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Hi everyone, and welcome back to Happy Hour. 欢迎回来酒馆. Hi, 安澜。

Hi, Lulu, hi, everyone.

You sound vibrant for someone who's been working so much lately.

I have drunk a lot of coffee.

I see.

Yes. I've been pretty much just pushing my way through by drinking lots of coffee.

I bet you're dying for a vacation.

Well. I'm actually gonna go on holiday next month. I'm gonna go to Mongolia for a few days, but I have to admit it can't come soon enough. I really do need a holiday.

Yeah, so let's talk about that, shall we?

Absolutely.

En. You are well traveled, when you think of a perfect vacation, how would you describe it?

I used to think about it as you had to pack in as much as possible. So when you say pack in, it means seeing everything, doing everything, getting that perfect photo; but lately just the idea of being somewhere quiet with nothing to do, nowhere to be sounds brilliant.

Yes. I think you’re finally on board with me, like my ideal vacation is just doing nothing.

Well, exactly. And that's the thing. We're not the only ones. This is actually got its own new term.

Yeah, I guess you've heard about that new term. It's called Quietcation.

Yes. I've only just learned that term. I felt like this for some time, but it's only now that I realize there's actually a word for it.

Yeah, I mean, remember when staycation was all the fad, like you don't go anywhere, you just find a hotel to stay even in your city or just basically you find somewhere to stay, some people even had staycation at home which is weird.

But quietcation, it’s this new travel trend taking over 2026, no packed itineraries, no特种兵, no tourist traps, no social media pressure, just rest, be still and just have intentional disconnection from the world.

Yeah. The thing is that this isn't just some sort of niche trend for a few people. There have been reports from market research saying that about over 50% of global travelers say that their number one leisure travel motivation is to rest and recharge.

I love the word recharge. It's like you are a battery, you really need to recharge.

But remember I think we both had holidays and we were talking about this where you actually had to get up earlier than when you're working.

Well, yeah, I had a holiday a few months ago. I went to Albania(阿尔巴尼亚) and Macedonia(马其顿王国, 巴尔干半岛一古国). And I was doing a lot of traveling. And I found I have to wake up at 6 o'clock or 7 o'clock in the morning, which I normally don't mind, but I was traveling a lot and it was pretty exhausting.

Yeah. By the end of the day, you're not so much as recharged but actually depleted your battery.

Well, precisely,

Do you know in China, we have a word for that. It's actually called特种兵旅游.

Yeah, I've seen those online. I've seen those kind of posts that people put up where you go to Chongqing for a day and you do this in the morning, then you go here, then you go here, then you eat this, then you take a photo here, then you go here for a coffee or go hit...(a cafe). It does look pretty intense.

It even sounds exhausting seriously.

Yeah.

So I thought we take a look at this quietcation trend, shall we?

Absolutely. So let's start with the basics. What actually is a quietcation?

It's a combination of quiet and vacation. And it's exactly what it sounds like, a trip designed around being still, rest, and the intentional absence of stimulation. So nothing really happens. It's just quiet.

Yeah. And I guess I can understand why, I remember reading this psychologist or health expert trying to describe it and this scientist or researcher or expert, they had the idea of modern vacations or holidays becoming performative labor.

Oh, I like that. Performative labor, actually everything with social media, everything becomes performative.

Oh, yeah. You're chasing attractions, you're documenting every experience, you’re logging tens of thousands of steps. Generally when I'm on holiday, I get my steps in so much quicker than when I'm actually resting.

Yeah. You could have just, I don't know, exercise.

Yeah. And I think we've all been there. You come back from holiday more exhausted than when you left.

Yeah. And a quietcation just intentionally, deliberately rejects that approach by minimizing stimulation, reducing digital interruptions. So you might have like a phone-free vacation or you minimize your phone use or screen time, eliminating unnecessary decision making. You don't have to decide which attraction to go to, where to eat. Instead of a packed itinerary, you just have space; instead of a checklist, you have choice.

Oh, yeah. So what does this actually look like in practice?

Well. quietcations are actually characterized by several things.

You choose a restful destinations over activity packed ones. So basically you go to places where you probably don't have much to do. You spend time in nature, you prioritize mental health, you reduce decision fatigue by repeating simple routines like reading in the same chair every morning or walking the same trail, and most importantly, embracing silence and solitude, I think I like the resting part, but I'm not sure if embracing silence is gonna drive me insane.

Yeah, I like to be in nature when I go on holiday.

And so actually this trip that I've got planned, I'm going to spend a few days in the countryside. I'm gonna spend a few days in a yurt.

Isn't that your dream to spend a few days in a yurt?

I've always wanted to do that. I'm really excited about that.

But I'm not sure if you're staying in a yurt, you're really embracing silence and solitude, but because don't they have like cows and sheep around, and horses.

I paid extra to get the cows and sheep removed.

Wow. That is really nature for you, right?

Exactly, exactly! You know nature from a distance.

Yeah, you know there is a term, it's really cute, you know when you're talking about like hotel industry used the word ‘hospitality’, right?

Yeah.

叫什么酒店餐饮业叫hospitality.

Now with this quietcation, they have an extreme version, an extreme word called hushpitality.

Hush as in hush, shush, quiet?

Like don't talk, yes, exactly. This describes quiet vacation environments that minimize not just noise but unnecessary human contact.

Oh, yeah. I've heard something similar and I've heard about hotels that say that you're not allowed to use your phone. You actually have to give your phone to the check in staff.

Well. That sounds a bit sad that human beings we invented some technology, some cutting edge technology as the smartphone, and then we needed someone to forcefully take it away from us.

Well, exactly. And according to some research, this market is actually increasing really really rapidly. So it isn't the fad, it's a cultural shift.

Yeah. You know how properties or hotels they used to say WiFi covered, like WiFi tag.

Now there are some quietcation locations or retreats, they are adding a No WiFi tag.

Okay,

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm just imagining though that people are gonna get crazy very very quickly if there's no internet.

Exactly, I mean if anyone tries to take my phone away, I will get into a fight. I know for a fact.

Exactly.

So the question is why is this all happening now? Why is quiet becoming almost like a new luxury?

I think this is a response to the over stimulation crisis. I mean if you look around, we're so stimulated all the time, the constant notification, background noise, perpetual availability, keep the body's nervous system in a chronic low-grade fight- or-flight state, especially if you live in a big city.

Yeah. I can imagine that because it's not about just wanting peace and quiet. It's about health.

Exactly, it's like a mental health vacation.

Yeah. And this is actually been proven in research that brief periods of silence can reduce blood pressure and lower stress levels.

Lower the cortisol level 皮质醇, which is a buzzword in the whole fitness world.

Yeah.

That's the stress hormone, right?

Yeah.

And also I guess attention fatigue as well, because our brains they're not designed for constant interruptions. And this nonstop information from emails, texts, social media alerts is draining the brain's capacity to keep up high levels of attention.

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文稿校对：Wanda & Jenny

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