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Literary travel turns a love of books into a reason to explore: you can follow an author’s life, visit a story’s setting, browse bookshops and libraries, or take a literary trail. Skyscanner’s 2026 travel-trend reporting suggests rising interest, but its figures measure survey responses and use of one booking-platform filter—not proof that literary travel is becoming a dominant tourism segment.
What is literary travel?
Literary travel is a trip shaped by books and the places connected to them. That can mean visiting a real author’s home region, exploring a location depicted in fiction, following a literary trail, joining a guided tour, or simply making bookshops, libraries, festivals, and reading time part of an itinerary.
Formats vary by destination. Visit Portugal, for example, presents literary tours and itineraries that connect writers and their work with places and book-focused attractions. UNESCO’s account of KwaZulu-Natal describes trails linked to more than 100 writers associated with the region, with both self-guided and guided options.
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Skyscanner’s Travel Trends 2026 release reports that 57% of travellers had booked or would consider a trip inspired by literature. This combines past bookings with future consideration; it is not a figure for completed trips alone. The same release reports a 70% year-over-year increase in global use of Skyscanner’s hotel “library” filter. That measures use of a feature on Skyscanner, not overall demand for hotels with libraries.
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In Skyscanner’s US Travel Trends 2026 survey snapshot, 22% of American travellers said they planned to lose themselves in a good book while travelling in 2026. The US-specific result points to reading as part of the trip, rather than necessarily a visit to a literary landmark.
Skyscanner’s 2026 reporting calls one literature-related trend “Bookbound.” CEO Bryan Batista described the broader appeal as “Creating trips that feel less like an escape and more like an expression of self.” That is Skyscanner’s interpretation of travel trends, not an independent forecast. Together, the figures suggest that books are becoming a visible source of trip ideas, while leaving the scale and future growth of literary tourism unestablished.
Where can book lovers travel?
Portugal: literary itineraries and book-focused places
Portugal’s official tourism site highlights literary tours and itineraries, with destinations and experiences including Óbidos, Lisbon, Porto, and the Azores. These offer different ways to connect a trip with books and writers. Specific tours and events can change, so check current local listings before planning around one.
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UNESCO designated Medellín, Colombia, World Book Capital for 2027. In its 2026 announcement, UNESCO reported that the city has more than 110 bookstores and 25 libraries. The World Book Capital initiative began in 2001 and designates a city each year; its stated aims include promoting literacy, lifelong learning, copyright protection, and freedom of expression. The designation is a useful starting point for a book-focused visit, but it does not by itself confirm the dates or availability of particular events.
Coimbra: a literary map project
UNESCO describes Coimbra Lettered as a digital map of literary places designed to diversify cultural tourism and encourage visitors to explore beyond the city’s pressured historic areas. UNESCO’s page describes a project expected to run from 2020 to 2025; it does not establish whether the map is currently operational. Check its current status before relying on it for navigation.
KwaZulu-Natal: literary trails
UNESCO’s monitoring report documents literary trails across KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, connected to more than 100 writers with links to the province. It also names The Literary Guide to Kwa-Zulu Natal as a companion publication. The report is historical evidence of the trails and guide, not confirmation that the routes are currently maintained or that copies of the book are available.
How to plan a literary trip
- Choose your starting point. Begin with an author, a book, a genre, or a reading goal. A writer’s biography may lead to a real place; a novel may suggest a fictional setting; a reading goal may point toward a quiet retreat or a hotel with a library.
- Check the connection. Decide whether you want a documented link to a writer or work, an atmospheric setting, or time devoted to reading. These are different kinds of literary experience, and not every destination offers all of them.
- Compare guided and self-guided options. Look for a current tour, trail, itinerary, or map, and confirm who operates it and what access it provides. A route described in a past report may not be available in the same form today.
- Build around places and dates. Identify bookshops, libraries, trails, festivals, or book fairs that fit your plan. Confirm opening hours, event dates, entry conditions, and booking requirements with local providers before setting an itinerary.
- Check practical accessibility. Compare travel time between sites and whether they are reachable by your preferred transport. The official resources cited here do not provide a comprehensive, current comparison of prices, accessibility, or event calendars.
- Leave room for reading. If the appeal is as much the reading as the sightseeing, plan time for it rather than filling every day with stops. Skyscanner’s US survey result indicates interest in reading while travelling, but it does not prescribe a particular destination or itinerary.
What the trend figures do—and do not—show
The available numbers point to interest, not a definitive tourism forecast. Skyscanner’s survey combines people who had booked with those who would consider a literature-inspired trip, and its hotel-filter figure reflects activity on the company’s own platform. Neither establishes the size of the literary-tourism market or whether it will become a dominant travel category.
For a traveller, the practical takeaway is simpler: literary travel already has varied forms, from book-focused itineraries and city libraries to trails and time set aside to read. Whether it suits you depends on the places and experiences you can currently access, not on the trend label.
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