Travellers set to take more holidays and AI use on the rise for 2025

More than 4 in 10 of 20,000 EMEA travellers surveyed said they plan to go on more trips

The appetite for leisure travel is set to continue to grow in 2025, according to a new industry report. 

Figures from Marriott Bonvoy’s 2025 ‘Ticket to Travel’ research - conducted amongst 21,374 adults in ten markets across Europe, Africa and the Middle East - shows that 42% of travellers plan to go on more holidays in 2025 vs 2024, while 81% will do more or the same amount.

Consumers surveyed said that they plan to go on average 2 domestic holidays within their own country in 2025, 2 short-haul holidays (four-hour flight or less) and 1 long-haul holiday. This suggests that respondents will be doing a total of 5 holidays or trips in 2025 – the equivalent of nearly one every two months.

The research identified a number of emerging or growing travel trends. Amongst them are ‘Heritage Holidays’ - a holiday taken to specifically explore their family’s heritage, history or ancestry. More than a third (36%) have previously taken a heritage holiday and a further 32% plan to next year or in the near future.

Younger travellers are more likely to have done this - 43% of those aged 18-24 and 45% of those aged 25-34 have - compared to 22% of those aged 65+.

The key drivers behind this trend are travellers believing ‘It’s important to know where your family come from and understand what their life was like’ (46%) and ‘wanting to see where their ancestors lived and grew up’ (45%).

Bravecations, where travellers' propensity to be braver when they go on holiday and being more likely to try things they wouldn’t at home - is another trend that clearly comes across in the research.

More than two thirds of travellers (67%) say that they are braver on holiday. Age plays a role with 78% of those aged 18-24, and 82% of those aged 25-34 saying they are braver on holiday, compared to 39% of those aged 65+. The top three things’ people do on holiday that they wouldn’t be brave enough to try at home include usual foods (44%), climb something high (43%) and begin conversations with strangers (33%).

Other trends that emerged in last year’s research are set to become even more marked in 2025 - in particular sustainability and the use of AI.

More than seven in ten (72%) say that they look at the environmental impact of their travel plans compared to 64% last year. And over half (55%) say that they checked the sustainability of the accommodation they stayed in on their last holiday, although only 30% did so before they booked. However, this figure is up from 22% last year.

Growing rapidly when it comes to travel planning for 2025 is the use of AI. More than four in ten (41%) say they have used AI to help plan or research a holiday - up significantly from 26% last year, showing how much this trend has increased with EMEA consumers over the past 12 months.

This is led by younger travellers - last year 45% of 18-24 year olds had used AI, but this year the figure rises to 59%. Meanwhile last year 41% of 25-34 year olds had and this has risen even further to 62% this year.  

When it comes to accommodation preferences, the ‘brilliant basics’ will remain key for travellers in 2025, with cleanliness (95%), price (92%) and location (91%) the most important factors across all markets.

But for 65%, sustainability is now a key accommodation consideration, while nearly half (47%) look for accommodation to be pet-friendly. Over half (55%) also call out the importance of accommodation catering to solo travellers.

The key priorities for travellers are ‘spending time with friends and family’ (53%), followed by ‘treating myself’ (49%). Although for over a third (36%) it is important they come back feeling healthier than when they left.

The research also showed that despite planning more holidays, consumers are looking for the best value for money from holidays in 2025, whatever their budget. The main element that would incentivise travellers to commit to a booking is ‘getting a special price’ (52%).

Three in ten travellers (30%) say that they always take exchange rates into account when going on holidays - but seven per cent say that they ‘never usually do but will in 2025’.

Shoulder season breaks - going away in the months surrounding peak season - is another popular way to make breaks more affordable. Three quarters (74%) say that they have, or have considered, doing this, with the main reason being to get better value (65%).

Phil Andreopoulos, chief sales & marketing officer of Marriott International - Europe, Middle East & Africa, said: “The strong desire for international, regional and domestic travel, seen from this comprehensive consumer research, is great news for the industry and we are excited for the year ahead.      

"The research identifies several interesting new trends for 2025. 'Bravecations' and heritage holidays will be key themes for next year, with savvy spending an important consideration for many when booking their holidays, irrespective of budget.

"The research also reveals that over the past 12 months the use of AI has become well and truly mainstream - with Gen Z and younger millennials now using this as a key part of their travel planning. 

"This is only set to continue in 2025. Meanwhile sustainability is increasingly a key consideration for many travellers, especially when it comes to accommodation."