The nine hottest travel trends for 2025, from nocturism to Asian holidays

Group trips for solo adventurers are on the rise. According to Amadeus booking data, solo leisure travel soared by 15.6% in 2023 compared to the previous year, with a further increase expected in 2025. Companies such as G Adventures and Intrepid Travel specialise in small group tours where solo travellers are surrounded by like-minded individuals seeking social adventures.

Aside from waiving a single supplement these itineraries create a space for genuine connections and new friendships. The Travel Department’s escorted group tours include solo itineraries for over 50s around the world, from India and Egypt to European favourites. Their solo travellers often become friends and travel together again on another one of their itineraries.

2 Off radar destinations

Overtourism has created environmental and cultural problems the world over as traditional holiday hot spots seek to push back against excessive visitor numbers.

Travellers are increasingly seeking destinations off the beaten track, eager to explore lesser-known places while contributing to responsible and sustainable tourism. Intrepid Travel is leading the charge with its ‘Not Hot List’, featuring four new itineraries to Greenland, Ghana, Mongolia, and Western Australia. Operators are capitalising on the ‘destination dupes’ social media trend too with over 400,000 posts on TikTok using the hashtag to highlight quieter and cheaper alternatives to popular destinations. Lesser visited destinations, such as Albania, Uzbekistan, Dominica, and Newfoundland, can all expect increased tourist numbers this year.

3 Star power hotels

It’s been on the rise for a while, but 2025 is set to be the year luxury hotels become the destination. Monica Galetti and Rob Rinder’s Amazing Hotels: Life beyond the Lobby series on BBC began putting some of the classics under the spotlight since pre-covid times, bringing landmarks such as Kenya’s Giraffe Manor, St Lucia’s Jade Mountain, and our own Ashford Castle to a wider audience. Add in the growth of TikTok and travel influencers and the luxury hotels become the star of the show and focal point of a holiday.

4 Sports travel

Sports tourism was valued at €523.9bn in 2023 and is projected to reach €1.28trn by 2032. A sense of community and belonging is one of the key attractions, from supporting club or country at away games to cheering on the new breed of top Irish athletes competing internationally.

Skyscanner research shows that the rise of ‘behind-the-scenes’ sports shows such as Netflix’s Drive to Survive, Break Point, and Full Swing are bringing sports to new audiences and fuelling a growth in sports travel to experience these events. PlanetF1.com’s data highlights Formula 1’s growing popularity, its audience growing by 180% from May 2023 to May 2024 with over 13% of viewers expressing a strong interest in travel.

5 Noctourism

Solar activity is going to be at its highest for decades

Nocturnal tourism is skyrocketing in popularity with travellers seeking out dark sky travel experiences for stargazing, astral occurrences, and big sky moments far from light pollution. (Did you know that Mayo is home to Ireland’s first International Dark Sky Park?) Solar activity is going to be at its highest for decades, with four opportunities to see eclipses or partial eclipses throughout the year. Iceland, Finnish Lapland, and Norway’s Lofoten Islands are all top spots for viewing the Northern Lights too with increased demand for these Northern destinations expected throughout 2025.

6 AI adventures

Artificial intelligence is expected to have the biggest impact on travel in 2025. Already used behind the scenes by airlines, hotels, travel agencies, and tour operators, AI can be used to do everything from writing marketing material to consolidating flight options. Innovation means AI tech will further streamline booking processes and automatically adjust prices to reflect real-time situations.

A growing number of airports have introduced technology to sort baggage more efficiently by replacing paper labels. Tech-savvy travellers are drawing more on technology to plan too using models such as ChatGPT to generate sample itineraries. Prompts such as ‘create a two-week itinerary for a family of four in Thailand’ will produce a slew of tangible suggestions. With the technology becoming ever more refined, travellers can expect vast innovation in this field over the coming months.

7 Health-focused holidays

Wellness tourism is no longer niche, with 2025 poised to see the sector thrive thanks to a combination of new openings, futuristic practices, longevity retreats, and fitness holidays. A health-conscious approach to holidaying goes well beyond yoga retreats — although wellness retreat experts bookretreats.com report that yoga and wellness retreats are up 10% and 25% year on year respectively, with Thailand, the Philippines, and Maldives the top three destinations.

Digital detoxes, medi spas, AI-powered biohacking, sleep clinics, and cryotherapy are all on travellers’ itineraries with global demand for digital detox more than tripling between 2023 and 2024. With Airbnb reporting a near 100% year-on-year rise in searches for ‘off-grid accommodation’ it’s clear more of us want to escape and disconnect.

8 Asian revival

Travellers are returning in growing numbers to Asia

Japan broke pre-pandemic tourist figures in 2024, welcoming around 36.87m international visitors in 2024, a 47.1% increase on the previous year. Some 40m tourists are expected there this year. For the second year running, readers of the US version of Condé Nast Traveler magazine voted Japan their top travel spot with Tokyo named the world’s best big city to visit. But it’s not just Japan that is having a moment.

After years of pandemic restrictions, travellers are returning in growing numbers to Asia thanks to new campaigns, flight connections, and visa initiatives that simplify travel there. China is expanding visa-free travel while Thailand has a new digital nomad visa and visa-free programme for 93 countries.

Pop culture is expected to attract growing audiences too, from gamer conventions to Squid Game season two in South Korea and the new White Lotus season set in Thailand. International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts that, by 2040, Asia Pacific will record the fastest rise in passenger numbers, contributing to more than half of the net increase in global passenger numbers by 2043.

9 Culinary tourism

Michelin-starred restaurants have traditionally attracted gourmet travellers but we don’t all need the lure of fine dining to encourage culinary pilgrimages. Food-themed itineraries, wine tours, cookery holidays, and culinary experiences are all on the increase with local cuisine increasingly forming the central focus of holidays. Food tourism has its own category on Airbnb, which reports that around 30% of its ‘experience’ bookings are now made in the ‘food and drink’ category. Guided food tours are available in most major cities of the world, offering visitors the opportunity to sample authentic flavours while interacting with local chefs, producers, and artisans. The rise in food tourism offers a more desirable and meaningful way to experience a destination.

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