The Shift From Sightseeing to Living Like a Local
For decades, travel followed a fairly predictable script built around checklists of monuments and photo stops. That script is losing its grip. The “living like a local” trend isn’t fleeting; it’s the defining mindset of modern travelers, backed by data, a robust experiential market, and social media’s influence that will continue shaping travel in 2026 and beyond.
The change isn’t just anecdotal. According to global consumer surveys conducted in late 2024 and early 2025, more than 78 percent of leisure travelers across 20 major markets indicated that having at least one memorable, locally authentic experience was a primary trip-planning criterion, up from 61 percent in 2020. That’s a meaningful jump in just a few years, and it suggests this isn’t a passing fad tied to one season’s marketing campaign.
Overtourism Has Made Quiet Places More Appealing
Part of the reason local experiences matter now comes down to simple frustration with crowds. Over-tourism has overwhelmed iconic destinations like Venice, Barcelona, and Bali, leading many to seek alternatives, since lesser-known locations offer tranquillity, natural beauty, and a more intimate connection with the environment, free from the crowds and inflated prices. Travelers aren’t just avoiding hassle, they’re actively looking for something more grounded.
Timing has become part of the strategy too. To better experience local culture, avoid contributing to overtourism, and potentially save a few dollars, travelers are increasingly avoiding peak seasons and heavily visited destinations, with forty-five percent of advisors from travel agency Virtuoso saying their clients are adjusting plans due to climate change, and seventy-six percent reporting increased interest in shoulder-season or off-peak travel. That kind of deliberate rescheduling, choosing a quieter month over a convenient one, shows how much weight authenticity now carries in the decision.
Authenticity Now Shows Up in the Numbers
What used to be a vague preference has turned into something researchers can actually measure. Specifically, 73 percent of global travelers now seek more authentic, local experiences to fully immerse themselves in a culture, especially when traveling with children. That’s not a niche interest anymore, it’s closer to a majority expectation.
Industry data backs this up from a different angle. Survey respondents cited the range and quality of local activities on offer at a rate that trailed only essential needs like safety, navigability, cost, and accommodation, and were nearly as likely to cite the ability to experience authentic local customs and culture as a decision factor. In other words, local culture is now competing with safety and cost as a reason people pick one destination over another.
Younger Travelers Are Driving the Change
Generational habits explain a lot of this momentum. According to McKinsey survey data, 52 percent of Gen Zers say they splurge on experiences, compared with only 29 percent of baby boomers. That gap is wide enough to reshape entire booking platforms and marketing strategies over time.
The preference for authenticity over convenience is especially sharp among younger cohorts. As for how Millennial and Gen Z respondents achieve their local discovery, 83 percent say that they prioritize unique, authentic experiences over popular tourist attractions. Many are also willing to step outside their comfort zone to get there, with 76 percent of global respondents saying they’re likely to do something adventurous or outside their comfort zone while traveling, with Millennials and Gen Z surveyed even more likely to do so at 86 percent.
Food Has Become a Doorway Into Local Culture
Few things connect a visitor to a place faster than what’s on the plate. From tasting street food in bustling markets to taking cooking classes with local chefs, food tourism is about more than just eating, it’s about connecting with culture, tradition, and history through cuisine. A single meal, done right, can teach more about a region than an afternoon of museum plaques.
Hands-on learning is part of what makes this stick. Whether it’s a tortilla-making class in Mexico City or a fragrance workshop in Paris, 79 percent of Millennials and Gen Z surveyed say that they’re likely to seek out local workshops or activities specific to the destination they’re visiting. And it isn’t just about the activity itself, since 82 percent say learning a new skill while traveling creates a more memorable experience.
Secondary Cities Are Getting Their Moment
As famous hubs get crowded and pricier, attention is spreading to places that used to sit in the shadow of bigger neighbors. That shift is fueling the rise of so-called secondary cities, which sit outside major tourist hubs and offer more immersive experiences, with online travel platform Agoda finding that accommodation searches in Asia’s secondary destinations are growing 15 percent faster than in traditional tourism hubs. That’s a notable gap, and it points to a real redistribution of travel demand rather than just wishful thinking from tourism boards.
