Stargazing, horseback riding, pursuing wellness with the lads — oh, the places you’ll go in the months ahead.
After months of exploring dupe destinations in a bid to dodge crowds and save money, surrendering to the unknown by trusting AI to plan our trips, and even traversing continents to catch Taylor Swift in concert, travel 2025 will also have a can-do attitude — when there’s a will, there’s a way, right? Here’s what’s in store as you get ready to roam.
All Things AI
Year after year, the travel industry seeks to further utilise generative AI tools as digital technology continues to reshape the global travel experience — and 2025 is no exception. Byway, for example, offers 100% flight-free holidays across Europe with the help of its JourneyAI technology. Tripadvisor, meanwhile, has launched an AI-powered travel planning product that leverages human insights from over a billion reviews of the eight million businesses listed on the platform. And with AI models getting ‘smarter’ with time, you can now use ChatGPT as an AI concierge of sorts, using it to find the cheapest plane tickets, hyper-personalise your itineraries, and more.
Astrotourism
While we’re not casually taking trips to outer space just yet, travelling away from urban hubs and towards natural phenomena such as solar eclipses and sightings of the Northern Lights will be on the rise. Simultaneously, wellness retreats worldwide are increasingly adding the likes of lunar yoga, moon bathing, and stargazing to their roster of activities. And while nature lovers will continue journeying to remote locations without light pollution in order to view celestial displays without the need for telescopes, Gen Z and millennials are also expected to explore the mystical insights of astrology as they seek “a sense of connection with the cosmos” according to travel search engine Skyscanner.
Boyz II Zen
It’s no secret that sleep retreats, silent retreats, digital detox retreats, and longevity tourism in general shot up in popularity post-pandemic, but this year, it’s all about the boys thanks to a trend rather cringingly dubbed ‘Boyz II Zen’. With the importance of men’s mental health awareness rightfully in the spotlight, male-only retreats will be prevalent in the months ahead, focusing not only on wellbeing and personal growth, but also tackling unspoken struggles like the growing loneliness among men. Stereotypical bro culture won’t be welcome, say experts — Boyz II Zen journeys will be rooted in defying societal pressures and rewiring masculinity with like-minded strangers.
Cowboy Core
With intrepid explorers determined to go where no one has gone before, frontier tourism is hardly new, but now, this travel trend is donning a Western shirt and roper boots thanks to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album and TV shows like Yellowstone. That’s right, ‘cowboy core’ is no longer restricted to the world of fashion. In the realm of travel, it will drive adventurers towards immersive trips inspired by the Wild West, translating to horseback riding, line dancing, eating around a campfire, and sleeping under the stars, collectively offering a taste of ranch life. Incidentally, the American state of Montana has been ranked the most popular ranch destination.
Season Stretching
Between heatwaves, throngs of tourists, and protests against said tourists in places like Barcelona, Athens, and Majorca, the trend of season stretching is coming in strong. Also known as off-peak travel, it will see travellers opting to book vacations during shoulder season in order to enjoy the perks of fewer crowds, lower prices, better weather, and more bargains. Shoulder season, for the uninitiated, varies by destination, but what you want to aim for is those couple of weeks that stand between a region’s peak season and off-season. Admittedly, some hotels and tourist sites may be closed for renovations, but the pros will undoubtedly outweigh the cons.
DSCVR: 5 trends set to dominate travel in 2025
