The term comes from Airbnb, which found Gen Z increasingly picking small, under-the-radar towns known for strange stories over the usual tourist hotspots. The survey showed that 90% of Gen Z respondents found such places appealing, driven mainly by affordability, authentic local culture and attractions found nowhere else. India already has its own version of this: Bhangarh Fort in Rajasthan, where a 17th-century curse legend is so persistent that the Archaeological Survey of India officially bars visitors after sunset and yet that is exactly why people want to go.
