State of Travel Report 2025 by Skift Research
Welcome to Skift Research's State of Travel 2025 report
There is an apocryphal ancient curse: 'May you live in interesting times'. We in the travel industry are certainly living through an interesting time for tourism in 2025.
After a smooth take-off at the start of the year, the travel industry quickly hit turbulence as concerns about trade, tariffs, and policy weighed on the global economy. Make no mistake, the state of travel in 2025 remains strong. Our industry continues to grow. Travel has shown impressive resilience in a world tested by macroeconomic uncertainty and evolving consumer expectations.
Then there is the pace of technology. Machine learning, once the gold standard for artificial intelligence is now table stakes. Travel technologists have gotten their footing with generative AI tools and are scaling LLMs even as we start to look forward to an agentic future. Changes in how businesses and consumers use AI could upend the long-established competitive landscape. Interesting times, indeed.
Amid all these shifts, the consumer remains the north star. Travel is the most aspirational purchase in the world. The transition to an experiential economy continues and thousands of new travelers are emerging every day.
But many questions remain. What is the next great travel experience? Where will the next wave of travelers come from? How will short-term rentals, airlines, and hotels adapt to shifting consumer priorities? How will sustainability pressures and the rapid adoption of technology reshape business models?
Our State of Travel 2025 report is designed to be your reference handbook for navigating this evolving landscape.
From proprietary consumer research and sector deep-dives to executive perspectives and market forecasts, we've assembled over 300 charts and insights covering nearly every corner of the industry. We hope this report helps you take these interesting times and turn them into a blessing, rather than a curse.
Enjoy the report.
What You'll Learn From This Report
300+ insights defining the state of travel in 2024
Proprietary and third-party data highlighting travel industry performance
Consumer insights, sector deep dives, and executive perspectives
Regional overviews of travel and tourism performance, based on proprietary Skift Research surveys and data
Data-driven insights on the current state of all travel sectors: airlines, hotels, short-term rentals, online travel, traditional travel agents, multi-day tour operators, tours and activities, cruise, and car rental
Insights into the economic climate as well as major travel trends including the impact of AI, experiential travel, business travel, luxury travel, and sustainability.
Skift Research provides proprietary research, analysis, and premium data tools for travel industry professionals and their teams. Our team uses financial and economic analysis and proprietary survey data to support qualitative observations and travel-focused forecasts. We work with over 25 data partners from across the travel industry to provide timely insights into the performance of sectors and countries.
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