Forget ‘me time’: This is the most important travel trend of 2026

January 27, 2026 — 5:00am

When the new year turns over there’s inevitably talk about travel trends for the coming year.

Wellness travel will be a big trend, I’m told, as people seek more “me time” and a retreat from the psychological stresses of an increasingly fraught world.

I think we might all need a bit of that given how the year has started. But I’m more interested in finding “they time” in 2026.

That’s the lovely, sweet spot when you make a bond with strangers that’s lasting. It doesn’t mean you’ll end up pen pals, just that the connection is so deep you’ll never forget the person or the circumstances of how and when you met them.

I hope every traveller has lots of these because it means you’re doing travel right.

If the exchange means you can do something good for them as well, even if it’s as simple as empathy and a shared human warmth, and learn something in return, then it’s even more profound.

When I went hiking in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains last year with a group of schoolgirls and a man and his donkey, it was one of those profound experiences.

In the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report of 2024, out of 146 countries surveyed, Morocco ranked fifth from last in economic participation of women.

Girls in rural areas and remote villages marry as early as 12 and by 18 might have two or three children. It’s impossible for them to have economic independence at any point in their lives. Parents are too poor to send their girls to school, even if they allowed it, and schools are so distant, they don’t have the resources for travel or accommodation to attend.

In 2006, Mike and Chris McHugo, owners of the Kasbah du Toubkal in the High Atlas rented a safe home for a few girls to stay nearer a school, employing a housemother to look after them during the school week.

That was the beginning of Education For All Morocco (EFAM), a charity which has been remarkably successful in allowing girls from the poorest families to break from the cycle of illiteracy and poverty by providing accommodation, meals, academic support and stability in boarding houses, nurtured by a supervising housemother.

There are now six houses. More than 500 girls have graduated with their baccalaureates thanks to EFAM. The pass rate is 100 per cent, which is extraordinary. Many have gone to university, graduating in engineering, law, science and graphic design. And companies such as Hays Travel in the UK have stepped up to offer them internships.

Mike McHugo says it was very difficult in the beginning to convince conservative parents to send their daughters to the boarding houses, but now to have a daughter accepted is considered prestigious and there are many more applicants than places in a house.

In 2025, 203 girls found places, but many missed out. Building more houses and support systems is crucial. You can visit efamorocco.org to find more about the many programs, including one for children with Down Syndrome.

In September, I visited Dar Ouigine, one of the boarding houses in the High Atlas as part of an outreach program through This is Beyond, a company that holds events for the travel industry.

The house, set in gardens of fruit trees and vegetables, is charming and welcoming. Outside, there are plaques that recognise sponsorship from Australian Aid and the New Zealand government. Inside, it’s very homey. There’s a full-time cook and cleaner.

We first meet the students over a traditional Moroccan breakfast, before setting off for a walk. Malika, who runs the alumni program talks about the multiple successes of girls going on to university.

It’s a beautiful sunny morning. The girls walk together every day. We set off down the hill, accompanied by a local man, Hasan, and his donkey. He begins to chant, and the girls join in the chorus. It’s delightful.

We walk for two hours along trails and over a creek, passing through small villages that were affected by the earthquake of 2024. The girls are confident, happy, proud of what they are achieving academically.

I’ll never forget them.

It’s easy to be cynical about what’s happening in the world right now. But there are good people doing good work everywhere. Ask around when you travel – you can find them.

It’s one of the easiest things in the world to travel with an open heart.

The writer was a guest of PURE Life Experiences. See kasbahdutoubkal.com