Intrepid Travel released its annual Not Hot List, showcasing 10 lesser-known destinations ready to welcome more visitors in 2026. The list is designed to direct curious, conscientious travelers towards regions where their presence can have an outsized positive impact. All 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 travelers. Alongside the list, Intrepid has introduced brand-new trips to six of the featured destinations, including Sierra Leone, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Turkey, Romania and El Salvador.
The Not Hot List was developed with insights from Intrepid’s global product and operations experts in 32 countries, alongside travel trend agency Globetrender. Using third-party statistics, trends and expert local insight, the 10 destinations were 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; and (3) with particular relevance in 2026.
The 2026 Not Hot List includes:
1. Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone’s bold new 10-year tourism strategy is set to recast the country as a leader in sustainable travel while enhancing tourism infrastructure and promoting the country’s unique cultural heritage.
2. Tien Shan Mountain Range, Kyrgyzstan: With over 90% of the land covered in mountains, Kyrgyzstan offers unparalleled opportunities for alpine adventure, yet it remains largely undiscovered by the global travel community. In 2025, the country launched a Sustainable Tourism Development Program to welcome more travelers while preserving its cultural heritage. Central to this transformation is the Kyrgyz Nomad Trail in the Tien Shan Mountain Range, a 2000 km grassroots trekking network recently expanded by 1000 km.
3. Sierra Norte, Mexico: Deep in the Sierra Norte mountains of Oaxaca lies the Pueblos Mancomunados. This cooperative of eight self-governing Zapotec villages has been quietly building a blueprint for sustainable travel for more than 30 years. The region operates under a community-led tourism model that shares profits equally and limits visitor numbers.
4. Vis Island, Croatia: As Croatia steers visitors away from overcrowded destinations, Vis Island emerges as the perfect antidote to mass tourism. With no airports or cruise stops and modest, locally owned accommodation, Vis welcomed just over 21,000 visitors in 2024, a tiny fraction of Croatia’s 21.3 million. While featured in the country’s latest tourism campaign, new walking and cycling trails are planned in 2026, along with the opening of the Museum of Issa, giving travelers more ways to explore.
5. Gaziantep, Türkiye: The Southeastern Anatolia region is dotted with UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Cities such as Şanlıurfa and Gaziantep are deeply invested in attracting more visitors while preserving cultural heritage.
6. Arunachal Pradesh, India: Despite snow-capped peaks, ancient monasteries and diverse tribal cultures, Arunachal Pradesh’s remoteness, strict permit rules and low international profile have long kept it in the shadows. But upgraded highways, rising accommodation capacity and a refreshed commitment to community-based travel are giving travelers a unique glimpse into the region.
7. Via Transilvanica, Romania: Dubbed the “Camino of the East,” Romania’s 1400 km long-distance walking trail, Via Transilvanica, is helping position the country as Europe’s next great walking destination. The route is intentionally designed to connect travelers to lesser-known communities and share the economic benefits of tourism more widely.
8. Ruta de las Flores, El Salvador: El Salvador is one of the fastest-growing travel destinations globally – according to the UNWTO, tourist numbers surged by 80% between 2019 and 2024. Yet beyond the well-known beaches, the Ruta de las Flores remains one of the country’s best kept secrets.
9. Oulu, Finland: Recently crowned “European Capital of Culture 2026,” Oulu is a dynamic, forward-thinking coastal city just below the Arctic Circle in Finland. The city is championing environmental awareness through a bold cultural program that fuses climate science with creative expression.
10. Great Basin National Park, Nevada, United States: Great Basin remains one of the country’s least-visited parks, welcoming just 152,000 visitors in 2024. But the park is ready to welcome more travelers – expanding its number of year-round campgrounds and introducing new experiences in 2025. With looming budget cuts, visiting now isn’t just a quiet getaway, it’s a vote of confidence in the places that protect America’s most profound natural environments.
The 2026 list features a combination of lesser-known regions in popular tourism destinations such as Croatia and Mexico, as well as emerging countries like Sierra Leone and Kyrgyzstan, which international visitors have long overlooked. Notable highlights include Sierra Leone’s Tiwai Island, recently inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site; Finland’s Oulu, named European Capital of Culture 2026; and Kyrgyzstan’s Kyrgyz Nomad Trail in the Tien Shan Mountains, which has been expanded by 1,000 km.
Erica Kritikides, General Manager of Experiences at Intrepid Travel, commented: “We know that 80% of travelers visit just 10% of the world’s tourism destinations and we recognize that we have a role to play in influencing that. 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 travelers. 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 further support tourism development in these countries, Intrepid launched brand-new trips to six destinations on the Not Hot List, including Sierra Leone, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Turkey, India, Romania and El Salvador. This latest iteration of Intrepid’s Not Hot List builds on the success of last year's list which highlighted Pakistan’s Gilgit Baltistan, later featured in The New York Times 52 places to go in 2025 list, as well as Disko Island in Greenland, with the country now on track to open two new international airports in 2026 to support tourism growth. To learn more about the destinations, download Intrepid’s 2026 Not Hot List here: intrepidtravel.com/not-hot-list
About Intrepid Travel
Intrepid Travel has been a world leader in responsible travel for 35 years. The company’s mission is to create positive change through the joy of travel, which comes to life on more than 900 trips all designed to truly experience local culture. With its own network of country offices in 32 countries, Intrepid has unique local expertise and perspectives. Globally recognized for their commitment to transparency and ethical travel, they became B-Corp certified in 2018. Intrepid Travel is also the first tour operator with near-term science-based climate targets through the Science Based Targets Initiative, and its not-for- profit, The Intrepid Foundation, has disbursed more than $18 million to more than 160 partners. For more information, download the company’s 2024 Integrated Annual Report and follow Intrepid on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or LinkedIn.