Skyscanner Horizons Report Reveals 2025 Global Traveller Attitudes, Preferences and Top Destinations
- Travel behaviour being driven by travellers seeking out collective experiences.
- Travellers are continuing to prioritise travel and travel expenditure, including budgeting for upgrades, with those from Brazil, India, UAE and Saudi Arabia planning to travel and spend the most.
- Travellers are gaining confidence in using AI for travel planning, but use varies greatly by age group and market.
- Travellers are open to exploring less touristed areas, but safety is a top concern.
LONDON - Leading travel marketplace Skyscanner, is today publishing a new report exploring the latest trends in global travel. Titled Skyscanner Horizons: 2024/5 spending, planning and destination insights, the report unpacks and explores a combination of consumer survey and proprietary search data to provide a unique view of how travellers are thinking about their plans for the next 12 months.
Survey data from 19,000 consumers in 16 markets reveals insights about key indicators such as travel propensity, spend, trip type, and the trip planning process, including the top sources of destination inspiration, AI use and views on overtourism.
Skyscanner search data is included to provide additional information on destination choice, average lead times, average trip length and year-on-year search volume comparisons.
The report also features exclusive expert commentary on these trends shaping 2025’s travel outlook from Skyscanner executives, Bryan Batista, Chief Operating Officer, Piero Sierra, Chief Product Officer, Hugh Aitken, VP Strategic Relations and Development, Martin Nolan, Chief Legal Officer and Sustainability Expert and industry thought leaders Centre for Aviation (CAPA), Digital Tourism Think Tank, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the US Travel Association (USTA).
See below for abridged commentary on a range of topics.
To read the analysis and the full commentary, read the report here.
Views on collective experiences:
Our latest research reveals how the search for community is reshaping travel behaviour. More than ever, travellers want experiences they can share with others with similar interests, to enjoy being part of something bigger than themselves… Bryan Batista, Chief Operating Officer, Skyscanner
View on online search:
We’re entering a new era of travel search. Rapid developments in generative AI, travel retailing and social shopping are changing how travellers find inspiration and compare flight, hotel and car hire options… Piero Sierra, Chief Product Officer, Skyscanner
Views on global aviation:
Many airlines are adopting new technologies and at pace to better serve travellers, and to respond to market demand, including through AI driven revenue management decisions and more personalised and dynamic offers…Looking ahead, we expect the market to become more active with seat sales and promotions as airlines compete for share of wallet. Hugh Aitken, VP, Strategic Relations & Development, Skyscanner
Views on making more conscious travel decisions:
2025 sees travellers make far more conscious decisions about how their travel behaviours impact their lives and the lives of others. This trend will only continue to grow, as over a quarter of global respondents surveyed for this report told us that their travel will change in the future, seeking to visit less touristed areas or ensuring they have a more positive impact on the communities they visit. Martin Nolan. Chief Legal Officer and Skyscanner Sustainability Expert
Views on global aviation:
2024 has seen international passenger traffic finally surpass its pre-pandemic peak, although the recovery remains uneven and there are still gaps to be filled in some regions. The trends and research highlighted in the Skyscanner Horizons Report for 2024-25 illustrate that international travel demand will continue to expand and remain resilient in 2025… Marco Navarria, Senior Director, Content and Marketing, Centre for Aviation
Views on APAC travel trends:
...The report's findings, particularly the growing interest in smaller, second-tier cities within the APAC region, reflect a broader shift in traveller preferences—away from mass tourism and toward more meaningful, community-focused travel experiences. While APAC’s major cities continue to attract visitors, it’s notable how many travellers are actively seeking fresh inspiration on where to journey next, a trend PATA is proud to support as part of our mission to foster diverse, sustainable travel across the Asia-Pacific. Noor Ahmad Hamid, CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association
Views on AMER travel trends:
As travel rebounds after the pandemic, Americans have shown they are eager to get back into the skies. Domestic air travel within the U.S. has returned to 2019 levels and continues to grow. But the U.S. also faces competition for international visitors, and inbound travel still lags 2019 visitation levels – driven by issues including long visa wait times – with visits 16% below pre-pandemic levels as of 2023. Joshua Friedlander, Vice President of Research, U.S. Travel Association
Views on EMEA travel trends:
With travellers prioritising shorter trips to explore iconic cities alongside undiscovered gems within EMEA, cost clearly remains a key factor in decision-making. Despite this, it’s clear that travellers are also seeking authentic experiences and are increasingly inspired by content consumed on social media… Nick Hall, Founder & CEO Digital Tourism Think Tank
2025 Collective Experiences
- Travel behaviour is being driven by travellers seeking out collective experiences that bring people together, from sports events and immersive art installations to gaming vacations.
