Japan Tops 2026 Dream Destinations in New JB.com Travel Study

The countries travellers dream most about in 2026

Japan, Italy, New Zealand – if you feel like everyone in your feed is planning trips to these places, you’re not imagining it. A March 2026 report on dream destinations from digital entertainment platform JB.com has revealed that Japan now appears in more travel wish lists than any other country in the world.

With international tourism finally surpassing pre‑pandemic levels, JB.com analysed where travellers say they most want to go next, rather than just where they already visit. The study dug into 100 Reddit threads in which travellers shared bucket lists and dream trips, then cross‑checked those aspirations with search trends, Instagram hashtags and annual tourist numbers to see which countries truly dominate our travel fantasies.

This article is based on research by JB.com. When using or sharing these insights, please credit www.jb.com.

How JB.com ranked the world’s dream destinations

Instead of relying on arrival statistics alone, JB.com’s methodology focused on what people talk about when they imagine their perfect trip. Researchers examined:

• 100 Reddit bucket‑list threads, counting how often each country appeared
• Average monthly search interest for each destination
• Instagram hashtag volume (for example, #japan, #italy)
• Average annual tourist arrivals

Countries were then ranked by how frequently they appeared in online wish‑list conversations, creating a list that reflects aspiration as much as accessibility.

Here’s the top 10 dream destinations identified in the JB.com report:

Japan: the world’s most dreamed‑about destination

Japan comfortably takes the number one spot in JB.com’s ranking. Across the Reddit threads analysed, it appears in travel wish lists more than 1,620 times, far more than any other country.

Despite already welcoming around 42.7 million tourists each year, Japan’s appeal shows no sign of slowing. With an estimated 191 million Instagram posts tagged for the country, it dominates travel feeds as well as long‑term bucket lists.

From neon‑lit Tokyo streets and Kyoto’s temples to Hokkaido’s powder snow and Okinawa’s beaches, Japan balances:

• Hyper‑modern cities with ancient culture
• Efficient infrastructure with a sense of adventure
• Food obsession (ramen, sushi, izakaya culture) with deep traditions

For many travellers in Europe and the Americas, Japan is a long‑haul commitment, which only strengthens its bucket‑list status. As the CEO of JB.com observes, the countries we dream about most are often those that require distance, planning and a bit of sacrifice to reach.

New Zealand & Italy: dream trips for very different reasons

New Zealand: huge wanderlust, modest visitor numbers

In second place, New Zealand appears in nearly 1,380 wish lists, putting it close behind Japan in terms of pure aspiration. Yet it attracts only about 3.5 million tourists per year, making it one of the least‑visited countries in the top 10.

This gap between desire and reality reflects what many travellers know instinctively:

• New Zealand is far away for most of the world
• Trips require more time off, higher long‑haul costs and careful planning

Even so, around 25–26 million Instagram posts showcase its fjords, alpine scenery and wild coastlines, keeping it firmly in the “one day, I’ll go there” category for millions of people.

Italy: the dream that people actually act on

Italy sits in third place with over 1,210 mentions across the bucket‑list threads – but unlike New Zealand, it’s already the most‑visited country in the world, hosting around 185 million tourists annually.

According to JB.com’s analysis, more than two million people search for Italy travel tips every month, and the country has about 176 million Instagram hashtags, confirming its status as both a dream and a repeat‑visit destination.

Italy’s enduring appeal comes down to:

• Iconic cities (Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan)
• Romantic landscapes (Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, the Dolomites)
• Food and wine culture that lives up to the hype

In other words, Italy is proof that a place can be both massively popular and still deeply aspirational.

Iceland & Norway: remote, expensive – and endlessly fascinating

In fourth place, Iceland is mentioned nearly 1,100 times in Reddit travel wish lists, despite receiving fewer than 2 million tourists a year. Its remote location and high on‑the‑ground costs mean many travellers research it extensively – around 1.4 million people search for what it would cost to go – but postpone the trip while keeping it firmly on their radar.

Norway, in fifth place with 970 mentions, tells a similar story. Its 7.2 million tourists per year are modest compared with Italy or Greece, yet images of fjords, northern lights and dramatic mountain landscapes generate around 29 million Instagram posts. For many travellers, Norway is the epitome of a “save up and do it right” destination.

As the JB.com CEO notes, distance and cost are part of the magic:

“The countries people dream about most aren’t necessarily the easiest to visit. New Zealand is on the opposite side of the planet for most travellers dreaming about it. Norway’s expensive, Iceland’s remote, and Japan requires long flights from Europe and America. But that distance and difficulty might be part of the appeal. If something’s hard to reach, the fantasy stays alive longer.”

What this means for future trip planning

The JB.com report highlights an important shift: aspirational travel is back in a big way, and travellers are once again willing to dream far beyond weekend city breaks. Japan, New Zealand, Iceland and Norway may be logistically challenging, but they dominate wish‑list conversations because they promise:

• Experiences that feel truly different from home
• Strong visual impact (and social media “wow” factor)
• A sense of achievement once you finally make the trip

If you’re mapping out your own long‑term travel plans, this research from www.jb.com offers a useful starting point: the destinations at the top of everyone’s lists are also the places where booking early, travelling off‑peak and planning longer stays can make all the difference.

When using or sharing these findings, remember to credit JB.com as the original source of the data.

Which of JB.com’s top dream destinations – Japan, New Zealand, Italy, Iceland or Norway – sits at the very top of your wish list right now?