The 'Noctourism' Trend Is Redefining Travel in 2025—Here's What You Need to Know

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'Because the night belongs to…'—well, sorry lovers. With noctourism (also called astrotourism) on meteoric rise, it may be time to tweak Patti Smith's classic rock ballad. In silent twinkles and glowing galaxies, dark skies are calling, and the night now belongs to travelers, who are increasingly following tourism's newest North Star.
'We've seen a significant uptick in night tourism, especially since the 2017 Great American total eclipse. Last year, that accelerated even more,' says Stephanie Vermillion, an astrotourism expert and author of 100 Nights of a Lifetime: The World's Ultimate Adventures After Dark.
As her book and her wide-ranging, past-my-bedtime adventures illustrate, night tourism encompasses more than just spotting the Big Dipper. People are traveling to hunt auroras, for example, or to swim in bioluminescent bays, or watch the synchronous arrival of thousands of nesting loggerheads in Panama. On a recent trip to Hawaii, I spent an evening at the Lāna'i Observatory, dumbfounded by the darkest, vastest obsidian sky and what looked like a universe of diamonds scattered against black velvet. (More on that in a minute).
I'm in good company when it comes to going dark. Booking.com named noctourism one of its top travel trends for 2025, noting that while some adventurers want to pursue nighttime activities like starbathing and constellation-seeking, others want to avoid rising daytime temps or book accommodations without lights to encourage less light pollution and preserve local flora and fauna.
The nocturnal travel industry sector, already accounting for $9.3 billion globally, anticipates a 10% growth rate again this year, on top of numbers that have soared since some 20 million people traveled to see the Great American Eclipse. That celestial moment, when we all put our wonky glasses on, gazed upward and collectively gawked at the once-in-a-lifetime solar peek-a-boo, was catalyzing, says Vermillion. 'There were so many people joining together, focused on one thing, all amplified by social media.'
Thanks to eclipse-induced piqued curiosity, plus more headlines about space missions, satellites, and new astrological discoveries, and with the expanding reach of organizations like DarkSky International, which advocates for reduced light pollution and certifies International Dark Sky Places—it all adds up to a heavenly moment for those with interstellar interests. And the hospitality industry is taking note.
In 2023, DarkSky International launched their DarkSky Approved Lodging program, with the glamping pioneers and outdoor hospitality pros at Under Canvas leading the way. Under Canvas's Lake Powell – Grand Staircase property became the world's first DarkSky-certified resort that year, and their tented portfolio adjacent to national parks across the U.S. now boasts five of DarkSky's seven certified U.S. properties.
On a visit to Moab last year, where the luxurious ULUM is Under Canvas's latest affiliate to be certified, I was wowed by the surrounding red-rock geologic wonders by day, but equally mesmerized by the unfathomably vast canopy of stars at night. I came for adventure—to hike through Canyonlands National Park and rock climb at Looking Glass arch, visible from my cushy tent—but it was the after-hours awe that has most stayed with me. Relaxing around ULUM's cozy firepits, toasting marshmallows for s'mores, and simply looking up, transported me to a profound place of serenity. I wasn't just sleeping under a swanky safari-like canvas, I was immersed under a canvas brushed broad with the Milky Way and shooting stars, and I came away with a new-found reverence for the universe's marvels.
'We call it star-bathing,' says Vermillion. 'That meditative aspect of just soaking it up and letting your mind wander.' She encourages people not to get caught up in trying to identify stars or constellations, or fret over equipment. An iPhone can suffice for beginner night photography and numerous stargazing apps offer ready guidance.
'People are looking for new experiences,' Vermillion adds, 'and being outside at night, whether looking at stars or doing other after-dark adventures, brings that. Your senses are heightened, you wonder 'what's that sound?' You become alert in a way that you're not during the day. Night tourism gives us this chance to connect to our primal being.' Plus, there are practical perks. If you're visiting Rome, for example, and opt for a Coliseum tour at night, it's cooler and less crowded, 'and it's a totally different experience after dark,' says Vermillion, now at work on her forthcoming book, Stargazing: an Astrotourist's Guide to North America.
While Utah's clear skies are stunning, there's nothing quite like being in the middle of the Pacific, on Hawaii's smallest and least-populated (and un-lit) island, to experience full cosmic jaw-drop. What's more, the sister Four Seasons properties on Lāna'i—Sensei Lāna'i and the Four Seasons Resort Lāna'i—have upped the ante by offering guests exclusive access to their high-tech Lāna'i Observatory featuring a PlaneWave 1 Meter Alt-Az Telescope.
'The Observatory has been open for three years now, and we're booked most every night,' says Isabel Campbell, a Lāna'i native and the observatory specialist. Having grown up on the quiet island, Campbell knew there was good stargazing, 'but until the astronomers who helped us install the telescope started gushing over our lack of light pollution, I never realized how good,' she says. Campbell leads the Observatory's Kilo Hōkū experience that explores Hawaiian ancestral mastery of celestial navigation through uncharted Polynesian waters. The night I visited, she was excited to show us Jupiter's moons and Orion's Nebula. I climbed up short stepladder and peeled my eye to the scope, and there I was: up close and personal with celestial objects and otherworldly astonishment.
'I love seeing people's reactions. I was ecstatic when we first opened, and I still get so giddy, and seeing other people have a similar experience is amazing. To think you're looking at something 32 million light years away, the remnants of a galaxy just like us—it blows your mind,' says Campbell. 'Having an observatory makes the world of astronomy way more accessible for people.' Which is what night tourism is all about—shedding light on the beautiful dark.
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