Travel trend 2025: Domestic travel is booming, international travel is declining!

Travel trend 2025: Domestic travel is booming, international travel is declining!

In the holiday travel trends for 2025, a recent analysis by Sojern shows that travelers are increasingly preferring shorter routes and making their bookings later, with financial aspects playing a central role. According to the report, which looks at year-over-year trends, nearly 90% of U.S. leisure travelers plan to travel by car. While domestic flight bookings in the US increased by 4%, international travel bookings saw a significant decline.

The declines in travel abroad are particularly noticeable: bookings to Canada fell by 14%, to Mexico by 5%, while the Caribbean and Asia also suffered losses of 8% and 9%, respectively. A decline of 3% can also be observed for Europe. At the same time, the data shows that international travel to the US is declining, with bookings to New York down 16% and Florida down 18%.

Last minute trips are trending

Another interesting aspect of travel trends is the increasing interest in last minute trips. While such bookings were popular in the 1990s, the trend is on the rise again with the easing of Corona restrictions. Singles and couples in particular are more flexible and book around 30% of their trips last minute. This growing demand is met with a reduced supply of spontaneous booking options, as many tour operators are increasingly focusing on early bookings.

Last minute prices are considered cheap by travel agents, with possible discounts of up to 40%. Nevertheless, the available offers are often limited by the sales figures of the tour operators. High-quality 4- and 5-star hotels are rare, which primarily emphasizes the flexibility aspect of customers: spontaneous bookings at the airport have become a rarity.

European travel destinations in focus

Overall, domestic travel within Europe increased 8%, while bookings to North America fell 17%. Canada remains the most popular destination for European travelers, accounting for 27.5% of bookings. Other popular destinations in Europe include Spain (14%), Germany (10%) and Great Britain (9%). Interestingly, Austria saw a 21% increase in bookings.

For holidaymakers looking to book outside of Europe and the US, Dubai remains a popular destination, while there has been a slight decline due to falling demand for travel to the Caribbean and Mexico. In contrast, Puerto Rico is enjoying a 9% increase in bookings compared to neighboring destinations.

Looking into the future

The travel market is facing a changing landscape where cost and immediate availability are becoming increasingly important. As demand for last minute travel increases, families are more likely to stick with early bird discounts to optimize their travel costs. Advances in booking technology and increasing awareness of flexible travel options could further influence booking behavior in the coming years. Overall, it appears that travelers in 2025 are likely to place more value on comfort and value for money.

The current trends have been comprehensively analyzed by Sojern and the Kleber Group and offer valuable insights into the changing travel behavior of consumers in the upcoming holiday season.

For more information on 2025 leisure travel trends, readers can view Sojern's full report here: prnewswire.com. Details about the last minute trips can be found at this link: klebergroup.com.