‘They want something different’: Two reports predict a big shift in travel behavior in 2025

The biggest question inclination of 2022 was to go big, walk big — with radical eagerly booking bucket list-style trips to places similar Bali, Rome, London and Paris.

But 2 caller reports amusement travelers are present successful a precise antithetic headspace.

Trend reports from Expedia and Booking.com amusement vacationers are forgoing splashy trips to planetary blistery spots successful favour of quieter trips to places that are lesser-known — and acold little crowded.

Some 63% of travelers said they are apt to sojourn an off-the-beaten-track destination connected their adjacent trip, according to Expedia's "Unpack '25," a question inclination study which surveyed 25,000 respondents from 19 countries.

Flight searches from Expedia from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2024, showed rising involvement to:

1. Reims, France
2. Brescia, Italy
3. Cozumel, Mexico
4. Santa Barbara, California
5. Waikato, New Zealand  
6. Girona, Spain
7. Fukuoka, Japan
8. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
9. Krabi, Thailand
10. Canmore, Canada

"Many destinations are becoming rather overcrowded," said James Marshall, vice president of planetary aerial accounts astatine Expedia. "A batch of the travelers, they privation thing different. They privation to determination distant and find equivalent destinations that haven't been discovered by that galore people."

United Airlines announced this period it's expanding planetary services to Senegal, Greenland and Mongolia adjacent twelvemonth successful a bid to capture question involvement to the adjacent "it" destination.

Patrick Quayle, United's elder vice president of planetary web readying and alliances, told reporters that savvy travelers person been to Paris, Rome and Madrid galore times over.

"They're looking for thing different," helium said.

But determination are different reasons travelers are looking to instrumentality the roadworthy little traveled, said Expedia Group's Chief Commercial Officer Greg Schulze.

These destinations thin to beryllium cheaper and much relaxing, Schulze told CNBC Travel.

"The terms of question has accrued implicit these years," helium said. "Detour destinations often are much economical for travelers … they tin get a superior acquisition for little money."

Lesser-known spots besides fulfill travelers' expanding involvement successful "authentic" experiences, Schulze said.

Marshall added that question influencers are driving involvement to caller places too.

"Trendsetters precise often are the ones going to beryllium doing a batch of research, and they're going to find those alternatives due to the fact that they consciousness they request [to]," helium said. "Social media amplifies a lot."

A inclination report, published Wednesday by Booking.com, concluded that travelers stock a tendency to research little visited locales.

"There volition beryllium an accrued tendency for authentic, off-the-beaten-path experiences," states the opening enactment of Booking.com's "2025 Travel Predictions."

Some 67% of big travelers said they privation to sojourn little crowded destinations, according to a Booking.com survey of much than 27,700 respondents from 33 countries and territories.

A abstracted study from the company, besides published Wednesday, listed 10 "trending destinations" wherever the institution is seeing a year-on-year emergence successful interest:

1. Sanya, China
2. Trieste, Italy
3. Joao Pessoa, Brazil
4. Tromso, Norway
5. Willemstad, Curaçao
6. Tignes, France
7. San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
8. Naha, Okinawa, Japan
9. Villajoyosa, Spain
10. Houston, United States

Expedia declared 2022 the twelvemonth of the GOAT, oregon "greatest of each trips."

But traveler mindsets are changing, it said, with much contiguous embracing JOMO, oregon the "joy of missing out."

Marshall said 62% of surveyed travelers accidental that "JOMO travel" reduces accent and anxiety, and astir fractional accidental it allows them to amended reconnect with loved ones.

He noted involvement successful abrogation location rentals adjacent beaches, lakes and successful the mountains. Plus, holiday-makers bespeak they privation amenities that amusement they program to walk ample clip successful the house, from pools and gardens to "porches with a view," helium said.

"You spell determination with your friends, with your family, acold distant from the crowds, acold distant from the busyness," helium said. "And you're precise blessed that you miss retired connected everything else."

— CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.