Forget staycations. Travel trends 2025 are all about people getting out of the house to see what the world has to offer.
Five years after the pandemic capsized it, the global travel and tourism industry was expected to make a full recovery in 2024 and even surpass pre-COVID levels.
In 2025, the industry is projected to reach nearly $956 billion in revenue and grow annually at a rate of 3.9%, according to Statista.
If the industry’s resurgence the past couple years was driven by “revenge travel” and people eager to cross popular destinations off their bucket list, today’s travel trends run the gamut, from visiting lesser-known areas and wellness trips to events-driven and sustainable travel.

An epic comeback: 5 travel trends to watch in 2025
Across generations, consumers are prioritizing travel. A McKinsey & Company global survey of 5,000 travelers found that 66% are more interested in traveling.
Millennials and Generation Z plan to spend more of their income on travel and are very interested in international travel while Baby Boomers are focused on value, according to the survey.
According to an American Express global survey, 72% of respondents care more about having the right travel experience than the cost of the trip. The report also found that 72% of respondents would rather save money for a major trip than spend it on going out with friends.
Wanderlust is rampant and travelers have specific plans and expectations. In 2025, here are some of the top trends: - Visiting alternatives to population destinations: Travelers are looking for lesser-known destinations to avoid overcrowded tourist hot spots.
- AI is the traveler’s copilot: More consumers will use AI-enabled tools to plan their trips as AI continues to alter the travel industry.
- Traveling for sports, concerts, or natural phenomena: Taylor Swift and last year’s solar eclipse set off a surge of people planning trips around events and natural wonders.
- Wellness tourism: More travelers will focus on self-care by visiting relaxing locations, unplugging devices, or treating themselves to spa and health treatments.
- Sustainable travel: Tourists will look to reduce their impact on the planet, especially Gen Zers.
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1. In 2025, travelers look to go off the beaten track
A side effect of all that pent-up demand as governments eased COVID-era travel restrictions was that popular destinations became overcrowded with tourists.
According to McKinsey & Company analysis, 80% of travelers visit 10% of the world’s top tourist hot spots such as Venice, Italy, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This mass tourism overwhelms infrastructure, frustrates locals, and hurts natural and cultural attractions, the firm said.
In 2025, travelers will look to avoid the crowds by seeking out lesser known places to visit. Expedia’s “Unpack’25” survey showed that 63% of consumers plan to make their next trip a “detour destination.”
These spots include: Reims, France (detour from Paris), Brescia,Italy, and Cozumel, Mexico, according to flight searches on Expedia.
By taking the road less traveled, travelers aim for quieter, more relaxing locations, but also less expensive and more authentic trips, experts told CNBC.
Social media, especially TikTok, wields huge influence in inspiring consumers—especially younger Gen Z ones—to travel, including guiding them to under-the-radar places to visit. But viral videos also can overwhelm areas that aren’t built for a surge of visitors.

2. Travel trend: AI’s expanding role
More and more consumers are turning to online tools that use artificial intelligence to discover new places and help them plan and book their trips. This trend will grow in 2025 as AI continues to dramatically alter the travel industry.
AI in travel and tourism is growing fast. Marketsandmarkets predicts it will grow from $2.95 billion in 2024 to $13.38 billion by 2030, driven by rising adoption of data automation tools and demand for personalized services.
According to a 2024 Deloitte summer travel survey, nearly one in five millennials used generative AI for trip planning and many consumers book trips based on AI recommendations.
AI can help brands deliver personalized experiences that boost customer satisfaction and loyalty. AI analyzes massive amounts of data in order to provide tailored and optimized recommendations, itineraries, and price forecasting.
AI-enabled chatbots help travelers manage their trips while AI provides customer service reps with detailed information so they can be more efficient and resolve problems faster.
Other ways the travel industry is using AI include:
- predicting equipment maintenance needs
- automating staff scheduling
- improving fraud detection
- streamlining regulatory compliance

