The Aurora Allure: Why It's Still on Everyone's Bucket List and Where It's Taking Travellers
Witnessing the auroras has always been on many people's bucket lists, but its elusive nature has also made it a seemingly challenging endeavour. Dark skies, clear weather, and solar activity are what is needed to catch the ethereal sight, thus requiring a fair bit of luck. Still, it remains a bucket list item for many travellers, with new data from Trip.com revealing a 132% year-on-year (YoY) increase in global searches for aurora borealis over the past year.
Top Northern Light Destinations
With reports saying that 2026-2027 is shaping to be the last reliably strong aurora season before activity fades to a minimum around 2031, travel interest to the north remains high. Nordic countries such as Finland, Norway and Sweden are some of the top-searched Northern Light destinations globally[1].
Reservations for aurora-viewing tours and packages are also seeing a surge of 225% YoY, and some of the top-booked destinations include ReykjavÃk, Iceland, Tromsø, Norway and Yellowknife, Canada[2].
Meanwhile, Mohe in Heilongjiang, China, is gaining attention as an aurora-viewing destination, with a near four-fold increase in worldwide searches in the past year[3]. Ranked top two on Trip.Best's 'November Global Aurora Destination List', China's northernmost city is said to be one of the rare places where you can get a glimpse of the aurora borealis in the country. Global flight bookings to the city over the past year have risen by 47% YoY, based on Trip.com data[4].
The increased Northern Lights interest is translating into actual booking behaviour. Worldwide total bookings to popular aurora-viewing destinations during the upcoming winter-spring season are already signalling an upward trend - notably, Rovaniemi, Finland (+72%), Kiruna, Sweden (+56%) and Tromsø, Norway (+48%)[5]. Travellers from markets including China, United Kingdom, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, and Singapore are among the top source markets driving this growth[6].
APAC Plans Early While Europe Sees Some Flexibility
While travel interest to aurora-viewing destinations sees an upward trend from as early as May[7], bookings tend to congregate toward the end of the year, as dark winter nights and clear skies boost chances of catching the dancing lights.
Globally, the average booking window falls slightly over three months, suggesting that aurora-chasing trips are less of a spontaneous one, but an intentional getaway that holidaygoers plan ahead. This is especially so for APAC travellers who plan their aurora trips early, with an even longer average booking window (+10%). Meanwhile, European travellers are more flexible with their booking timelines with a shorter average booking window (-10%) likely due to a closer proximity to the northern region.
From Aurora-Chasing to a Full Winter Adventure
While auroras may be the main agenda, most travellers also take the chance to explore the surrounding sights and sounds, building a larger and longer trip filled with winter magic and snow adventures. On average, international travellers stay eight to nine days when making trips to popular aurora destinations like ReykjavÃk, Tromsø, Svalbard, Yellowknife and Fairbanks[8]. This is because more days not only mean a higher chance of catching the aurora, but also time for winter activities and attractions, such as Santa Claus Village, whale watching, sea fishing, skiing and sledding.
With so many destination options, deciding where to travel to for that ultimate aurora trip may seem like a feat. Using TripGenie, Trip.com Group's AI agent, travellers can easily get suggestions on where to go for their ultimate bucket list aurora trip, based on their preferences and priorities.
SOURCE Trip.com Group
No comments: