In collaboration with travel trend forecasting agency Globetrender and based on Amadeus proprietary data and other leading industry data, the Amadeus Travel Trends 2025 report highlights five key trends that promise to reshape the travel landscape in the coming year:
Nostalgia Trips: Tired of change, travelers yearn for simpler, happier vacations, driven by past experiences and a phenomenon known as "hindsight."
Personalized Flight Experience: Advances in AI, 5G mobile connectivity and Virtual Reality will converge to create highly personalized, connected and immersive experiences for air passengers.
Hotels with character: Hotels are increasingly becoming destinations in themselves, as travelers plan their trips around unique, iconic accommodations with unique identities.
Asia's resurgence: Asia is gearing up for a travel revival, aiming to regain its position as a key player in the global tourism industry.
Travel to connect in person: As virtual dating weariness increases, travel will become a new avenue for real-world relationships, from vacation romances to lasting friendships.
“After a year in which change has become the backdrop to everyday life, travellers are seeking a deeper connection with people and places more than ever,” said Daniel Batchelor, Vice President, Global Marketing and Corporate Communications, Amadeus. He added: “We will see a mix of old favourite journeys and new immersive experiences, with unique stays putting new destinations on the map. Asia is set for a tourism renaissance, while we are also seeing a rise in spontaneous solo travel as people seek more authentic, off-screen experiences.”
Jenny Southan, Founder and CEO of Globetrender, added: “It’s important to predict the changing ways in which people explore the world and the currents of influence that shape their decisions. By working with Amadeus to produce this Travel Trends 2025 report, we can help businesses successfully anticipate the needs and demands of tomorrow’s travellers. As for consumers themselves, who are under pressure to continue finding excitement and satisfaction in a volatile world, it’s no surprise that people are looking back to the ‘good old days’ when life was simpler and turning to traditional means of making human connections, despite the rise of artificial intelligence and other
sci-fi technologies.”
Nostalgia trips
Nostalgia is fueling a boom in reviving travel, with the past taking centre stage. From the return of 90s movies and CDs to Gen Z’s love of digital cameras, culture is embracing retro everywhere you look. Adults want to relive gap years, long-ago honeymoons and childhood dreams on the road – Airbnb, for example, has listed a Polly Pocket-inspired accommodation – and American travellers are flocking back to Miami, a hot spot in the era of “Miami Vice”.
As millennials come of age, we’re in for a renaissance of the classic caravan and camping holiday. Eurocamp is seeing a huge surge in bookings, with 2024 shaping up to be its best year in five decades. In the US, adult summer camps are also booming, with Club Getaway reporting a 9% increase in revenue from its adult segments in 2024 compared to 2023.
Personalized in-flight experience
By 2025, air travel will reach new heights of personalization, combining smart technology with personalized in-flight experiences. While many passengers consume content on their own devices, airlines are upping the ante by combining algorithmic entertainment with hyper-personalized in-flight systems that deliver up-to-date content—from movies and TV shows to ads and shopping items—tailored to each passenger based on their historical preferences [such as loyalty program members].
Thanks to high-speed Wi-Fi from providers like SpaceX’s Starlink, passengers can stream their favorite content in flight just as easily as they would at home. Airlines may also increasingly lend VR headsets to first- and business-class passengers: in 2024, the new premium airline Beond started handing out Apple Vision Pros to passengers on its route to the Maldives.
Hotels with character
By 2025, hotels will be making headlines for increasingly becoming destinations in themselves and the new reason to travel – immersing guests in the local culture, history and natural beauty of their surroundings. For example, guests will fall in love with the charm of restored Mozambican dhows at Kenya’s Jannah Lamu or gravitate towards the old-world charm of Sweden’s Maryhill Estate.
While many hotels with their own identity are independently owned, some belong to large chains. Hard Rock-owned Reverb Hamburg opened in a World War II bunker; US-based Bunkhouse Hotels, known for creating memorable boutique experiences, have flagship properties in Texas, California and Kentucky; and Marriott International’s Edition Lake Como, set in a 19th-century Italian mansion, is set to open in 2025. Major hotel groups are also adapting, launching boutique collections such as Accor’s Handwritten Collection, which will feature more than 17 hotels worldwide by 2025.
Asia’s Resurgence
After years of travel restrictions, travellers are eager to rediscover Asia’s cultural treasures. China is opening its doors to millions by expanding visa-free travel, and Thailand, with its new digital nomad visas and expanded visa-free programme for 93 countries, is set to attract a global audience.
Pop culture is also driving interest, with the upcoming season of The White Lotus set in Thailand, the second season of Squid Game expected to boost travel to South Korea, and renewed curiosity about Japanese history inspired by the TV series Shōgun. Plus, Iberia has recently launched direct flights between Madrid and Tokyo, making it easier than ever for travelers to explore Japan.
Over the next 15 years, IATA predicts that the Asia-Pacific region will see the fastest growth in passenger numbers, contributing to more than half of the net increase in global passenger numbers by 2043. Amadeus data reflects this momentum, with trips departing from Chengdu, China, increasing by 66% to 35.2 million passengers between 2016 and 2023, while Guangzhou grew by 20%. Delhi also saw a 31% increase, with more than 30 million passengers departing from there by 2023.
Travel to connect in person
Faced with digital fatigue, travelers are closing their apps and opening their passports, using travel to make new friends and even find romance in real life. According to Amadeus booking data, solo leisure travel soared 15.6% in 2023 compared to the previous year, with a further 9.2% increase so far in 2024.
The Trends 2025 report predicts a surge in group and solo adventures designed to create genuine connections. From G Adventures’ solo trips to combat loneliness to TimeLeft, a travel app that lets you meet up with five strangers for dinner every Wednesday in over 60 countries. There’s also a surge in tourism from social-focused festivals too, like World Pride 2025, which will bring together members of the LGBTQ+ community in Washington DC.
Source: Amadeus.