The travel industry has developed a peculiar habit of smooshing random words together like an overenthusiastic linguistic chef in a word kitchen. The result? A smorgasbord of terms that range from the slightly silly to the completely wacky.
This rather tongue-in-cheek guide will walk you through the weird, the wacky, and the occasionally sick-inducing world of modern travel terms.
From terms that sound like they were invented during a particularly creative happy hour (“Bleisure,” anyone?) to whether you’re a devoted “Regenivore” (spoiler: not a new dinosaur species) or a proud “Gramper” (no, that’s not a typo), this guide will help you navigate the brave new world of travel talk in 2025.
Only a handful of these terms will ever make it into common parlance (Bleisure stuck it out surprisingly well…) but I still hope you have fun on this bizarre and linguistically wild ride!
AI-tinerary: When you let artificial intelligence be your travel buddy and plan your perfect trip. Because sometimes robots make better travel agents than your spontaneous friend who once planned a “beach vacation” in Antarctica.
Astro-tourism: For those who prefer their vacation views to be literally out of this world. Think stargazing parties where the dress code is telescopes and thermal blankets.
Authenti-cities: When you’re too cool for tourist traps and venture to places so authentic, even the locals are surprised to find tourists there.
Babymoon: The last hurrah of uninterrupted sleep and spontaneous adventures before your tiny co-traveller arrives. Includes mandatory ice cream runs at midnight.
Bizcation/Bleisure: When you convince your boss you need to attend that “crucial” conference in Hawaii. Somehow your laptop keeps getting sand in it.
Bleisure 2.0: Like regular bleisure, but you’ve mastered the art of looking professional on Zoom while secretly wearing swim shorts.
Bravecation: When your inner daredevil emerges on vacation, transforming you from cautious homebody to adventure seeker.
Carbon Offset Travel: Making Mother Nature smile by cleaning up after your wanderlust. Like leaving a tip, but for the planet.
Cool Cationers: Climate-smart travellers who chase the perfect weather like it’s their job. Because sweating should be from hiking, not just standing still.
Cruise and Stay: When you can’t decide between being a sea explorer or a land adventurer, so you do both. Pirates of the Caribbean meets Hotels.com.
Culinary Excavators: Food detectives who won’t rest until they’ve found that one legendary street food vendor mentioned in a blog post from 2015.
Cultural Immersion: When you start your trip as a tourist but end up knowing more local gossip than your hotel receptionist.
Datecation: Romance level: Expert. Because nothing says “I love you” like getting lost in a foreign city together.
Daycation/Daytripping: For when you want all the fun of travel but still want to sleep in your own bed. The commitment-phobe’s perfect vacation.
Destination Dupes: Finding the “store brand” version of famous destinations. Same great taste of adventure, half the tourist crowds!
Digital Detox: When you finally admit that you don’t need to Instagram every meal. May cause severe FOMO and unexpected inner peace.
Digital Nomad/Visa: Official permission to turn the world into your office. Because why work from home when you can work from Rome?
Dry-tripping: Proving you can have a blast without a glass. Memories so clear, you’ll actually remember making them!
Ecoluxury: Saving the planet while being pampered. Think solar-powered spa treatments and organic cotton sheets with astronomical thread counts.
Edventure: When your vacation teaches you something new, but you’re having too much fun to notice you’re learning.
Experiential Travel: For people who believe “taking photos of landmarks” is so 2010. You haven’t really visited Paris until you’ve failed at making croissants with a French chef.
Familymoon: A honeymoon where “romantic dinner for two” means a table for five and chicken nuggets are definitely on the menu.
Flashpacking: Backpacking for people who still want their Instagram to look fabulous. Same adventure, better Wi-Fi.
Flexcation: When your office is wherever your laptop lands. Just don’t forget to change your Zoom background from “tropical beach” during important meetings.
Flightseeing: Bird’s eye viewing for humans. Because sometimes the best seat in the house is at 3,000 feet.
Frolleagues: When your work buddies become your travel buddies, turning office relationships into actual friendships.
Gamping: Camping for beginners – in someone’s backyard. All the s’mores, none of the bears!
Gastro-tourism: Following your stomach around the world. The only kind of tourism where gaining weight is a sign of success.
The Gen Alpha Effect: When your tech-savvy kids become the family’s unofficial travel agents, one TikTok trend at a time.
Gen Gen AI: When Gen Z lets AI plan their trips because even picking a restaurant is too much decision fatigue.
Generation T: Travel-savvy 18-24 year olds who can spot an Instagrammable wall from a mile away.
Geo-tourism: Like regular tourism, but with a PhD in geography and a deep respect for rocks.
Ghamping: Ghost hunting meets camping. Perfect for those who want their ghost stories to be a little too real.
Gig-tripping: When you follow your favourite band around the world because being a fan in just one country isn’t enough.
Glampackers: Backpackers who never met a hostel they couldn’t make look boutique on social media.
Glamping: Camping for people who think nature is great but high thread count sheets are greater.
