World tourism development trends in 2025

How and where to travel in the new year is always a matter of concern. Therefore, this article will tell you about the world travel trends in 2025.

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Noctourism

Noctourism – night tourism + travel – encompasses nocturnal travel experiences, from late-night museums to bioluminescent beaches to aurora borealis. Solar activity will be at its highest in decades in 2025, bringing higher-than-average numbers of charged particles to interact with the Earth's atmosphere, creating stunning aurora viewing opportunities. Award-winning British travel company Trailfinders recommends Finnish Lapland and Norway's Lofoten Islands, along with Svalbard and Iceland as ideal aurora viewing destinations. Noctotourism ties in closely with what has always been a key tenet of the travel industry: fostering connection with the wider world.

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Calmcations

Calmcations – holidays focused solely on creating a sense of calm – will continue to be popular in 2025. Noise is particularly in focus, following a report from the World Health Organization that ranked noise pollution, particularly from traffic, as the second leading cause of ill health.

Havila Voyages has created 'quiet escapes' along the Norwegian coast that offer the chance to escape the noise of everyday life, with sound monitoring stations and live noise forecasts that compare decibel levels to cities including New York, Paris and London. Unplugged, meanwhile, offers tech-free cabins in the UK and Europe with a mission to 'keep things switched on'; while the brand-new Majamaja retreat in the Helsinki archipelago includes a series of architect-designed off-grid cabins that allow you to reconnect with nature. All signs that right now, travel escapism includes unplugging from technology.

Travel combined with AI

We can expect technology to start playing a bigger role in trip planning: travel tech company Amadeus found that nearly 50% of its customers plan to prioritize AI-generated products by 2025. However, the survey also noted that many travel companies are still unsure about how to use the technology; they could take inspiration from flight-free travel company Byway, which has created its own proprietary AI tool to remove the complexity from itineraries and travel to multiple countries.

Other companies, including Trip Advisor, are using AI to help build itineraries for trips, while more and more airports are ditching paper tags and using the technology to sort luggage more efficiently. At Hyatt hotels, an AI-powered bed can monitor your heart rate, movement, and blood pressure to help you sleep better and more comfortably.

But it's not all positive for technology. According to research from ABTA, the association of travel and tour operators, a Gen Z traveller is now as likely to flip through a holiday brochure for travel inspiration as he is to browse the internet for ideas. That suggests the tech-driven travel trend is not universal.

The return of romantic vacation

With the rise of digitization comes a rise in digital burnout, especially when it comes to relationships. According to a 2024 Forbes Health survey, 79% of Gen Zers feel burned out from online dating. How to solve the problem? The Globetrender and Amadeus travel trends report includes a section on meeting new people in real life as one of its top five predictions for the year.

Whether you have a holiday romance or not, finding a trip where friendships can flourish with the growing number of group and solo travel opportunities is easier than ever.

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Little-known destinations are becoming popular

After significant overtourism issues in 2024, lesser-known destinations are on the rise. As Byway notes in its 2025 travel trends, ' people want to travel where they feel welcomed .' The company cites ' pseudo-tourism destinations ' – holiday destinations that mimic well-known hotspots – as a trend to watch out for, where travellers might swap locations, such as Cornwall for Norfolk.

Other big destinations this year are a little off the traditional tourist map. Trailfinders names Uzbekistan as one of its top destinations; while luxury tour operator Scott Dunn is highlighting East African islands, thanks to new hotel openings in Zanzibar and Madagascar & a new luxury cruise experience in the remote Aldabra archipelago.

At Airbnb, the 20 hottest destinations in 2025 include Milton Keynes & East Sussex. Their list is drawn from data including trending searches and wishlist cities on the site. The list also includes Rome, Tokyo and Milan, all of which were hit by overtourism in 2024, suggesting the problem is far from over.

Kareem Winters

Update 14 January 2025