Methodology
How the Travel Index Works
The Travel Index Lab aggregates signals from multiple data sources to produce a weekly ranking of the world's most trending travel destinations. Each city receives two scores: a Global Index and a Top 20 Index.
Global Index
The Global Index (0–100) reflects the overall travel interest for a destination based on search volume, social media mentions, flight booking trends, and accommodation demand. A higher score indicates stronger trending interest relative to the global baseline.
Top 20 Index
The Top 20 Index is a weighted composite that factors in the Global Index plus additional signals specific to trending destinations: week-over-week momentum, content creator activity, and event-driven demand spikes.
Ranking Changes
Position changes are calculated by comparing a city's current rank against its rank in the previous week. Cities appearing for the first time in the Top 20 are labeled as "NEW."
City Tags
Each city is assigned a primary vibe tag (e.g., "Foodie Paradise," "Cultural Capital") based on traveler sentiment analysis. These tags reflect the dominant reason travelers are interested in the destination during the current period.
Data is refreshed weekly on Fridays. The methodology is subject to periodic refinement.