The Best Part of Travel | Inside the Business of Destination Experiences

Top 5 Travel Trends in 2025

Apr 22, 2025

Dan Christian, the savvy host of the Travel Trends podcast, dives deep into the travel landscape of 2025. He discusses the revolutionary impact of AI on travel planning, transforming how operators work. The rise of social media, particularly TikTok, is reshaping travel discovery. Meanwhile, online travel agencies are gaining clout, pushing operators to rethink pricing. Dan also addresses overtourism issues and shares insights on affluent travelers who desire exclusive, immersive experiences, fueling a shift toward meaningful tourism.

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ANECDOTE

Booming Group Travel Trend

The group travel and multi-day touring sector saw remarkable growth with companies like WeRoad doing $100 million sales.
Younger travelers seek social travel and community experiences, driving lasting growth in this market segment.

INSIGHT

Managing Effects of Overtourism

Overtourism creates challenges for small operators due to tough ticket access and crowded landmark destinations.
Spreading visitors to secondary destinations improves traveler experience and helps operators and communities.

INSIGHT

Destination Shift from Bucket Lists

Travelers are shifting to less crowded, more affordable destinations like Albania and Colombia as alternatives.
New destination choices open opportunities for operators to expand or start new offerings.

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We’re kicking off the new season of our (re-named and re-launched) Best Part of Travel podcast with an exploration of travel trends in 2025.

In this first episode of season two, your podcast hosts Janelle Visser, Managing Editor of Arival, and industry veteran Stephen Joyce are joined by special guest Dan Christian from the Travel Trends podcast to discuss the top travel trends for 2025 — and what they mean for tour, activity, attraction and experience businesses.

We dive into five key topics, including (spoiler alert):

1. The AI-powered operator: We explore the significant impact of AI on travel planning and booking, and how tour, activity and attraction operators are using AI today.

2. Social video is the new search: We explore the shift towards social media, particularly TikTok, for travel discovery and booking.

3. OTAs Accelerate: We discuss the rising influence of OTAs (Online Travel Agencies), and the importance for operators of getting their pricing right.

4. (Over) Tourism Management Gets Real: Ticket Access & The Destination Shift: We address overtourism and its implications for operators and destinations, and the ongoing challenge of accessing tickets to popular attractions.

5. What (Affluent) Travelers Want: We cover the rise of the affluent traveler, and how their spending power is driving change in experiences, for example towards more private, immersive and community-focused tourism.

Some resources we mention:

Top 5 Travel Trends in 2025 (article by Janelle and Dan): https://arival.travel/article/tourism-trends/

Arival Guide to AI in Experiences: https://arival.travel/research/arival-guide-to-ai-in-experiences/

Optimizing for AI in Search:

https://arival.travel/article/optimizing-tours-for-generative-ai-search/

Social Video Takes on Google:

https://arival.travel/article/hot-topics-social-video/

Arival Guide to OTAs & Digital Distributors:

https://arival.travel/research/arival-guide-to-otas-digital-distributors/

Attraction Ticket Access for Tour Operators:

https://arival.travel/article/attraction-access-for-tour-operators/

The Affluent Traveler:

https://arival.travel/article/affluent-millennials-changing-travel-planning/

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.