3. Concerts, sports + natural phenomena
While industry conferences, sporting events, and superstar performers always bring tourists with their dollars to local economies, the astounding economic impact of Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” has turbo-charged the event-driven travel trend.
The U.S. Travel Association says the tour was similar to 53 Super Bowls, bringing an influx of visitors to 20 different cities and amounting to an estimated total economic impact of more than $10 billion.
A 2024 American Express global study found that sporting (37%) and cultural events (34%) are big draws for travelers. A Vacasa survey showed that nearly half of Gen Zers polled planned trips last fall around festivals, concerts, and sporting events.
There’s another type of event that’s become a factor in this travel trend: natural phenomena. According to Expedia’s survey, masses of people traveled to see recent eclipses, and in 2025, they’ll continue to seek out best views for natural wonders.
The Northern Lights is the top natural phenomena people plan to travel to (61%), followed by geological phenomena like volcanos and geysers (30%), the study found.
Stargazing is a top reason for travel, according to Booking.com’s 2025 travel predictions, which found that more than 60% of survey respondents said they planned to visit places with low light pollution for better night sky viewing.

4. Travel 2025: Getting away from it all + self-care
Wellness tourism isn’t anything new, but is surging as people look for respite from the hectic pace of modern life by unplugging in a relaxing location or treat themselves to spa and health treatments.
The global market for wellness tourism is projected to surpass $1.3 trillion by 2028, up from $830 billion in 2023.
Hilton research found that more than one in five travelers will make trips for self-discovery or mental health in 2025, a trend Hilton dubs “soft travel.”
In their quest for personal wellbeing, more travelers appear to be interested in disconnecting and enjoying the simple life. “Digital detox” is a growing travel trend as people search out destinations where they can ditch their devices and break social media habits. For example, a UK-based cabin company that offers digital detox weekends, Unplugged, said it has a 94% occupancy rate for its 23 cabins and has seen demand skyrocket.
Rampant insomnia is likely behind the growing “sleep tourism” travel trend of booking trips to places or hotels designed to help them get a good night’s sleep.
But wellness tourism in 2025 isn’t all about taking it slow. Fitness retreats with yoga, hiking, cycling and other outdoor activities also attract health-minded travelers. According to Hilton, one in five travelers are planning outdoor adventures in 2025.
Also in 2025, Booking.com predicts that longevity retreats will be a top trend with travelers planning focused on health and designed to extend their lifespan. Sixty percent of survey respondents said they were interested in this kind of trip.
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5. Travelers focus on sustainability
As travelers focus on self-care, many also want to take care of the planet, making sustainable travel a top trend.
Deloitte’s 2024 survey found that four in 10 travelers—especially Millennials and Gen Zers—do at least one thing to reduce their environmental impact, such as traveling at off-peak times and preferring hotels, airlines, and rentals with higher sustainability ratings.
- 13% of Gen Z respondents said they won’t travel by plane due to emissions
- 23% are willing to pay an carbon offset fee when booking air travel
- 50% prioritize booking through companies with strong green credentials.
Rail travel is becoming a popular alternative to flying as more consumers focus on sustainability. No-fly travel is becoming easier in Europe with new overnight and sleeper rail services and lots of leisurely train rides to enjoy the sights.
The European Union is making a concerted effort to make train travel easier and more convenient with an action plan to boost long-distance and cross-board passenger rail services. The goal is to double high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and triple it by 2050.
According to the the World Travel and Tourism Council, 53% of 250 top travel businesses have set climate targets to reduce their emissions, up from 42% in 2021.

Sky’s the limit for the travel + hospitality industry
After the dark days of the pandemic, the travel industry is booming as illustrated by the huge range of travel trends. Here are some of the others that are rising to the top for 2025:
- Set jetting: Fandom has people traveling to the filming locations of their favorite TV shows and movies.
- Laptop luggers: More people plan to work during their longest leisure trips, according to Deloitte research.
- Coolcations: As the earth warms, travelers are seeking cooler destinations.
Brands that stay on top of these trends and lean on advanced technologies like AI will deliver the experiences travelers want while driving efficiencies and innovations that fortify their business for the future.