Tokyo now outranks Kyoto on a list of favourite cities, and Japan as a whole has pushed Greece out of first place. That is the headline from the 2027 Virtuoso Luxe Report for the United Kingdom and Ireland, a survey of more than 3,100 travel advisors at Virtuoso-affiliated agencies spread across North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Japan is now the most requested international destination for British and Irish clients. It did not stop there. It also came first for solo travel, sixth for both family trips and honeymoons, and Tokyo rose to first among cities, with Kyoto at No. 3. Thailand entered the international top five at No. 4, and China debuted at No. 7 among destinations on the rise. Asia, in the report’s words, now has a stronger foothold among the established European favourites.
Why Japan travels so well
The luxury advisors are not alone in their verdict. The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index put Japan first in the world this year, up two places, and moved the United States down to second. The index does not simply count arrivals or revenue. It scores 17 factors that decide whether a trip runs smoothly, among them safety, cleanliness, the quality of trains and subways, mobile payments, fast Wi-Fi, heritage sites and how easy a visa is to obtain.
The numbers behind it are large. In 2025 Japan received a record 42.7 million international visitors, who spent nearly $60 billion. Crowds on that scale usually mean long queues and irritated residents. Japan’s tourism board instead pushed travellers beyond Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka toward quieter regions, helped by easier visas and rail and bus services that foreigners can work out without a guide.
Where the money goes
Advisors describe a customer who arrives with a budget and asks where it will stretch furthest. The report calls this “fancy-flation”. Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico and Costa Rica are gaining from it. Nobody, the advisors say, is trading down. Clients swap the destination and keep the suite, the private guide and the hard-to-get table.
Europe has not been abandoned. Paris climbed from sixth to second among cities and London jumped from ninth to fourth. Lisbon made the top 10 for the first time, at No. 9. The Maldives kept its honeymoon title for a fourth year, with Italy second and Greece third. Antarctica led both the destinations-on-the-rise list and cruise itineraries, and held the adventure lead for a third straight year.
Families, solo travellers and celebrations
Multigenerational travel moved up two places to become the No. 1 trend, while expedition cruising came back into the top 10 at No. 8. Virtuoso calls the combination “Gen-XYZ-peditions”. More than half of advisors, 54 percent, reported growth in ultraluxe travel, 17 percentage points higher than in last year’s survey.
Solo travellers are planning around goals rather than places. Health and wellness leads that category, and women-only solo travel entered at No. 4, cited by 31 percent of advisors. France, Iceland and Bhutan are gaining momentum with the solo crowd. Milestone occasions rose from fourth to become the top reason to travel, while rest and relaxation fell from first to fifth.
The outlook for 2027
Advisors are upbeat. Some 56 percent expect leisure demand to rise slightly next year and another 23 percent expect a significant rise. On spending, 76 percent predict a slight to significant increase per trip, and only 19 percent think it will stay the same. Value and safety, the survey notes, carry more weight than before in where and how clients choose to go. In China, broader visa-free policies are easing arrival, and more non-stop flights from London are opening seats to Cape Town in its peak season.
Sources
- The 2027 Virtuoso Luxe Report United Kingdom & Ireland: Japan Claims the No. 1 Spot
- Kirisuto no Haka
- Jamie Miller’s ‘Babydoll’ Bags Second Consecutive Week as U.K. No. 1
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- Japan Dethrones U.S. as the Best Country for Tourism in 2026 – Alo Japan | AloJapan.com
Photo: Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0)
