Americans have long known that Montana is one of the most beautiful places on the planet — and the rest of the world is catching on fast.
Montana’s resort town of Big Sky takes the No.1 spot in a 10-strong 2026 Destinations of the Year ranking by travel site Expedia — compiled from millions of travel searches — after flights and lodging searches jumped by 92 percent.
While researchers didn’t explain the surge, the so-called “Yellowstone Effect” from the hit Paramount Network series may be a factor.
The hugely popular drama stars Kevin Costner as the head of a ranch set in a part of Yellowstone National Park located in Montana.
While the show’s Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is fictional, some filming takes place at the real-life Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana — and the storylines often revolve around attempts to develop the state’s pristine wilderness.
Big Sky is dominated by the iconic 11,166-foot-tall Lone Peak and offers superb skiing and snowboarding in winter, and exhilarating hiking in summer.
Other Montana highlights include the spectacular Glacier National Park, home to more than 20 glaciers and 170 peaks, along with two dozen scenic hot springs.
Second place in the 2026 Destinations of the Year list goes to Okinawa, Japan, with searches for the archipelago up 71 percent. Okinawa is famous for its flour-soft beaches and for being a “Blue Zone” of longevity — where it’s not uncommon for people to live beyond 100.
Third place on the list, which is part of Expedia’s Unpack ’26 travel trends report, goes to Sardinia, Italy, (63 percent), while the rest of the top five comprises Phu Quoc, Vietnam, (fourth, 53 percent) and Savoie, France ,(fifth, 51 percent), home to the Three Valleys, the largest connected ski area in the world, and world-class wines and cheese.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, (45 percent), comes sixth in the ranking, ahead of Ucluelet in British Columbia, Canada, (seventh, 44 percent); Cotswolds, United Kingdom, (eighth, 39 percent); San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, (ninth, 30 percent); with Hobart, Australia, (10th, 25 percent) rounding out the list.
The report also found that the slow travel movement – where quality and simple is emphasized over quick, fast travel to hit many locations – is gaining ground, with 84 percent of travelers expressing interest in staying on or near a farm.
Favorite farm activities include collecting eggs and feeding animals (liked by 62 percent of respondents in a poll) and gardening or harvesting produce (42 percent).
Away from Yellowstone, the trend of traveling to destinations inspired by TV shows and movies — known as set-jetting — is also broadly increasing, according to the report.
Expedia claimed that the trend is projected to become a potential $8 billion industry in the U.S. alone.
The 2026 set-jetting forecast includes Los Angeles for Nobody Wants This and Yorkshire in the U.K. for the Wuthering Heights movie and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
Expedia stated: “The annual global report highlights shifts in traveller behavior and the destinations set to dominate itineraries in 2026.”
The 2026 Destinations of the Year
- Big Sky, Montana, U.S. (searches up 92 percent)
- Okinawa, Japan (71 percent)
- Sardinia, Italy (63 percent)
- Phu Quoc, Vietnam (53 percent)
- Savoie, France (51 percent)
- Fort Walton Beach, Florida, U.S. (+45 percent)
- Ucluelet, Canada (44 percent)
- Cotswolds, U.K. (39 percent)
- San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (30 percent)
- Hobart, Australia (25 percent)
