Tour operator Intrepid Travel has unveiled its 2027 Not Hot List, an annual pick of ten destinations it believes deserve more visitors — chosen precisely because they aren't swamped with them. The list, now in its ninth year, is built on intelligence from Intrepid's local leaders across 35 countries, plus input from tourism boards and trend agency Globetrender.

The 2027 line-up is a genuinely globe-spanning bunch: Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, Mestia in Georgia, Jordan's Northern Highlands, Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon, the Greek island of Alonnisos, Dili in Timor-Leste, Sri Lanka's Pekoe Trail, Liepāja in Latvia, Chile's Carretera Austral, and Dalsland in Sweden.

Selection follows three tests. Destinations must be measurably less visited than comparable places, they need infrastructure that can actually handle more guests, and something new — better flights, fresh trails, major events — should give travellers a concrete reason to go in 2027. Several picks read as direct alternatives to crowded classics: Samburu is part of a nationwide effort to ease pressure on East Africa's busiest safari parks, while the Carretera Austral offers a quieter take on Patagonia.

Intrepid is backing the list with five new itineraries: a 10-day Kenya Safari Adventure, 16-day Wild Canada & Alaska, 10-day hike along Sri Lanka's Pekoe Trail, 12-day Jordan Uncovered, and a 9-day trek on Georgia's Trans-Caucasian Trail.

There's a track record here. Past list entries have aged well: Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan and Kyrgyzstan's Tien Shan mountains later appeared in The New York Times' 52 Places to Go for 2025 and 2026. Bookings tell a similar story — Intrepid reports travel to Pakistan up 67% year-on-year and Kyrgyzstan up 62% after their inclusions. Mongolia's Sainshand, on the 2025 list, saw bookings for the Trans-Mongolian Railway Adventure jump 298%, mirroring a 16% rise in Mongolia's international arrivals over the first nine months of 2025 — roughly double the Asia-Pacific average.

For travellers, this is a shortcut past the obvious. If you want a safari away from the Mara traffic jam, a Greek island without the August crowds, or Patagonia without the queues, the 2027 list hands you a starting point — with the added argument that spreading visitors to less-visited regions puts money into communities that actually need it. As Intrepid's Erica Kritikides puts it, the goal is helping people travel where their visit makes a meaningful contribution. Whether you book with Intrepid or not, it's a useful signal of where the crowd hasn't arrived yet — and probably will.