covers 15 trends and concludes: “Despite global uncertainty, travellers aren’t retreating. They’re recalibrating. They’re choosing depth over volume, restoration over optimisation, trust over noise, and connection over consumption.

“Perhaps that’s the most hopeful trend of all.”