2025 Travel Market Looking Promising

If your US-based travel agency enjoys having Americans as your primary customer, you may be in for quite a year ahead.

Along with a booming US economy, the rising US dollar will make most foreign destinations very affordable. With private sector job growth, increasing wages, lower taxes, and lower interest rates, consumers shouldn’t be so bad off. However, as surveys indicate, US travelers are increasingly want to travel domestically.

And with increasing disposable income, solo workation travel, wellness trips and eco-travel experiences will see additional growth. And families are likely to take trips too. Business travel is likely to increase given how small business will have its shackles removed and incomes rising. Airfare will likely fall too as energy becomes cheaper, deregulation takes effect, and AI optimizes operations for OTA’s and local travel agencies.

The outlook indicates changes in consumer tastes and intent, and agencies must craft new tour and travel offers that deliver multiple personal benefits.

And when you pick up your digital travel marketing performance by increasing your reach, making impact with content, and getting your agency’s travel & tour package offers to a specific key audience, where is the downside?

Today, we’re discussing what are the top travel trends expected for 2025. You’ll find many travel niches you might want to begin catering to, perhaps all of them. The optimism of the new AI-powered travel market stems from travel businesses being able to grow their target audiences, deliver more interesting products that deliver multiple benefits, and market their brands in more powerful ways.

Travel Market Reports for 2025

IGES, a popular resort, souvenir, and specialty gift trade show held in the US, just released its view of the 2025 travel market. They believe 2025’s market will differ from the 2024 travel market forecast, driven by AI personalization and the pursuit of meaningful experiences. The trend then involves technology changes and a cultural shift to find personally meaningful experiences.

The ITA also believes the US travel market will see growth over the next 5 years, after a disappointing 2023.  The negative growth in that year corresponds with the big rise in interest rates.

Of course, there are a lot of influences on the travel market. The key one is the overall economy and its projected outlook. 2025’s are beginning to take the Trump Presidency into account. Economists and investors are slowly beginning to recognize how big this shift from socialism into capitalism will be. And it’s a sizable economic shift from big government to business. Private sector jobs were crushed in the last 4 years, and with the new DOGE department, Trump’s team will shrink government and government-driven travel.

If you’re dependent on government-driven corporate bookings, you can now make the shift over to business audiences.

IGES believes domestic travel will surge beyond pre-pandemic levels and that outdoor adventure and nature trips in particular will see growth, driven by younger audiences. The good old American roadtrip might return, and by 2030, domestic travel is projected to reach 70% of travel spending in the United States.

Americans feel safer in their own country and they want to explore the great USA.

Multiple Shifts Driving the New Travel Market

There may be a continuing preference for sustainable and responsible travel, as they cite Skift’s report that 83% of travelers believe sustainable travel is very important. Even with US deregulation and its money-saving benefits, most travel destinations will make an effort to be eco-friendly as part of an ideal customer experience.

With local travel getting a boost in the next two to five years, local economies will enjoy growing tax bases, making travel an important source of revenue for cities and states strapped for funding.

IGES cites growth in medical tourism and wellness travel. Wellness tourism hit $720 Billion in 2019. With the Trump admin’s new focus on health (RFK), wellness travel will get a cultural and economic boost. And outbound medical tourism likely will continue to grow to $182 billion as US-based clinics become too expensive. Aging populations will need more critical services and US health insurance may not keep up to American’s actual medical coverage needs.

Mental and emotional health are priorities for Americans too. With a resurgent small business and private sector economy, they’ll have the funds to travel as they most wish. While some choose travel tips as their mental and emotional rejuvenation, others will be seeking destinations that emphasize health and wellness. You’ll hear more about treatments such as body vibration therapy, cryotherapy, red light therapy, and stem cell treatment. And just relaxing in a hot tub or relaxing in a quite out of the way resort will be compelling.

Other trends include local cultural immersion, food/culinary experiences, and historical experiences.

Last chance tourism is about the effect of overtourism and human incursion,and how many travelers might be in a hurry to experience locations which are becoming too visited, and other locations that are seeing damage such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Places such as Venice and Amalfi Italy, Bali Indonesia, Amsterdam, Greece, Spain, Florida, California, and Thailand are becoming too congested to enjoy. Services such as Airbnb and VRBO vacation rentals have seen booming demand as well, but may face some headwinds as some neighborhoods seek to expel short-term rentals.

Just to cross reference here to other travel market predictions, Expedia sees a big shift to cheaper more relaxing destinations next year. They cite the rising cost of travel, and the desire for off the beaten path trips, authentic experiences and a real connection to communities and local cultures. Places such as Mongolia have seen a huge increase in visitors. Expedia also  speaks of travelers giving up on fear of missing out (FOMO) for the joy of missing out (YOMO).

Solo Travel Continues Growth

Solo travel is on the rise as young people unchained from 9 to 5 jobs to gig work yearn for travel and cheaper cost of living. Other travel research showed an increase in solo female trips.  And with the surge in the US economy and a severely undersupplied US housing market, the pressure to find cheaper cost of living will increase. Gen Z’s and Millennials will be on the move looking for travel solutions. Workations or Bleisure trips are becoming more popular as Americans and Europeans try to improve their lifestyles and satisfaction with trips to places where they can work online.

With Americans living longer, multi-generational trips could see growth too. That might include cruises, road trips, resort vacations, rental home bookings, and could increase demand for guided tours. In fact, this particular travel trend might be the most lucrative of all given its personal importance and how it is more affordable with a larger group of travelers.

Technology Driven Tourism

Already, AI is influencing the travel market, and Gen Z’s and Millennials seem to prefer how artificial intelligence tools aid planning, responsiveness, education, and customer service. Everything from virtual reality pre-travel research to smart airports to AI-aided trip planning is making them feel more confident of their travels, whether in the US or abroad.

Many travelers prefer contactless travel planning and booking and AI technology systems are improving on delivering that service. According to a Booking.com survey, 83% of respondents are using technology to find less crowded areas, and 40% use smartpone apps for real-time assistance.

Mobile-based Booking Platforms are seen as delivering good value to travelers. The success of Travel Perk, Booking.com, and Expedia show travelers like a big selection and the ease of booking and managing trips via their smartphone.

Impulse travel too may be on the rise as Americans will have more cash to do as they please. And some travel companies are enabling last-minute travel including instant cancellation privileges.

Lastly, education and skill-seeking tourism will grow as workers travel to get the training they need for today’s economy and this would include attending conventions and conferences and receiving comprehensive training unavailable in their location.

2025’s Opportunity Awaits

The forecasts and predictions by travel market leaders might not take fully into account the economic boost from the incoming Trump-led government. The effect of lower taxes, deregulation, increased incomes, cultural trends, and lower interest rates mean these organizations will revise their forecasts upward.

This is a time of great economic change and the next 5 years present an unusually good opportunity for business growth and profitability. By reshaping your travel package offers and branding, rebuilding your content marketing strategy, and integrating AI enhancements, you might capitalize on all of these major trends for 2025 and beyond.

If you’ve downsized and reorganized as many companies have in the last two years, now’s the time to pick your new marketing team and keep it cost-efficient too.

Contact me about how I can contribute to your 2025 transition and revenue uplift. I’m looking forward to helping.