These Will Be The Biggest Travel Trends In 2025

We travel for a million different reasons—to visit long-distance loved ones, to learn about different cultures, to indulge in relaxation, to find adventure. No matter your reason for traveling, everyone loves the opportunity to break from their normal routine and experience something new. In 2025, vacation and trip planning are set to be as popular as ever. MMGY’s Portrait of American Travelers Fall Edition (released in September 2024) found that 8 in 10 adults plan to take a trip in the next 12 months. Whether you’ve got a favorite vacation spot that you return to year after year, or if you’re in search of some destination inspiration for the coming year, check out these seven travel trends that are bound to be huge in 2025.  

Meaningful Travel

People are increasingly traveling with a purpose. In the past few years, we’ve seen a steady uptick in heritage travel, in which travelers explore their roots by visiting destinations that have meaning to either their heritage or family history. A continued interest in tracking genealogy continues to support this trend. Last year, contributor Sheeka Sanahori got a head start on this trend by taking her son to the International African American Museum in Charleston to help her son learn more about his origins. Outside of heritage travel, meaningful travel also includes volunteer travel, immersive cultural travel, and conservation travel.

Natural Phenomenon Trips

One of the biggest travel trends of 2024 was travel to see April’s Total Solar Eclipse. Trips based around phenomena or once-a-year natural events aren’t going anywhere in 2025. Lucky for Southerners, our region is home to all kinds of one-of-a-kind natural experience—from catching the synchronous fireflies in Great Smoky Mountain National Park or Congaree National Park to kayaking to see bioluminescent plankton in Vero Beach, Florida. If you’re willing to venture a little further, dark sky experiences like seeing the Northern Lights also will be highly popular.

Health and Wellness Vacations

R & R has always been at the top of the list of reasons to travel, but today’s relaxation-focused vacations go far beyond just booking a massage or facial at the hotel spa. Today’s wellness trips are all-encompassing and address every aspect of personal health—physical, mental, spiritual, and beyond. Reset retreats at resorts like Miraval Austin and Hilton Head Health will be popular, as will hotels like Edgecamp Pamlico Station that offer in-room health amenities and an entire wellness deck complete with a hot tub, cold plunge pools, and saunas.

Cowboy Culture

It seems we still haven’t quite gotten over our Yellowstone obsession—and how could we with new Taylor Sheridan spin-offs coming out seemingly every other month? Lots of folks will attempt to live out their cowboy and cowgirl dreams on vacation this year. Ranch stays across Montana and Wyoming will book up fast, but us Southerners can just pop over to Texas for an authentic taste of true cowboy culture. On the east coast? No problem. Cataloochee Ranch, a longstanding ranch in the Great Smoky Mountains that was recently renovated and reopened as a Relais & Chateaux property, has you covered with horseback riding, cozy cabins, and more.

Garden Getaways

Seasonality has always been a big motivator for travel, so it’s only fitting that a lot of us will plan trips around what’s in bloom and where. Southerners, long known for their green thumbs and well-maintained gardens, have a particular penchant for this type of travel. Whether you’re traveling to see the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. or Macon in spring, are on the hunt for the best fall foliage, or hoping to catch the magnificent wildflower display in Texas, Mother Nature and her flora will affect when we travel and where we visit. Ready to plan a bloom-filled getaway? Virginia’s Historic Garden Week (April 26 – May 3 this year) might be just the ticket.

Hidden Gems

2025 might not be the year you check those major bucket list destinations and world capitals off your list. Instead, it will be a year we explore under-the-radar destinations that are more budget friendly and have fewer crowds but are just as incredible. Looking to stay close to home, we’ve got hidden gem inspiration galore, as well as some spots we consider to be underrated based on how much they have to offer.