Last spring, a chef friend of mine informed me that he had rescheduled the entire trip for Portugal. He used to spend every February eating his way through the southern Turkish fishing villages. Don’t give a long speech about it. Just a half-smile, a shrug, and the statement, “The map feels smaller now.” I still think about that statement. Because the more you speak with American tourists who are organizing coastal culinary vacations overseas in 2026, the more you realize that something has changed beneath the typical chatter about hotels and flights. It’s not as loud as a headline, but it’s still there.
Americans appear to be continuing. One in five people are planning an international trip this summer, according to the Allianz Partners 2026 Global Travel Confidence Index, and the food crowd—those who base their entire vacation around a single grilled fish in a town they can’t pronounce—remains a significant portion of this group. However, their destination and mode of transportation appear to be different than they were even two summers ago. As you listen to them, you get the impression that something more cautious has taken the place of the old instinct of simply pointing at a coastline and making a reservation. more complex.
This is partially mechanical. Routes between the United States and parts of Asia have been stretched due to airspace restrictions related to the conflict in Ukraine, increasing fares and lengthening flights that previously seemed almost casual. These days, a trip to a small fishing port in southern Thailand or Vietnam starts with a longer haul, a stopover that wasn’t there before, and a bill that has mysteriously increased by several hundred dollars. Regardless of whether they read the trade press or not, travelers are aware that these reroutings have significantly increased fuel costs throughout the industry, according to IATA.
The changes that don’t appear on a boarding pass, however, are more intriguing. A retired teacher from New Jersey told me that she had been planning a trip to eat her way along the Black Sea coast for almost two years, possibly including Georgia and a small portion of Turkey. She gave it up in March because she was sick of arguing with her son and he kept sending her State Department advisories, rather than because she was afraid. Instead, she made reservations for the Amalfi Coast. She might adore it. She might be mourning a trip she never went on.
This type of substitution is occurring everywhere, changing which coastlines are subtly benefiting. Portugal is going through a moment that seems almost suspicious. Itineraries that would have taken travelers to Egypt or Lebanon ten years ago continue to include Croatia. Of all places, Nova Scotia is growing in popularity among Americans seeking oysters and cold-water lobster. This is due in part to the region’s perceived safety and in part to the uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-Canada trade relationship in six months, which makes people want to visit before anything changes. Investors in the hospitality industry appear to think this reorganization has potential.
The economic aspect is also important. Roughly half of Americans are cutting back, and nearly eight out of ten expressed concern to Allianz about growing travel expenses. Scaling back rarely means giving up the trip for food travelers; rather, it means sacrificing the long-haul ambition for something closer, shorter, and less politically complex. Instead of two weeks of crudo in Sicily, spend a weekend in Charleston eating crab cakes. The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that domestic travel expenditures reached $5.3 trillion worldwide in 2024, and whether the industry wants to acknowledge it or not, this figure includes the desire for closer-to-home dining.
Observing all of this, it’s difficult to ignore how infrequently the term “geopolitics” is used. People discuss the cost of flights, a cousin who became stuck in a border line, and a news clip that unnerved them. The politics show up in the form of logistics. And the beaches wait patiently to see who arrives.
