Money blog: Travel trends expected in 2025 revealed

By Jess Sharp, Money team

Detour destinations, goods getaways and the phenomena-list – ever heard of them?

If not, you might do soon – they are some of the travel trends expected in 2025, according to Expedia. 

Straying away from popular cities, picking up a speciality product and travelling to see a natural event will be some of the considerations people will make next year when picking their holiday destination, the travel company found. 

Here we take a look at the trends – and locations you might want to add to your wish list.

Detour destinations

These are places that are close to tried-and-tested tourist hotspots, but less crowded and less well-known. 

Expedia found 63% of travellers said they were more likely to visit one of these places on their next trip.

Based on search data, it also worked out the top 10 most popular detour destinations in 2025. 

Topping the list was Reims in France, which is roughly two hours away from Paris. 

It is known for its gothic cathedral and champagne houses (it is the largest town in Champagne). 

Here are the other locations that made the list: 

• Brescia, Italy – around an hour away from Milan
• Cozumel, Mexico – an island close to Cancun
• Santa Barbara, California, US – roughly two hours from Los Angeles
• Waikato, New Zealand – nearly two hours from Auckland
• Girona, Spain – a 39-minute train ride from Barcelona 
• Fukuoka, Japan – 13 hours away from Tokyo
• Abu Dhabi, UAE – just over an hour’s drive from Dubai
• Krabi, Thailand –  nearly three hours from Phuket
• Canmore, Alberta, Canada – around an hour from Calgary

Goods getaways

Social media, particularly TikTok, has inspired people to take trips in search of a speciality product – these are goods getaways. 

Expedia said 60% of people in the UK prioritise visiting a supermarket to buy local delicacies while on holiday. 

Coffee tours in Costa Rica, tea tastings in China and matcha experiences in Japan were found to be some of the most popular activities booked on the travel site. 

A viral pistachio chocolate bar from Dubai, butter from France, and Japanese sweets were also popular items to bring home. 

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@hibaxkh Trying Dubai’s VIRAL chocolate 🤯 @fixdessertchocolatier Costs 89 dhs with delivery only avaialble in 🇦🇪 Honest option: Unique flavor but too sweet for me and very expensive so definitely a one time purchase 👀 Would you try it out? #viral #foodtrend #viralchocolate #fixdessertchocolatier #uae #dubai #trending #desserttiktok #foodie #asmr #mukbang #foryou #fypシ ♬ original sound – Cloudninecouture | Food&Travel

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Set jetting 

If you are a regular reader of the Money blog, you might have come across this term before.

It basically means trips that have been inspired by TV shows or films. 

Expedia found two-thirds of travellers say movies, streaming services and TV shows have influenced their travel choices – 16% more than last year. 

Destinations inspired by Emily In Paris and White Lotus have already proven to be popular. 

In 2025, The Real Housewives of Dubai is expected to inspire people to visit the city in the UAE. 

Yellowstone will see people visit Montana and Wyoming in the US, Scotland will get some visitors thanks to The Traitors, New York City will have And Just Like That fans arriving and One Piece will have travellers heading to Cape Town, South Africa. 

The Phenomena-list

Two-thirds of travellers said it was important to stay in a place that offered a prime viewing of natural phenomena in 2025. 

The Northern Lights was the top natural event to see, with 70% of people saying it was on their list, followed by volcanoes, geysers and hot springs. 

Expedia’s partner, Vrbo, created this list of phenomena that people want to visit – the phenomena-list 

• Northern Lights – Lapland region, Finland
• International Dark Sky Park – Arches National Park, Utah
• Synchronous firefly season – Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg
• Penguin parade – Phillip Island near Melbourne, Australia
• Bioluminescent plankton – Vero Beach, Florida
• Black Sun starlings’ migration – Wadden Sea National Park, Denmark
• Ballet of Japanese cranes – Hokkaido, Japan
• Highest tides in the world, walk on the ocean floor – Bay of Fundy, Canada
• Starling murmurations – Somerset, UK
• Volcanoes, lava fields and black sand beaches – Reykjavik, Iceland

All-inclusive trips, hotel restaurants and JOMO travel

The return of all-inclusive holidays is also a prediction for next year, with Hotels.com finding 61% of Gen Z travellers considering one in 2025. 

Half of them said they would book an all-inclusive stay for the cost savings, while 39% said they would for minimal stress. 

While people are booking hotels, they are looking at the experience offered by the on site restaurants as well, and the travel site predicts this will continue next year. 

Nearly a third of Brits said restaurant tables reserved exclusively for hotel guests would make them more likely to book a stay, while one in five said room service from a famous hotel restaurant would be their top reason. 

And, while the world is used to FOMO (the fear of missing out), next year is expected to be full of travellers embracing the joy of missing out, or JOMO. 

Doing less on holiday to escape the hustle and bustle of every day life, and going on trips that aid relaxation is predicted to be trending. 

The best way to experience this kind of travel is from a beach house, a lakeside lodge or farmhouse, according to British travellers asked by Expedia.