From multi-destination city adventures to trips planned by AI agents, KAYAK has revealed the major trends set to influence travel in the next five years in its ‘What the Future’ (WTF) Report.
The world’s leading travel search engine, in partnership with The Future Laboratory, has compiled the WTF report based on social and cultural research, interviews with KAYAK executives and external experts, survey insights and an in-depth analysis of user behaviour.
The future of travel is coming… and it’s probably not what you expect. Here are the trends we’re forecasting for the next 5 years:
— KAYAK (@KAYAK) January 16, 2025
Travel trends for 2025 and beyond
There are eight trends which are set to have a major impact on travel in the next fove years, according to KAYAK:
- AI Agents – Using AI tools to assist in the planning and arranging holidays.
- City Jumping – KAYAK says that by 2030, travellers will prioritise multi-stop trips over single-destination vacations.
- Vitamin T – The value of a trip will hinge on “wellness scores” by 2023, according to KAYAK’s WTF report.
- Feedbooking – Travellers will begin to use social media as a booking platform for holidays. KAYAK predicts social media will shift from inspiration to a full-fledged travel shopping channel.
- Virtual Voyages – Travel will feature holographic concierges and automatic airfare refunds by 2030.
- LIT – Low Intensity Travel – The shift toward visiting unexplored “hidden gem” destinations will continue to challenge today’s top travel spots.
- Spiritual Sidequests – More travellers will look to “pair exploring a destination with exploring their inner-self to grow and heal”.
- Disloyalty Programme – Loyalty Programmes will adapt to meet the demands of price-conscious travellers.
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Travel Expert at KAYAK, Rachel Mumford, said: “The way we travel is set to transform dramatically over the next five years, with artificial intelligence, multi-destination adventures, and wellness-driven itineraries redefining our experiences.
“By 2030, the definition of ‘a perfect trip’ will be radically different.”
Trending travel destinations
The shift away from popular, well travelled tourist destinations to unexplored “hidden gems” is gathering momentum and is set to have a real impact on where Brits holiday in years to come.
With this in mind, KAYAK has pulled together a list of the top 20 “trending” travel destinations (based on 2024 searches), to help you decide on the perfect holiday destination – that is popular, but still remains relatively “unexplored”.
The top 20 trending travel destinations, according to Kayak, are:
- Fuzhou (China)
- Munich (Germany)
- Harare (Zimbabwe)
- Cologne (Germany)
- Düsseldorf (Germany)
- Tirana (Albania)
- Salzburg (Austria)
- Siālkot (Pakistan)
- Johannesburg (South Africa)
- Nashville (United States)
- Girona (Spain)
- Reus (Spain)
- Lagos (Nigeria)
- Thiruvananthapuram (India)
- Abuja (Nigeria)
- Bilbao (Spain)
- Osaka (Japan)
- Muscat (Oman)
- Berlin (Germany)
- Bengaluru (India)
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Mumford added: “The next era of travel is coming and we predict we’ll see a shift toward unexplored destinations challenging today’s top travel spots as users strive to travel more consciously.
“For those wanting to travel more mindfully by avoiding the peak seasons, there’s KAYAK’s Best Time to Travel tool – just tell us where you’re headed and the length of your stay, and we’ll find the least popular month to fly, helping you avoid peak busy times.”
You can read the full ‘What the Future’ Travel Trends Report by visiting the KAYAK website (a link to which can be found above).
