Travel has always been an escape. Now travellers want to escape from their phones too.
Searches for “phone-free tours” are up 68,400% in the past year. That’s not a typo. Our latest data shows disconnecting isn’t a niche wellness habit anymore. It’s shaping what people book, where they go and how they feel when they get there.
We’re calling it the phone-less cation: a trip built around putting the phone down and being present instead.
The numbers behind the trend
Google searches for “phone-free tours” have hit an all-time high, up 68,400% year-on-year. That’s the headline. Break it down by experience type and that pattern gets even clearer:
| Search term | Search increase in the past year |
| Phone free painting | 22,375% |
| Phone free camping | 13,990% |
| Phone free hikes | 15,422% |
| Phone free walking tour | 5421% |
| phone free dining experience | 3916% |
Painting classes top the list. Hikes and camping follow close behind – no surprise that nature and no-signal go hand in hand. But walking tours and dining experiences are climbing too, which tells you something bigger: this isn’t just about wellness retreats anymore. It’s a desire showing up in everyday bookings.
It’s bigger than a niche wellness trend
Phone-free searches sit inside a much wider wellness travel boom. Searches for “detox retreats” are up 89%. “Forest bathing”, the Japanese practice of quietly immersing yourself in nature, is up 79%. “Silent retreats” are up 58%.
Put it all together and the message is clear: travellers want to disconnect from their screens so they can reconnect with everything else – the place, the people, and themselves.
Why this matters for experience operators
Sam at Bókun puts it simply:
“The surge in demand for phone-free tours offers valuable insights into what modern travellers are seeking – a shift beyond where and what people want to experience, to how it makes them feel.”
That shift is an opportunity. If you run experiences, “phone-free” isn’t a gimmick – it’s a selling point travellers are actually searching for. A few ways to act on it:
Say it out loud
If your experience is naturally phone-free, name it. Travellers are actively searching for those exact terms.
Design for presence
Small tweaks: phone lockers, no-photo stretches, device-free meal courses. Turn your ordinary experience into a phone-less cation.
Lean into what you already have
Painting classes, hikes, camping, walking tours, dining experiences – if you’re already offering any of these, you’re already sitting on the demand.
Sam also adds: “This presents new opportunities for experience operators across the globe as more travellers turn to experiences that allow them to connect, through the power of disconnecting.”
The takeaway
Travellers are done doom-scrolling on their holidays. They want to put the phone in their pocket and actually be immersed somewhere. For experience operators, that’s a trend worth building into your listings, your marketing and your next new product.