Search behavior tells a similar story on the marketing side. According to Accor’s survey, 58 percent of Brits now prioritise travelling to lesser-known destinations over tourist hotspots, and in the past year, searches for hidden gem holiday destinations have increased by 150 percent. Smaller cities and towns are no longer just a fallback option when the famous spots are fully booked, they’re becoming the actual draw.
Longer Stays Are Changing What Local Even Means
Local immersion takes time, and travelers are increasingly building that time into their plans. International trip lengths where travellers stayed in paid accommodation, from hotels to local homestays, were 7 percent higher in 2025 than pre-pandemic averages, according to Oxford Economics. A longer stay changes the texture of a trip entirely, turning a rushed itinerary into something closer to actually living somewhere for a while.
Remote work has helped make this possible for a growing slice of travelers. Corporate travel trends show that in 2025, 39 percent of remote-capable workers took longer trips, up from 31 percent in 2024, reflecting a continued shift toward extended stays. Spending mornings working and afternoons exploring a neighborhood market isn’t a fringe lifestyle anymore, it’s becoming a fairly normal way to travel for people whose jobs allow it.
Social Media Is Amplifying the Search for Real Moments
Ironically, one of the biggest forces pushing people toward authentic local experiences is the same platform many blame for shallow tourism. A major driver of this trend is social media, since viral videos are inspiring people to go out and see popular bakeries and experience hands-on classes. The content that spreads fastest often celebrates the specific and the local rather than the generic.
This influence is especially strong among younger travelers looking for food recommendations. While almost half of global respondents look to family and friend recommendations for food travel decisions, Millennials and Gen Z surveyed are also relying on social media for inspiration, with more than 75 percent saying they’re likely to seek out a food item that’s gone viral during a trip. The irony is that a trend can start online and still end with someone standing in a real, physical corner of a real neighborhood.
Local Experiences Are Reshaping Sustainable Travel Too
Choosing local isn’t only about personal enjoyment, it increasingly overlaps with concerns about environmental and community impact. A 2025 global travel sustainability survey by the World Travel and Tourism Council found that 71 percent of international travelers actively considered environmental impact when selecting travel operators, and 48 percent would pay a premium of 15 percent or more for certified sustainable experiences. Supporting a family-run tour or a small local guide often does double duty, offering a richer experience while keeping money circulating in the community being visited.
Industry reports increasingly frame this as intertwined rather than separate priorities. Reports from major travel agencies show the top ways travelers seek to travel sustainably, easing the pressure on local communities and preserving authentic experiences. The traveler who wants a genuine connection to a place and the traveler who wants to minimize harm are, more often than not, the same person.
What This Means for the Way We Travel Next
The economics behind this shift are hard to ignore. The global travel experiences market was estimated to reach around 360 billion U.S. dollars in 2025. That’s a substantial market built almost entirely around the idea that people want to do something specific and meaningful, not just look at something famous.
Looking ahead, the pattern shows little sign of reversing. Longer stays amplify demand for accommodation in culturally rich neighbourhoods within cities, guided cultural tours, and immersive or everyday experiences that make visitors feel part of the locale rather than outside spectators, meaning tomorrow’s traveller will not only be hungry for experiential travel but will be travelling more in order to satisfy this demand. Whatever destination ends up trending next year, the underlying appetite, for something real, local, and a little less scripted, looks set to stay.
The Bigger Picture
None of this means grand landmarks are losing their pull entirely. People still queue for famous museums and iconic viewpoints, and probably always will. What’s changed is what happens around those moments, the meal beforehand, the neighborhood walk after, the workshop squeezed in on a quiet afternoon.
Local experiences matter more now simply because travelers have more ways to find them, more reasons to want them, and more evidence that they’re worth the effort. That’s not a trend likely to fade once the current travel season ends. It looks more like a recalibration of what a good trip actually means.