By Tom Miller, Business Director, BRASH

Tourism is now strategic

In 2026, tourism is no longer driven by desire alone. While travellers may like to believe their travel plans are shaped purely by lust, longing, and the occasional well-lit marketing image, the reality is rather more complex. Increasingly, travel decisions are being influenced, and in some cases quietly dictated, by policy, geopolitics, and national ambition. Where people go, and how destinations are perceived, is now as much about access, alignment, and trust as it is about beaches and bucket lists.

At the same time, traveller expectations are shifting at pace. We say this every year, of course. Each year brings a new set of trends, some genuinely new, others simply rebranded with better typography. But the direction of travel is clear. Supported by National Geographic research, demand continues to rise for experiences that are both meaningful and frictionless.

Sports tourism, noctourism, agrotourism, Indigenous-led journeys, literary escapes, and active rural travel have moved firmly into the mainstream. Searches for retreat-based travel are up 265%. 74% of Gen Z runners now choose rural “runcations”. Experience, it turns out, is no longer the added extra.

It is the product.

Geopolitics shapes demand

Visa access, airspace, and diplomatic relationships now play a far more decisive role in where travellers feel comfortable going. The space we operate in seems to grow more complex by the day, and the unpredictable decisions of destinations, sometimes made far from tourism offices, can leave the industry feeling, at best, mildly unsteady.

We can see this quite clearly in the data. A number of global destinations remain below pre-pandemic international tourism levels, not through any shortage of appeal, culture, or coastline, but because access and perception now matter just as much as aspiration.

And yet, global tourism has recovered in volume. Around 1.4 billion international arrivals were recorded in 2024, and with 2025 figures imminent, all indications suggest this upward trajectory will continue. Demand, however, is rarely evenly distributed. What we see instead is a growing concentration towards destinations perceived as stable, open, and easy to navigate.

For destination brands, ease of entry and political stability are no longer background considerations. They are trust signals, quiet but powerful indicators of whether a destination feels like a good idea… or one best saved for another year.

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Corridors create regional advantages

Regional travel corridors (agreements that simplify movement between neighbouring CIS countries through aligned visa policies, air access, and border processes) are fast becoming one of tourism’s more effective, if less glamorous, growth levers. Simplified cross-border travel can unlock more resilient visitor flows, encourage longer stays, and support genuinely multi-destination itineraries. Sensible ideas, it turns out, still work.

Particularly when today’s slightly younger travellers are travelling with, and increasingly for, a sense of purpose. Their motivation is less about ticking off places, and more about going deeper: into history, heritage, and culture, preferably without having to reapply for a visa halfway through the journey.

We have seen this approach succeed elsewhere. Central America, for example, has driven notable visitor growth through coordinated policy, aligned access, and shared storytelling, a reminder that collaboration, while rarely fashionable, is often highly effective.

For CIS destinations, corridors are therefore not merely an operational convenience. They are a branding advantage. One that allows destinations to move beyond isolated narratives and instead tell larger, regional stories, with greater scale, coherence and, perhaps most importantly, fewer forms to fill in.

National companies are brand builders

It may sound obvious to say it, but tourism growth in 2026 is increasingly state-led. National airlines, rail networks, hospitality groups and official tourism authorities now play a decisive role in shaping not only where people go, but how destinations are experienced, from first touchpoint to final boarding call.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Saudi Arabia, which recorded a 73% increase in international visitors in the first seven months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2019, according to the UN World Tourism Barometer, driven by large-scale infrastructure investment paired with confident, heritage-led branding. Dubai, the long-standing power player in Middle East tourism, welcomed approximately 17.5 million international visitors between January and November 2025, according to the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, reflecting continued growth driven by a tightly integrated ecosystem of transport, events, and global campaigns.

When national strategy, infrastructure, and brand move in alignment, destinations scale, and they scale quickly. That acceleration brings opportunity, investment and tangible social and economic progress; outcomes worth remembering, and worth uniting behind.

Branding in a geo-strategic world

Destination branding now sits at the intersection of aspiration and reassurance. The strongest brands no longer rely on inspiration alone; they quietly remove reasons not to go. They make travel feel easy, safe, and meaningful, not through clever slogans, but through signals of quiet confidence, trust, and stability.

This shift is increasingly reflected in traveller behaviour. Expedia’s Unpack ’26 report points to rising demand for neighbourhood exploration, farm-based stays and locally rooted experiences. Even the all-inclusive model, once designed to insulate travellers from their surroundings (fruity cocktails in hand), is evolving, with 45% now choosing options anchored in local culture. Authenticity still matters it seems, provided it comes with good logistics and reliable Wi-Fi.

Which places destination brands in a more complex position. They must promise discovery, while simultaneously offering reassurance. They must invite travellers to explore, without asking them to feel uncertain while doing so. In other words, aspiration may open the door, but reassurance is increasingly what allows people to step through it.

The takeaway

In 2026 therefore, it is perhaps best not to think of ‘tourism’ as an industry, but as a strategic ecosystem, one where access, experience, and narrative must operate in careful alignment, ideally without contradicting one another.

Geopolitics, strategic corridors, and national operators are no longer background noise. They are now central characters, shaping how destinations are built, branded, and selected, sometimes long before a traveller ever opens a browser tab.

Tourism, then, is no longer just about where people go. It is about who controls access, who sets the tone, and who earns enough trust to make the decision feel like a good idea.