Beauty has stopped being something you do after your trip
Uma mudança silenciosa está redesenhando o significado de viajar: a rotina de beleza deixou de ser algo que se guarda na mala e passou a ser o motivo pelo qual se escolhe um destino. Um relatório global da Skyscanner revela que, para 2026, o autocuidado e os rituais de skincare migraram das margens do planejamento de viagens para o seu centro, especialmente entre os viajantes mais jovens do Brasil. O fenômeno, batizado de 'Glowmads', sugere que a viagem contemporânea não é mais uma pausa da vida cotidiana, mas uma extensão dela — um espaço para aprofundar práticas e conexões que já importam em casa.
- 41% dos viajantes brasileiros já incluem atividades de beleza e skincare no roteiro das férias, e entre a Geração Z esse número sobe para 46%, sinalizando uma ruptura geracional na forma de planejar viagens.
- As conversas sobre beleza e skincare em fóruns como o Reddit cresceram 215% em um ano, revelando uma comunidade ativa que troca dicas de rotinas em voos e caça produtos em farmácias locais pelo mundo.
- Lojas duty-free e varejistas locais — farmácias francesas, lojas de K-beauty, marcas independentes — tornaram-se paradas obrigatórias, com 46% dos viajantes reservando orçamento para compras de beleza e 45% buscando ativamente o comércio local.
- A indústria de viagens responde ao movimento redesenhando experiências em torno do bem-estar, com kits de viagem compactos ganhando mercado e hotéis sendo escolhidos como destinos em si mesmos por 61% dos brasileiros.
A rotina de skincare deixou de ser algo que se guarda até voltar para casa. Para um número crescente de viajantes, ela se tornou o próprio motivo de partir.
Um relatório global da Skyscanner, divulgado às vésperas de 2026, identificou o surgimento dos chamados 'Glowmads' — uma fusão de glow e nomads — para descrever viajantes que colocam o autocuidado e a beleza no centro do planejamento das férias. Entre os brasileiros, 41% afirmam incluir atividades de skincare e beleza nas viagens, tratando-as como experiência genuína e não como luxo acessório. A Geração Z lidera o movimento: 46% pretendem visitar spas locais e lojas de beleza em 2026, contra apenas 10% dos Baby Boomers. Um terço dos viajantes brasileiros planeja comprar produtos locais no exterior, transformando a descoberta de marcas em uma forma de imersão cultural.
A mudança também aparece no comportamento de compra. Quarenta e seis por cento dos viajantes reservam orçamento para compras em duty-free, enquanto 45% buscam ativamente varejistas locais — farmácias francesas, lojas de K-beauty, marcas independentes. Trinta e seis por cento admitem colecionar e testar os produtos de banheiro dos hotéis, transformando até as menores amenidades em souvenirs. Ila dos Santos, especialista da Skyscanner, resume a transformação: 'A beleza deixou de ser algo que se faz depois da viagem e passou a fazer parte da jornada.'
O fenômeno dos Glowmads integra um redesenho mais amplo do que significa viajar. O turismo de supermercado atrai 39% dos brasileiros, que planejam visitar mercados locais em busca de alimentos exclusivos e souvenirs acessíveis. O turismo literário cresce: 76% dos brasileiros já fizeram ou consideram uma viagem inspirada por um livro. As acomodações tornaram-se destinos em si mesmas, com 61% dos viajantes escolhendo o destino pela hospedagem. A viagem solo se reinventa em direção à conexão social, com 75% abertos a roteiros focados em conhecer pessoas. E as montanhas atraem 87% dos brasileiros para 2026 — não pelo esporte radical, mas pelo silêncio e pelo bem-estar.
O que une todas essas tendências é uma reconfiguração profunda do propósito de viajar. As férias deixaram de ser uma pausa da vida para se tornarem uma extensão dela — um espaço onde se aprofundam as práticas e conexões que já importam no cotidiano. E, para um número cada vez maior de viajantes, tudo começa com a skincare.
Beauty routines are no longer something you pack away until you get home. They're becoming the reason people choose where to go in the first place.
A new global travel report from Skyscanner, released ahead of 2026, found that self-care and skincare have moved from the margins of vacation planning to the center of it. The phenomenon has earned a name: "Glowmads"—a blend of glow and nomads—and it's reshaping how millions of people think about travel. Among Brazilian travelers, 41% say they now plan beauty and skincare activities as part of their vacation experience, treating it as genuine self-care rather than a luxury add-on. The numbers climb sharply for younger travelers: 46% of Gen Z respondents say they intend to visit local spas and beauty shops during 2026 trips, compared to just 10% of Baby Boomers. One-third of Brazilian travelers plan to buy local skincare and beauty products while abroad, turning product discovery into a form of cultural exploration.
