Curated by local experts and trend analysts, the list is designed to direct curious, conscientious travellers towards regions where their presence can have an outsized positive impact.
All of the destinations on the list currently attract relatively few international visitors but with new investments, experiences and improved infrastructure being introduced or announced this year, they’re ready – and deserving – of more travellers.
Picture courtesy Travel Nevada
Alongside the list, Intrepid has introduced new trips to six of the featured destinations, including Sierra Leone, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Turkey, Romania and El Salvador.
The list includes:
- Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone
- Tien Shan Mountain Range, Kyrgyzstan
- Sierra Norte, Mexico
- Vis Island, Croatia
- Gaziantep, Türkiye
- Arunachal Pradesh, India (main image)
- Via Transilvanica, Romania
- Ruta de las Flores, El Salvador
- Oulu, Finland
- Great Basin National Park, Nevada, United States.
The Not Hot List is developed with insights from Intrepid’s global product and operations experts in 32 countries, alongside travel trend agency Globetrender.
Picture courtesy Expediciones Sierra Norte
Using third-party statistics, trends and expert local insight, the 10 destinations have ultimately been selected based on three key criteria:
(1) Being less-visited, with lower awareness and fewer visitors than comparable places
(2) Demonstrating tourism readiness, with new initiatives to support and promote tourism
(3) With particular relevance in 2026.
“We know that 80% of travellers visit just 10% of the world’s tourism destinations and we recognise that we have a role to play in influencing that,” said Erica Kritikides, General Manager of Experiences at Intrepid Travel.
“The selection criteria for our Not Hot List reflects an approach to tourism that we’ve long championed.
“While some destinations receive millions – even tens of millions – of visitors each year, many lesser-known places go virtually unnoticed by travellers.
“A key consideration when we’re developing trips is how we can spread the economic benefits of tourism more widely and how our presence in a destination can positively impact the communities we’re visiting.”
To learn more about the destinations, download Intrepid’s 2026 Not Hot List here.
Main image courtesy Samsul Huda Patgiri
