Nostalgia, personalization, destination hotels, Asia tourism booms, and spontaneous connections set to redefine global travel

Travel technology leader Amadeus today released its highly anticipated Travel Trends for 2025, giving a glimpse into the future of global travel. 

Partnering with travel trends forecasting agency Globetrender and drawing on Amadeus’ proprietary and other leading industry data, the Amadeus 2025 Travel Trends report highlights five key trends promising to reshape the travel landscape in the coming year:  

• New Heydays: Change-weary travelers are longing for simpler, happier vacations driven by past experiences and a phenomenon known as “rosy retrospection.”
• Personalized Flying: Advances in AI, 5G mobile connectivity, and VR will converge to create highly personalized, connected, and immersive experiences for air passengers.
• Trailblazer Hotels: Hotels are increasingly becoming destinations in their own right, as travelers plan trips around iconic, “calling card” properties with unique identities.
• Asia Uplift: Asia is gearing up for a travel renewal, aiming to reclaim its position as a key player in the global tourism industry.   
• Connections IRL: As digital dating burnout rises, travel will become a new avenue for real-world relationships, from holiday romances to lasting friendships.

“After a year where change has become the backdrop to daily life, travelers are seeking a deeper connection to people and places more than ever,” said Daniel Batchelor, Vice President, Global Corporate Marketing & Communications at Amadeus. He continued: “We’ll see a blend of old favorites and new immersive experiences, with one-of-a-kind stays putting destinations on the map. Asia is set for a tourism revival, while we are also seeing a rise in spontaneous solo travel, as people seek more off-screen, authentic experiences.” 

Jenny Southan, founder and CEO of Globetrender, added: “It is important to predict the changing ways people are exploring the world, and the forces of influence that are determining their decisions. Partnering with Amadeus in producing this 2025 Travel Trends report means that together we can help businesses successfully anticipate the needs and demands of tomorrow’s travelers. For consumers themselves, who are under pressure to keep finding joy in a volatile world, it is no surprise to see people looking to the ‘good old days’ when life was simpler, and turning to traditional means of making human connections, in spite of the ascent of artificial intelligence and other sci-fi technology.”

New Heydays

Nostalgia is fueling the rise of “new heydays,” with the past taking center stage. From the comeback of 90s films and CDs to Gen Z’s love for digital cameras, culture is embracing the retro everywhere you look. In travel, adults are seeking to relive gap years, distant honeymoons and childhood dreams – for example, Airbnb listed a Polly Pocket-inspired rental – and U.S. travelers are flocking back to Miami, a “Miami Vice” era hotspot.

As millennials enter middle age, we will see the revival of the classic caravan and camping holiday. Eurocamp is seeing a huge rise in bookings, with 2024 shaping up to be its best year in five decades. In the U.S., adult summer camps are also booming, with Club Getaway reporting a 9% jump in revenue from its adult segments in 2024 compared to 2023.

Personalized Flying

In 2025, air travel will reach new heights of personalization, blending smart tech with customized in-flight experiences. Although 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 box-fresh content – from movies and TV series to adverts and things to buy – that are tailored to the individual flyer, based on their historic preferences [as loyalty scheme members].

With high-speed Wi-Fi from providers like SpaceX’s Starlink now available, passengers can stream their favorite content mid-flight just as effortlessly as they would at home. We may also see airlines increasingly loaning VR headsets to passengers in first and business class – in 2024, premium airline start-up Beond began handing out Apple Vision Pros to people flying its Maldives route.

Trailblazer Hotels

In 2025, hotels will make headlines by increasingly becoming destinations in their own right – they will immerse guests in the local culture, history, and natural beauty of their surroundings. For example, guests will be enamored by the charm of restored Mozambiquan Dhows at Jannah Lamu in Kenya or leaning into the old-world charm of the Maryhill Estate in Sweden.

While many trailblazer hotels are independently owned, some belong to larger chains. Reverb Hamburg, a Hard Rock property, opened in a World War II-era bunker; Bunkhouse hotels in the US, known for creating memorable boutique experiences with flagships in Texas, California, and Kentucky; while Marriott International’s Edition Lake Como, set in a 19th-century Italian mansion, opens in 2025. Major hotel groups are adapting too, launching curated boutique collections such as Accor’s Handwritten Collection,  which is expected to include more than 17 hotels globally by 2025.

Asia Uplift

After years of restricted travel, travelers are excited to rediscover Asia’s cultural treasures. China is opening its doors to millions by expanding visa-free travel, while Thailand’s new digital nomad visas and broader visa-free program for 93 countries are set to attract a global audience.

Pop culture is also driving interest, with the upcoming season of The White Lotus set in Thailand, Squid Game season two expected to boost travel to South Korea, and renewed curiosity about Japan’s history inspired by the TV series Shōgun. Adding to this momentum, 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 Asia Pacific will record the fastest rise in passenger numbers and contribute to more than half of the net increase in global passenger numbers by 2043. Amadeus data reflects this momentum as outbound travel from Chengdu, China, surged 66% to 35.2 million passengers from 2016 to 2023, while Guangzhou grew 20%. Delhi also saw a 31% rise with over 30 million outbound passengers in 2023.

Connections IRL

Facing 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 by 15.6% in 2023 compared to the previous year, with a further 9.2% rise so far in 2024.

The 2025 trends report predicts a wave of group and solo adventures designed to spark genuine connections. From G Adventures “Solo-ish” trips combating loneliness, to TimeLeft, an app for travelers that lets you meet five strangers for dinner every Wednesday in over 60 countries. Socially driven festival tourism is also on the rise, with members of the LGBTQ+ community set to gather in Washington DC for World Pride 2025.

To learn more about Amadeus Travel Trends and how we, alongside our customers and partners, put travelers first, check out this page: www.amadeus.com/traveltrends.