South Lake Tahoe Leads Expedia’s 2027 Rising Destinations as Searches Jump 195%

The alpine getaway tops Expedia's international travel-interest ranking, offering a year-round story for travel advisors and tour operators from winter skiing to summer lake activities.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• South Lake Tahoe ranks first on Expedia's 2027 Destinations of the Year list following 195% year-over-year growth in platform searches.
• The rankings compare flight and accommodation searches from September 2025 to July 2026 with the corresponding previous-year period; they do not measure actual visitor arrivals.
• Heavenly and Sierra-at-Tahoe offer winter skiing, while Lake Tahoe supports kayaking and paddleboarding in summer.
• The designation gives travel advisors and tour operators a timely hook for promoting the area across more than one season.

Few destinations on Expedia‘s travel watchlist for 2027 can shift from snow-covered ski slopes to summer days on the water as naturally as South Lake Tahoe. The California-Nevada alpine destination now has another claim to attention: it leads the travel platform’s latest Destinations of the Year ranking, with search interest up 195% from a year earlier.

The distinction comes from Expedia’s Unpack ’27 Destinations of the Year, which identifies places recording the strongest growth in searches for flights and accommodation. The company compared activity between 1 September 2025 and 27 July 2026 with the equivalent period one year earlier. The 195% increase measures searches on Expedia, not visitor arrivals or completed travel bookings.

South Lake Tahoe finished well ahead of the next two destinations in the ranking, Japan’s Hyogo prefecture, up 95%, and Uruguay’s Punta del Este, up 65%. The top ten also features Sedona in Arizona, Busan in South Korea, Holbox in Mexico, Perugia in Italy, The Tweed in Australia, Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada and Chichester in the United Kingdom. The selection spans mountain, coastal, cultural and urban experiences rather than a single travel style.

An alpine destination with two distinct travel seasons

Lake Tahoe’s appeal is not confined to a winter resort visit. Expedia points to skiing at Heavenly and Sierra-at-Tahoe during the colder months, followed by kayaking and paddleboarding on North America’s largest alpine lake in summer. Those contrasting activities allow South Lake Tahoe to appeal to travellers looking for either snow sports or outdoor recreation on the water.

For destination marketers, that distinction is useful. A holiday programme centred on skiing has a different timetable, activity mix and audience from a summer itinerary built around the lake. Promoting both gives travel advisors, wholesalers and tour operators more than one seasonal proposition to present to clients considering the destination in 2027.

Search momentum is an opportunity, not a booking forecast

The scale of South Lake Tahoe’s increase makes it a notable result within Expedia’s data, but it should not be confused with a prediction that visitor volumes will rise by the same percentage. A search-based ranking shows growing attention on a particular booking platform; the extent to which that interest converts into trips remains to be seen.

For the travel trade, the practical value is therefore twofold: the report provides evidence that more potential travellers are researching the destination, while South Lake Tahoe’s contrasting winter and summer experiences offer ways to turn that awareness into tailored itineraries. Expedia itself describes the wider list as identifying places gaining attention before they become more prominent in mainstream travel planning.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, which promotes the destination through Visit Lake Tahoe, also emphasises a responsible approach to tourism and the preservation of its natural setting. With the destination attracting greater search interest, the longer-term question is not simply how widely South Lake Tahoe appears in travel programmes, but how the area’s tourism offer can retain its appeal across seasons.