Data Report

The State of Travel 2026

Name: GoNow Window — State of Travel 2026 Dataset
Creator: GoNow Window
Published: 2026-01-15T00:00:00Z
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We analyzed 1,060+ flight routes to 53 destinations across 20 origin cities for 2026. Here's what the data says.

Published January 15, 2026. Last updated August 25, 2026.

Destinations

Origin Cities

Routes Tracked

1,060+

Avg Fare (USD)

$661

Key Findings

Cheapest destination from NYC right now: 🇺🇸 Nashville, USA, with baseline fares from $180.
Most improved destination (7 days): 🇩🇰 Copenhagen, with a GO Score gain of +6% in the past week.
Best value region: Africa, with an average daily budget of $63 per traveler.
Strongest USD zone: 🇹🇷 Istanbul — the local currency is down 14% year-over-year against the dollar.
Most events happening soon: 🇹🇷 Istanbul — Victory Day (5 days away).

1. Where to go cheap

The 10 cheapest destinations from New York in 2026, ranked by baseline flight price. “% vs. average” compares the current fare against the rolling 12-month average for that route.

#	Destination	Flight	vs. Average	Daily Budget	GO Score
1	🇺🇸 Nashville USA	$180	-52%	$90	67
2	🇺🇸 Las Vegas USA	$200	-48%	$100	62
3	🇺🇸 Honolulu USA	$350	-45%	$120	68
4	🇨🇦 Vancouver Canada	$350	-39%	$140	66
5	🇲🇽 Cancun Mexico	$380	-47%	$100	62
6	🇨🇴 Medellin Colombia	$380	-33%	$35	58
7	🇨🇺 Havana Cuba	$380	-13%	$60	57
8	🇲🇽 Mexico City Mexico	$400	-54%	$70	61
9	🇨🇴 Bogota Colombia	$400	+11%	$40	57
10	🇬🇧 London United Kingdom	$450	-37%	$120	67

Fares found from New York (JFK). Updated daily.

2. The currency advantage

Where the US dollar has gained the most purchasing power year-over-year. A destination with a positive number here is now cheaper for American travelers, even before factoring in airfare or hotel changes.

Destination	Currency	YoY vs USD	What this means
🇹🇷 Istanbul Turkey	—	+14%	Your $100 now buys ~14% more than last year.
🇮🇩 Bali Indonesia	—	+4%	Your $100 now buys ~4% more than last year.
🇨🇺 Havana Cuba	—	+4%	Your $100 now buys ~4% more than last year.
🇻🇳 Hanoi Vietnam	—	+2%	Your $100 now buys ~2% more than last year.
🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam	—	+2%	Your $100 now buys ~2% more than last year.
🇦🇷 Buenos Aires Argentina	—	+2%	Your $100 now buys ~2% more than last year.
🇨🇦 Vancouver Canada	—	0%	Roughly flat vs. last year.
🇯🇵 Kyoto Japan	—	0%	Roughly flat vs. last year.
🇯🇵 Osaka Japan	—	0%	Roughly flat vs. last year.
🇯🇵 Tokyo Japan	—	0%	Roughly flat vs. last year.

3. Timing matters

Destinations with a major event, festival, or natural phenomenon coming up. Flight prices typically rise in the weeks before peak dates — book early when the data is in your favor.

🇹🇷 Istanbul

Turkey

in 5d

Victory Day

Peak: August 30, 2026

🇵🇪 Lima

Peru

in 5d

Santa Rosa de Lima

Peak: August 30, 2026

🇬🇧 London

United Kingdom

in 6d

Summer Bank Holiday

Peak: August 31, 2026

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

Scotland

in 6d

Summer Bank Holiday

Peak: August 31, 2026

🇻🇳 Hanoi

Vietnam

in 8d

National Day

Peak: September 2, 2026

🇻🇳 Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

in 8d

National Day

Peak: September 2, 2026

🇬🇷 Santorini

Greece

in 11d

Wine Harvest Season

Peak: September 5, 2026

🇺🇸 Honolulu

USA

in 13d

Labour Day

Peak: September 7, 2026

🇺🇸 Nashville

USA

in 13d

Labour Day

Peak: September 7, 2026

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

in 13d

Independence Day

Peak: September 7, 2026

🇨🇦 Vancouver

Canada

in 13d

Labour Day

Peak: September 7, 2026

🇺🇸 Las Vegas

USA

in 13d

Labour Day

Peak: September 7, 2026

4. By region

How the data breaks down across six regions. “Avg Flight” is the baseline fare from NYC; “Avg Score” is the mean GO Score across destinations we track in the region.

Asia

14 destinations

Avg Flight: $856
Avg GO Score: 56
Best in region: 🇻🇳 HanoiScore 64

Europe

18 destinations

Avg Flight: $575
Avg GO Score: 58
Best in region: 🇹🇷 IstanbulScore 74
Cheapest in region: 🇬🇧 London$450

Americas

14 destinations

Avg Flight: $448
Avg GO Score: 62
Best in region: 🇵🇪 LimaScore 70
Cheapest in region: 🇺🇸 Nashville$180

Africa

3 destinations

Avg Flight: $817
Avg GO Score: 54
Best in region: 🇪🇬 CairoScore 61
Cheapest in region: 🇲🇦 Marrakech$600

Oceania

3 destinations

Avg Flight: $1,083
Avg GO Score: 58
Best in region: 🇳🇿 AucklandScore 58
Cheapest in region: 🇦🇺 Melbourne$1,050

Middle East

1 destination

Avg Flight: $750
Avg GO Score: 42
Best in region: 🇦🇪 DubaiScore 42

5. Methodology

The GO Score is a composite 0–100 rating combining five real-time signals: flight prices (30%), upcoming moments and events (25%), weather comfort (20%), currency strength (15%), and hotel prices (10%). A score of 80+ means multiple factors are aligning in favor of travel.

Flight prices are sourced via Aviasales (Travelpayouts) and Booking.com and compared against a rolling 12-month average for each route. Hotel prices come from Booking.com. Weather forecasts come from OpenWeatherMap and Open-Meteo. Currency exchange rates come from the European Central Bank via Frankfurter. Events and festivals come from Ticketmaster Discovery and public holiday data.

Flight prices, hotel prices, and currency rates are refreshed daily at 06:00 UTC. Weather forecasts update hourly within the 7-day window. This report is rebuilt every 24 hours from the live dataset — numbers you see above reflect the most recent snapshot across 1,060+ route-destination pairs.

For the full factor breakdown and scoring formula, see our methodology page.

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Cite this report

GoNow Research. (2026). The State of Travel 2026 — Data Report from 1,000+ Routes. GoNow Window. https://gonowwindow.com/reports/state-of-travel-2026