Gramping: When grandparents and grandkids team up for adventures while parents get a much-needed break. Unlimited ice cream guaranteed.
Heritage Travel: Traveling back to your roots, only to discover your great-grandparents had excellent taste in hometowns.
Holi-dayers: Masters of the 24-hour adventure. They pack more into one day than most people do in a week.
Hurkle-Durkling: The fine Scottish art of making your hotel bed your vacation headquarters. A guilt-free day of pure lounging.
Hush trips: When you’re “working from home” but home suddenly has a beach view and palm trees. Warning: That tropical bird chirping during your Zoom call might blow your cover!
Hybrid Meetings: When half the team is in Bali and half is in Boston, but everyone’s equally jealous of someone else’s location.
Hyper-local Travel: Becoming a tourist in your own backyard and finally finding out what that weird building downtown actually is.
Impul-setting: Letting AI be your travel dart board. Because sometimes the best trips are the ones you didn’t overthink.
MeMooners: Solo travellers who’ve discovered that books make the perfect travel companions – no compromises needed.
Microcations: For people who’d rather have lots of small adventures than one big one. Life is short, take more trips!
Nakation: Birthday suit required, courage optional. Not recommended for people who burn easily.
Noctourism – When your travel motto becomes “sleep is for the weak” and the city’s nighttime pulse becomes your personal playground. Quiet stargazing allowed too!
Nomadic Retirement: When “retiring” means selling the house and becoming a world traveller. The ultimate “gap year” for grown-ups.
Obli-cation: The family visit that’s technically a vacation but feels more like a mission.
Petcation: Because your fur baby deserves a vacation too. Warning: Your pet may develop expensive taste in hotels.
Philantourism: Making your vacation dollars do double duty as good deeds. Feel good while feeling good!
Pop-up Hotels: Here today, gone tomorrow, but the Instagram posts last forever.
Quietcations: For when your idea of paradise is hearing absolutely nothing except maybe some birds and your own thoughts.
Reboot Retreaters: People who go on vacation to become better versions of themselves. Results may vary, epiphanies guaranteed.
Regenerative Travel: Leaving places better than you found them. Like a superhero, but with a suitcase.
Regenivores/Climatarians: Travelers who check a destination’s carbon footprint before its TripAdvisor rating.
Remote Work Retreat: Working from paradise, but with better Wi-Fi than your home office.
Revelry Travel: Pure joy-seeking adventure, because life’s too short for boring trips.
Revenge Travel: Making up for lost time by booking every trip you dreamed about during lockdown. Your wallet may never forgive you.
Second City Travel: Discovering that the “second-best” city is actually the best-kept secret.
Sentient Spaces: Hotel rooms so smart they know you want room service before you do.
Set-Jetting: Following your favourite TV shows around the world. Warning: Real locations may be less dramatic than on screen.
Shoulder Shoppers: The smart cookies who travel when everyone else is still deciding where to go.
Shy Tech: When your hotel room with hidden technology is smarter than you but pretends not to be.
Sistermoons: Girls’ trips that prove sometimes the best travel companion isn’t your significant other.
Sleepcation: A vacation where napping is the main activity. Finally, a trip where jet lag is actually the goal!
Slow Travel: For people who believe getting there is half the fun, and the other half is not leaving.
Solomoon: When you love your spouse but also love traveling alone. Absence makes the heart grow fonder!
Spacation: A vacation where “getting steamed” is actually a good thing.
Space Tourism: For when Earth just isn’t exotic enough anymore. Warning: Astronomical prices may apply.
Staycation: Proving there’s no place like home, especially when you pretend it’s not your home.
Staycation 2.0: Like a regular staycation, but you actually do all those local things you’ve been meaning to do for years.
Surrender Seekers: Travellers who let fate (and travel agents) decide their destiny. Control freaks need not apply.
Swiftie Stays: When your travel itinerary is dictated by your favorite artist’s tour schedule. No judgment here!
Tempo Drinking: Mindful holiday drinking that ensures you’ll actually remember those sunset views.
Time Travel: Parents dragging their kids to childhood vacation spots, armed with embarrassing stories and outdated guide books.
Travel Concierge: Your personal fairy godparent of travel, making vacation dreams come true.
Travel Tuesday: The day when your wallet is most likely to convince you that you deserve another vacation.
Trip Chaining: Turning one trip into many, like a travel version of a TV series with multiple episodes.
Undertourism: Visiting places so underrated, they’re actually rated just right.
Voluntourism: Making the world a better place while seeing the world. Double karma points!
Workation: When your “out of office” reply is technically a lie, but your office view is definitely worth it.
Zen Tourism: Finding your inner peace in outer places. Warning: May cause sudden urges to become a monk.
The origin of many of these terms can be traced back to global hotel (Marriott, Hilton, Accor among others) and travel brands (Expedia, Booking.com among others), industry associations like ABTA as well as consultancy firms like McKinsey – and its too complex to list the exact provenance here. If anybody has any objections to this approach, let us know and we’d be happy to remove them right away…
Needless to say, we don’t have any claims to creating them (except for our own version of the definitions)!