Top Travel Trends For 2025: Sleep Tourism To Long Honeymoons

The face of travel is constantly changing, blame it on the technological boom, the rising stress levels or the sheer interest of travellers. Gone are the days when travel meant packing your bags and exploring one particular place in your own sweet way. Today, planning a trip or picking a place involves answering a lot of ‘how’ and ‘why’, leading to the birth of a whole lot of new trends.

From night time experiences to travelling in search of cooler or calming places, 2025 is set to witness a whole lot of trends. Here are 15 travel trends that will dominate the year!

1. Noctourism

Nocturnal tourism is nothing but night time experiences such as viewing the northern lights, visiting museums that are open until late, or glow-in-the-dark beaches. In 2025, solar activity will be at its highest level in decades, causing more charged particles to interact with the Earth's atmosphere than usual and producing breathtaking aurora viewing possibilities. Award-winning UK travel agency Trailfinders recommends Svalbard and Iceland, as well as the Finnish Lapland and Norway's Lofoten Islands, as must-see locations. Developing a connection with the outside world has long been a fundamental principle of the travel industry, and noctotourism fits in perfectly with this principle.

2. Calmcations

A report from the World Health Organisation that rates noise pollution, particularly from traffic, as the second most important cause of ill health in Western Europe. Calmcations help move away from the hustle and bustle of the city, creating a sense of calm and tranquility. No surprise that this one’s a top trend to follow, right?

3. Long honeymoons

With remote work becoming the new norm, newlyweds are opting for longer honeymoons. Nowadays, couples are looking to go all out on their honeymoon, going much beyond the customary seven to ten days and exploring new places or activities like wine tasting or painting together.

4. Off-beat travel

For example, tourists might prefer visiting Norfolk over Cornwall. Trailfinders lists Uzbekistan as one of the top travel destinations for 2025. Meanwhile, another travel company Scott Dunn suggests adding islands in East Africa on the 2025 travel bucketlist. Airbnb's top 20 hot destinations for 2025 include Milton Keynes and East Sussex.

5. Coolcations

Travel has become more about “where’s not?” than “where's hot?" especially for people who are accustomed to taking vacations in southern Europe. Climate change is influencing our travel choices as temperatures in popular summer vacation destinations across the Mediterranean continue to set new records. According to Scott Dunn, reservations to Finland and Norway increased by 26% in 2024, with more travellers heading to northern Europe, where summer temperatures hover around the 20s.

6. Wellness Tourism

There is no indication that our desire for longevity will abate! In 2024, people attempted to increase their longevity using very advanced biohacks and next-generation diagnostics. This year, retreat centres focus on less well-known, Blue Zones-supported elements like purpose, community, and natural movement. With ealth resorts are hoping to make a big difference this year.

7. Family Sabbatical

HR company Adecco has identified sabbatical as the biggest work trend this year. Picture walking out of your job after paying up those hefty mortgage bills or just taking off from work and travelling for a few months. Sounds therapeutic? Well, this is the trend that's currently catching up among most office-goers. Blame it on stress or just a transformation in the work-life culture, family sabbaticals are on the rise, helping people to come back refreshed, rejuvenated and raring to go!

8. Adventure Travel

As more tourists look for unusual experiences, adventure travel is growing, according to Hilton. According to the most recent survey from the hotel group, seven out of ten international travelers want to remain active when they travel. However, climbing mountains and jumping out of airplanes aren't the only ways to experience adventure travel. Rather, soft adventure is intended for people who want something more than the typical beach vacation or sightseeing excursion but don't want to engage in activities that require a lot of risk or physical expertise.

9. Heritage Holidays

The popularity of DNA ancestry kits and popular TV shows like Who Do You Think You Are? have contributed to the growth of heritage tourism, or travel that focuses on reestablishing a person's connection to their place of origin. People go on such trips to connect with their roots, some want to meet living relatives, and still others are just curious about a place their family used to call home. Countries having a history of widespread emigration, such as Italy, Germany, England, Scotland, and Ireland, are popular destinations for heritage travel, however they can differ greatly based on the histories of the population.

10. Sleep Tourism

Sleep tourism can be understood as a form of travel that emphasizes rest and relaxation rather than the typical rush of sightseeing and busy schedules. It encompasses more than simply resting in a hotel bed; it involves tailored experiences designed to enhance sleep quality. In fact, hotels and resorts are enabling sleep tourism, by ensuring travellers enjoy all the comfort and luxury for a good, long snooze. According to a survey conducted by LocalCircles, a citizen engagement platform, almost 60 percent of Indians sleep for less than six hours at night. Given the studies pointing towards the correlation of inadequate sleep and various mental health issues like depression and anxiety, the trend is frightening. This has increased the number of potential vacationers for 'napcation' and vacations oriented toward health and wellness with specific sleep experiences.