While the travel industry has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, economic uncertainty, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the change of presidency in the US is making 2025 feel anything but predictable. And not only in the sector of tourism.

Despite the economic and especially geopolitical situation in the world, people are still demanding getting to know new places. For 2025 the only change would probably be the way of doing it, and so, when it comes to tourism, we can observe some new trends or strengthening the trends that seemed to be new in recent years.

A cultural feminist, CEO of Concept Bureau and an analyst of consumer behaviour, Jasmine Bina, pointed out these trends for 2025. „Travel trends like stargazing, holiday romance, nostalgia tourism, sleep tourism, digital detoxes and so on show us that people are searching to be reconnected to something bigger than themselves,“ she told BBC.

Perceiving these trends is very useful for investors and entrepreneurs in travel industry, such as airlines, hoteliers, hospitalities or travel intermediaries or travel app developers. Let´s look at the main trends we can expect in tourism in 2025

Calmcations

Calmcations mean holidays focused on creating the sense of tranquillity. This type of „traveling“ was already very popular in recent years, and this trend seems to be even more popular in 2025. People are even more preferring quiet before noisy and overpopulated destinations, so it is not necessary to travel far away from your homeland.

Travel bureaus and agencies have already reflected the rising demand for quiet, and we can observe increasing supply of this type of vacations. BBC mentions some quiet escapes along the Norwegian coast, but there are for sure many quiet places in every European country that await the influx for tourists looking for being alone.

Undertourism

The Byway Travel notes that people want to travel where they are welcomed wholeheartedly. Amidst anti-tourism protests in Barcelona and measures elsewhere to monitor the influx of short-term rentals, avoiding overtouristed hotspots is high on 2025’s agenda. In all countries we may expect people would prefer visiting smaller towns or rural areas instead of large, famous, noisy and overpopulated cities. For instance in the Netherlands, we would probably meet more people in towns like Breda, in Spain, people swapping Catalonia for the Green Coast, with more attention on up-and-coming cities like Bilbao, etc.

JOMO travel instead of FOMO

According to booking site Vrbo, 2025 will see travellers experience less fear of missing out (FOMO), instead embracing JOMO - the joy of missing out. „JOMO travel means doing less on holiday to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and staying at cosy cabins or peaceful beach houses to boost relaxation and reconnection,” the company says. Two-thirds of UK travellers say these types of trips reduce stress and anxiety, and nearly half say that it provides a sense of escape from daily responsibilities. The best way to experience JOMO travel is from a charming beach house, secluded lakeside lodge or rustic countryside farmhouse. The top holiday rental amenities JOMO travellers are seeking include tranquil gardens, pools, hot tubs and porches with a view.

Hotel restaurant renaissance

When booking hotels, travellers are not just making room reservations, they’re making dinner reservations too, according to booking site Hotels.com. Hotels around the world have opened critically acclaimed restaurants with Michelin-starred chefs and rotating seasonal menus to attract guests. Travellers are seeking standout hotel dining experiences; positive reviews about hotel restaurants, chefs and bars increased by 40 per cent year on year on Hotels.com.

Trip chaining

The Byway Travel observes the trend of ‘trip chaining’ which means combining multiple stop-offs for errands on a daily commuter route. More travellers are dipping their toes into multi-stop travel, saving time and money, and opening up more possibilities for travel that combine multiple ‘holidays’ in a single adventure. In 2024 the Byway travellers incorporated an average of 4.5 destinations into a single trip, and it is very likely this will continue to grow in 2025. These kinds of trips allow travellers to get more out of their holidays, combining Italian cities with Swiss mountains, European capitals with Norwegian fishing towns or medieval old towns with Galician countryside.

Sustainable tourism

75 % of 2024 travellers said they plan to travel more sustainably over the 2025, eco-conscious hotels will be stepping into the spotlight in the current year. Luckily, the choice has never been better. More and more hotels are tackling food waste and fine vegan dining to indulgent planet-friendly luxury and sustainably-sensitive renovations. Because being eco-conscious shouldn’t mean compromising on that cushy hotel feeling.

Sustainable tourism is also closely related to the way of traveling. And we can see some trends strengthening the environmentally responsible types of doing so. For instance, the new British government announced its plan to renationalise rail and improve ticket price systems. Spain proposed a ban on domestic flights in cases where a train journey of less than 2.5 hours exists.

From 2023-2024 the Byway Travel saw the growing demand for flight-free options over air travel. So, in 2025, it’s clear that better infrastructure and support with the cost of rail travel are essential to meet these demands. „We hope to see momentum around this ramp-up, particularly in terms of shifting aviation’s tax breaks/subsidies into rail. The appetite for change is there - it’s time for regulations, policies and governments to catch up,“ the Byway Travel says.

Not only hotel chains and travel agents should heads up. The tourism trends disruption is changing transport infrastructure and retail industry related to seasonal incoming tourism. Tech projects based on digitization of the touristic services like Airbnb, Booking.com and TripAdvisor has already taken the lead.

Adam Austera

Financial Analyst

Ozios