Beauty-Conscious Travelers Will Want To Take Advantage Of This Growing Trend In 2026

We all want to feel and look our best. From reading tips on how to keep your hair looking beautiful while traveling, to dreaming of visiting the World's largest Guerlain Wellness Spa in New York City, a big part of feeling great is looking your best, like keeping up with your skincare routine on a long-haul flight so you don't get dehydrated. Beauty-conscious travelers following trends like applying under-eye collagen boosting patches and tackling those fine lines will be happy to know there's a growing, perhaps even a glowing trend in 2026 that is on the rise: Glowcations.

With every new year that rolls around, trends are sure to follow. Skinny jeans are making a comeback, people are opting for slower travel, and the beauty scene is no stranger to trends either, like plucking your brows razor thin in the early 2000s. While some beauty trends are better left in the past, booking yourself a relaxing Glowcation sounds like a great way to look your best for 2026 or make your ex see what they're missing.

If you're the type of traveler that never forgets to pack your must-have toiletries in your bag, then a Glowcation is right up your alley. With beauty influencers and their friends packing their bags and jetting off to South Korea, the plastic surgery capital of the world, instead of five-star luxury resorts, Glowcations are now a must-do activity for the ultimate glow-up. Trending upwards with Gen-Z, Glowcations are aimed to have you returning home looking fresh and feeling rejuvenated, whether you decide to visit Seoul, Rome, Mumbai, or Los Angeles for your specific treatments.

Not very often do group trips ever leave the group chat, but makeup artist and beauty influencer Nam Vo and her four friends did just that. While South Korea is a known place to get body enhancements, or try the latest tech for skincare, Vo described the country as having "more skin clinics there than Starbucks." She goes on to mention that each person had their own treatments they wanted to get done and would "split up during the day — someone was getting arm fat dissolved, someone else was doing lasers, two friends had their eyelids done — and then meet up at the hotel to eat snacks and compare faces."

Booking.com recently released their predictions for 2026 travel, including feedback from 29,000 travelers across 33 countries, with Glowcations making the list. According to them, 80% of travelers stated they'd be interested in booking a trip to enhance their looks, with 59% saying they'd use AI treatments to get a personalized and thorough analysis. South Korean treatments involve doctor consultations, evidence-based dermatology, and accurate skin diagnosis in order to achieve the infamous Korean "glass skin".

India is another faraway destination that travelers are packing their bags and heading to for glow-up procedures. During my time in India, I had an Ayurvedic procedure done called Shirodhara, with warm oils drained onto my forehead and then massaged into my scalp. This was said to relax the nervous system. Indians have been practicing Ayurvedic medicine treatments for over 5,000 years, focusing on holistic healing through mind and body with herbalism, massage, yoga, and dietary changes aiming to heal from the inside out. Ayurvedic practices focus on the body's energies, known as doshas, required to be fully aligned to achieve optimal health and wellness.