Samantha Brown Says This Summer's Most Meaningful Trips Start With Community, Not Just A Destination

Travel expert Samantha Brown has been spotting summer travel trends left and right since the start of the season. She turned travelers on to leaving hot beaches behind by introducing the "coolcationing" trend and discovering memorable destinations that invite travelers to slow down. In an article for Parade, she revealed another hot idea in tourism she's seen growing: like-minded travel. People are gathering together to take group trips based on shared interests, be that favorite TV shows, books, music, or history. When people have more than just the place they're visiting in common, they have so much more to bond over and talk about. A sense of community forms, offering deeper engagement in the experience amplified by the involvement of the entire group's passions.

Specifically in reference to literary tourism, Brown says, "I love the idea of people who love books traveling together," whether that's fans of the "Outlander" series enjoying an escape to the Scottish Highlands or Potterheads gathering to tour London landmarks featured in the "Harry Potter" books. Like-minded travel doesn't have to center solely around the arts, either. Other common grounds popular for like-minded travel include wellness, food, and even environmental activism (as featured on Intrepid's new sustainably minded tours through America's national parks). And while plenty of pre-organized tours built around common themes do already exist, you can always plan your own as well and invite your community along.

According to Samantha Brown, "People are going back into that mentality of, 'What can we do that's stress-free and affordable?'" Sometimes that means traveling closer to home, which is easier to do with friends who you know already share your common interests. Friends who love to dine out together during the week could join forces for a weekend food and wine trail road trip. Fans of "The White Lotus" could book a group getaway to Koh Samui, a welcoming Thai island where even the airport is breathtaking that's been trending hard since Season 3 aired in early 2025.

You can even plan like-minded trips with strangers. Social media marketing guru Meredith Pierce told Business Insider how she does just that through her TikTok page as a "side hustle." By promoting her own travel adventures, she's grown a following of solo females looking to take similar trips — and now they can join her, forming community around their love for her affordable travel style and exotic content.

Of course, if you'd rather join a group instead of having to create your own, there are plenty of resources that have sprung up to meet the new demand for community-based travel. Like Minds Travel takes groups on week-long trips to single destinations with itineraries organized around one theme, such as tulip season in the Netherlands or Impressionist art in Paris. And even if a group tour sounds overwhelming or you'd like to have a more flexible itinerary, you can find options out there. Premiere Travel Planners, a luxury service that helps travelers discover and book their own custom itineraries, offers to help you find a group to travel with based around interests, kind of like a travel matchmaker.