The shift is visible in how people talk about travel. Conversations about beauty and skincare on forums like Reddit have surged 215% over the past year, with travelers swapping tips on maintaining routines during flights and hunting for local pharmacy finds in unfamiliar cities. Duty-free shops have become mandatory stops: 46% of travelers now budget for beauty purchases including skincare, makeup, and fragrance. But there's a hunger for authenticity running alongside the convenience. Forty-five percent of travelers actively seek out local beauty retailers—French pharmacies, Korean beauty shops, independent skincare brands—transforming what might have been a quick transaction into a deeper cultural encounter. Some travelers go further still: 36% admit to collecting and testing hotel bathroom products, turning even the smallest amenities into souvenirs and discoveries.
Ila dos Santos, a travel and flight specialist at Skyscanner, frames the change as a fundamental reshaping of the travel experience itself. "Beauty has stopped being something you do after your trip and has become part of the journey," she explained. "We're seeing skincare routines on planes, hunts through traditional pharmacies, and the discovery of local brands become rituals of cultural and personal connection." The travel industry is responding by redesigning entire experiences around wellness and self-care. Portable beauty products—travel-sized kits and compact formulations—have become a growth market, offering the sensory experience travelers want without the bulk. "Travelers want speed and simplicity, but they're not willing to sacrifice the sensory experience," dos Santos noted. "Prioritizing beauty has stopped being just a luxury. It's now how travelers make the most of their everyday moments."
The Glowmads trend sits within a broader reshaping of travel itself. The same report identified six other major shifts in how people are reimagining their journeys. Supermarket tourism has solidified as an authentic way to experience local culture: 39% of Brazilian travelers plan to visit grocery stores and markets in 2026, drawn by the chance to discover foods and drinks unavailable at home (48%), find affordable souvenirs (35%), and observe daily life in other countries (27%). Literary travel is also gaining ground, with 76% of Brazilians having taken or considering a trip inspired by a book. Nearly half (46%) would visit a destination mentioned in literature, 44% would add famous libraries or bookstores to their itineraries, and 38% want to see the hometowns of their favorite authors.
Accommodations themselves have become destinations. Sixty-one percent of Brazilian travelers have chosen where to go primarily because of where they wanted to stay—a number that climbs to 64% among Gen Z and 66% among Millennials, but drops to 38% among Boomers. Hotels and guesthouses have moved from the background to center stage, becoming experiences in their own right. Solo travel is being reimagined too, shifting from pure independence toward social connection. Seventy-five percent of Brazilians have taken or would consider a trip focused on meeting new people, with 85% of Gen Z and 79% of Millennials open to this kind of journey, compared to 56% of Boomers. Mountain regions are drawing travelers not for extreme sports but for clean air, silence, and wellness: 87% of Brazilians plan or are considering a mountain trip in summer or fall 2026. And multigenerational family travel—parents, children, and grandparents together—is rising, with 69% of Brazilians saying they'd travel with family for genuine pleasure, and another 24% doing so to make vacations more affordable.
What ties these trends together is a fundamental shift in why people travel. The vacation is no longer a break from life. It's become an extension of it, a place to deepen the practices and connections that matter most. For a growing number of travelers, that starts with skincare.
Notable Quotes
Beauty has stopped being something you do after your trip and has become part of the journey. Skincare routines on planes, hunts through traditional pharmacies, and the discovery of local brands become rituals of cultural and personal connection.— Ila dos Santos, travel and flight specialist at Skyscanner
Travelers want speed and simplicity, but they're not willing to sacrifice the sensory experience. Prioritizing beauty has stopped being just a luxury. It's now how travelers make the most of their everyday moments.— Ila dos Santos, Skyscanner
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
So skincare is becoming a reason people choose vacation destinations? That seems like a leap from just packing a moisturizer.
It's not really about the products themselves. It's about what they represent—a way to connect with a place through its beauty culture. When someone visits a Korean beauty shop or a French pharmacy, they're not just buying cream. They're learning how people in that place think about their skin, their rituals, their values.
But why now? People have always cared about how they look.
The difference is that self-care has become something people see as essential to their wellbeing, not a vanity. And travel has become more personal—less about checking boxes and more about experiences that feel meaningful. Beauty routines fit that perfectly. They're intimate, they're daily, and they're different everywhere.
The numbers show Gen Z is driving this. What's different about how younger people travel?
They're less interested in the traditional tourist experience. They want to feel like they're living in a place, not visiting it. That means doing what locals do—shopping where locals shop, using the products locals use. It's authenticity, but it's also a form of belonging, even if it's temporary.
Is this sustainable? Will people still care about beauty tourism in five years?
The underlying shift—toward travel that's personal and purposeful—seems real. Whether it's skincare or supermarkets or literary destinations, people are looking for ways to make travel feel less like consumption and more like connection. That's not a trend. That's a change in what travel means.