We’re now well into 2025, and with NYU just around the corner Booking.com talked with travelers to understand what they are looking forward to in 2025. We conducted research with over 32,000 leisure travelers across 32 countries in January (see methodology at the end of the memo) to understand upcoming trip plans, traveler sentiment, and what travelers are looking forward to this year. Below are a few high level highlights and themes.

1.) Optimism & Relaxation

Despite all that is going on in the world, the majority of US & Canadian leisure travelers (76%) are still optimistic about traveling in 2025. Maybe travelers are simply optimistic to take a break and relax? Consistent to previous years, relaxation comes in as the number #1 motivation to travel. Matching the relaxation vibe, we find that for half of the leisure travelers the most anticipated activities are relaxing by the beach/pool and visiting natural scenery during upcoming 2025 trips.

2.) Spending & Budgeting

When asked about their budgets, about half of US and Canadian travelers (42%) expect to spend more on travel in 2025 compared to 2024. 45% said they plan to spend the same and 12% say they plan to spend less on travel.

In North America, the largest reason mentioned for the increased spend is that similar trips are now more expensive. About 1 in 3 also expects increasing their spend to travel further from home and adding more budget for activities and food.

Additionally when asked about splurges, globally, it is almost unanimous that restaurants are claimed to be the biggest splurge on a trip with 64% of US and Canadian travellers planning to try the local cuisine when travelling. This matches that food/local cuisine can in many cases drive selecting a destination for 48% of global leisure travelers. The biggest self proclaimed travel foodies from the research include Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japanese travelers.

3.) AI & Travel

This wouldn’t be a trends piece, without addressing AI in travel! We see a broad range of claimed usage across markets, but it is undeniable that it has increased in all countries since last year globally almost 10% vs 2024! 76% of travelers from the US, and 69% from Canada trust AI to provide accurate information for trip planning. What’s more, 79% of US travelers feel confident in using AI to help them plan their trips (70% for Canada).

4.) Accommodation Choice

What do travellers think about when they’re thinking of homes vs hotels? 62% of travelers from the US & Canada plan to stay in hotel for leisure travel in 2025. No matter if planning to stay at a home-type property or a hotel property, the total price followed by the location are the biggest influences of their accommodation decision.

• For hotels, they are additionally favored for the level of cleanliness, amenities, and security.
• For homes, privacy, length of stay, amenities, and space are top highlights.
• Also, don’t discount staying with friends and family, about 28% of US and Canadian travelers plan to stay with someone they know on a trip in 2025!

5.) Travel Companions

No matter if you are a solo traveler, family, or a couple, Booking.com helps everyone to experience the world. In Travel Trends research we did a deep dive on what various travel groups are looking for. Some highlights include:

• For solo travelers, they most often reported traveling alone because of the freedom to choose their own itinerary. Plus, traveling alone doesn’t always mean spending the trip by themselves, as solo travelers can be eager to meet new people while on holiday. For 2025, declared solo travelers tend to be younger and looking for a solo vacay to relax.
• For couples, they reported relatively smooth sailing with their partner. Although, top pain points reported include agreeing on a destination, coordinating dates/schedules, and different interests on a trip. Although, we can tell that older travelers are more seasoned with their significant other. A whooping almost 65% report no disagreements with a significant other while traveling vs 19% for Gen Z- what a difference!
• For families, relaxing and spending time together is of utmost importance as the top motivators. As well, 82% of US and Canadian family travelers say that it is important to expose children to a variety of cultures and experiences through travel.