- Seven experiences identified as Sport Mode, Astro Adventurers, Reset Jetters, Art-Venture, Cowboy Core, Horti-Culture, Gami-Vacation.
2025 Spending Trends
- Travellers are continuing to prioritise travel and travel expenditure, with those from Brazil, India, UAE and Saudi Arabia planning to travel and spend the most.
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- 80% of travellers globally are planning to take more of the same number of trips as 2024.
- 70% of travellers globally are planning to spend more or the same on flights in 2025 vs 2024.
- 68% of travellers globally are planning to spend more or the same on accommodation in 2025 vs 2024.
- 46% of travellers globally are planning to spend more or the same on car hire in 2025 vs 2024.
- While the cost of living remains a concern, travellers signal a continued willingness to upgrade.
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- Top flight upgrades (ancillaries):
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- Seat selection (35%), insurance (35%), better quality food (26%), extra baggage (24%), airport lounge (19%)
- Top hotel upgrades:
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- Globally 29% of travellers are willing to upgrade their hotel rooms and 25% are willing to upgrade the hotel star rating.
2025 Planning Trends
- Travellers are gaining confidence in using AI for travel planning, but use varies greatly by age group and market.
- Nearly half (47%) of travellers globally feel confident in using AI to help plan and book travel with 18% very confident.
- Top three use cases for AI globally
- Destination research (35%)
- Comparison (32%)
- Travel itinerary creation (30%)
- Travellers are open to exploring less touristed areas, but safety is a top concern.
- A quarter (26%) of travellers globally intend to visit less touristed areas.
- A similar number of travellers (26%) globally also responded that they aim to have a positive impact on the communities they visit.
- Safety concerns (50%), understanding where to go (32%) and confidence about things to do in-destination (30%) were the top three reasons given amongst travellers surveyed globally regarding visiting lesser known destinations.
- Social media and word of mouth recommendations are the top sources of travel inspiration.
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- Globally, social media (48%), world of mouth recommendations (44%), online media (35%), guidebooks (34%) and film and TV (33%) are the top sources of travel inspiration for travellers.
2025 Destination Trends
- Travellers continue to search for inspiration using Skyscanner’s popular ‘Everywhere’ search feature, with it ranking highly across all regions.
- Top destinations across EMEA, AMER and APAC regions reflect regional destination preferences amongst travellers, with average trip lengths of a week or less.
- Trending destinations across EMEA, AMER and APAC regions reflect a mix of popular tourist destinations and new or returning air connectivity.
Skyscanner continues to be a strategic partner for some of the biggest brands, airlines and DMOs in the world; working with companies from across the travel ecosystem including DMOs like Visit California to promote destinations, powering the next generation of AI travel tools such as Bing Chat and Layla, as well as helping airlines promote their unique offers via NDC and launch new routes based on data intelligence.
Methodology:
- Data: Analysis of Skyscanner search data. Top/trending analysis based on searches conducted between January-June 2024 for all departure months and compared to the equivalent period in 2023. Minimum search thresholds applied.
- Survey: OnePoll x Skyscanner research conducted August 2024 with 19,000 respondents globally.
About Skyscanner Partners
Skyscanner is a global leader in travel connecting over 100m users in 180 countries and 30+ languages to more than 1200 flight, hotel and car hire partners every month.
Skyscanner's global audience provides unrivalled reach into geographies and deep insight into traveller search and redirect behaviour in almost every market. Skyscanner's app, desktop and mweb metasearch platforms offer next generation, best-in-class brand and performance capabilities to deliver on partners' strategic priorities. Skyscanner is using the latest technology to build dynamic distribution and advertising solutions to connect businesses with highly qualified audiences, using real-time, actionable intelligence.
Founded in Edinburgh in 2003, Skyscanner has offices worldwide, in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. Skyscanner is committed to helping shape a more responsible future for travel in collaboration with our partners, so that every traveller can explore our world effortlessly for generations to come.
For more information visit: https://www.partners.skyscanner.net/.
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