These Are The Top 10 Dream Travel Destinations For 2026

A March 2026 report on dream destinations found that Japan appears in travelers’ wish lists more often than any other country. With international tourism surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time, a new study by the digital entertainment platform JB.com shows which countries are trending among travelers right now.

• Japan is the world's most trending destination, with over 1,600+ mentions in travel wish lists across Reddit alone.

• Every year, 185 million tourists make their dreams come true by going to Italy, the most-visited country in the world. 

• New Zealand is also among the must-see getaways, appearing in travelers’ bucket lists nearly 1400 times.

To find which countries people dream about visiting most, the research analyzed 100 Reddit threads where travelers shared their bucket lists and dream destinations. The study also tracked monthly online search interest for each destination, Instagram hashtag counts, and how many tourists actually visit every year. Countries were finally ranked by how often they appeared in online wish list discussions. 

Here's a look at the top 10 countries people dream most about visiting:

Country	Estimated Mentions	Average Number of Tourists	Instagram Hashtags #country
Japan	1,620	42,683,551	191M
New Zealand	1,380	3,510,000	25.8M
Italy	1,210	185,000,000	176M
Iceland	1,090	1,800,000	16.1M
Norway	970	7,196,000	29.4M
Switzerland	890	34,400,000	34.7M
Australia	820	8,840,000	89.6M
Canada	780	72,900,000	102M
Greece	730	37,980,000	53.3M
Scotland (UK)	690	7,700,000	29.9M

You can access the complete research findings here.

1. Japan

• Estimated mentions: 1,620

• Average number of tourists: 42.7 million

• Instagram hashtags: 191 million

Japan is the world’s most popular tourist destination right now. The country appears in travel wish lists 1,600+ times across Reddit discussions, way more than any other country in the world. Japan already welcomes 43 million tourists annually, but it seems there are still many who haven’t made their dreams come true yet. The same can be seen on social media as well, with 191 million Instagram posts keeping Japan at the top of travel feeds.

2. New Zealand

New Zealand ranks second, appearing in nearly 1,400 bucket lists. The country attracts just 3.5 million tourists yearly, making it one of the least-visited places in the top 10. Yet it is trending as high as Italy right now, which sees 50 times more actual visitors. New Zealand is frequently mentioned on Instagram too, with 26 million users sharing its photos and feeding the hype.

3. Italy

Italy takes third place, making over 1,200 travel wish lists. The country already hosts 185 million tourists each year, as it is the most-visited destination in the world. But mass tourism hasn't killed its romantic appeal yet. Over two million people search for travel tips to Italy every month, and the country continues to be social media’s favorite, with 176 million photos on IG alone. 

4. Iceland

Iceland comes fourth, getting mentioned nearly 1,100 times in online travel discussions on Reddit. The volcanic island attracts fewer than 2 million tourists yearly, as its remote location makes traveling there quite expensive. Still, around 1.4 million people search for what it would cost to go there, keeping it on their wish list and waiting for the right time to book.

5. Norway

Norway rounds out the top five dream destinations, appearing in Reddit bucket lists 970 times. The country welcomes 7.2 million tourists each year, far fewer than Italy or France, but northern lights and fjords keep it among the must-see places for many. The country is always trending on Instagram, too, with 29 million photos depicting its scenery.