Amadeus reveals 2025's travel trends

Nostalgia, personalisation, and Asia tourism booms predicted to rise

Amadeus has published its Travel Trends for 2025 report which details predictions for future of global travel. 

In collaboration with travel trends forecasting agency Globetrender, Amadeus drew upon its proprietary and other leading industry data to produce the intelligence. 

The Amadeus 2025 Travel Trends report highlighted five key trends 'promising' to reshape the travel landscape in the coming year.

The first being New Heydays where nostalgia for old experiences return and travellers are seeking simpler, happier trips fuelled by "rosy retrospection" where they remember and miss things such as 90s films and CDs.

As millennials enter middle age, we will see the revival of the classic caravan and camping holiday. 

City AM reported that Eurocamp has seen a huge rise in bookings, with 2024 shaping up to be its best year in five decades. 

In the US, adult summer camps are also booming, with Club Getaway reporting a 9% jump in revenue from its adult segments in 2024 compared to 2023.

In 2025, air travel will reach new heights of personalisation, blending smart tech with customised in-flight experiences. 

Although many passengers consume content on their own devices, airlines are upping the ante by combining algorithmic entertainment with hyper-personalised 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. 

It's predicted we may see airlines offer VR headsets more in first and business class to passengers in 2024. Premium airline start-up Beond already hands out Apple Vision Pros to people flying its Maldives route.

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.

An example of this is Reverb Hamburg, a Hard Rock property, opened in a World War II-era bunker or Marriott International’s Edition Lake Como, set in a 19th-century Italian mansion, which will open 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.

The penultimate prediction will see years of restricted travel finally come to an end for Asia.

This is fuelled by China's expanded visa-free travel, alongside Thailand’s new digital nomad visas and broader visa-free programme for 93 countries.

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. 

Iberia has recently launched direct flights between Madrid and Tokyo, making it easier than ever for travellers 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 in 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.

Finally, it's predicted that people are suffering from digital fatigue, leaving travellers closing their apps and opening their passports, to make new friends or 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 travellers 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.

"After a year where change has become the backdrop to daily life, travellers are seeking a deeper connection to people and places more than ever,” said Daniel Batchelor, vice president, global corporate marketing & communications of 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 travellers. 

"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.”