Alta Thoughts (January 2025)
By Rakesh Patel
“There are two kinds of forecasters: those who don’t know, and those who don’t know they don’t know”. John Kenneth Galbraith (Economist).
In banking, we were surrounded by economists and analysts making forecasts. But forecasting anything is notoriously challenging. Nevertheless, it can be thought-provoking and fun, especially when it relates to pleasurable activities like travel. For 2025, here are some of our favourite trend forecasts.
The biggest travel trends for 2025
When it comes to high-end travel, Conde Nast has it covered. They have travelled the extra mile and picked out no less than 21 travel trends for 2025! Some of these are really quite lateral, quirky, but gaining popularity. The choicest ones: Astro Cartography – comparing your birth chart to a map and journey accordingly; Intrepid Supper clubs – follow your nose to the best gastronomic experiences around; The Anti-Butler Boom – less luxury, formal service replaced by autonomy and informality; JOMO – “the joy of missing out” – think “soft travel” alongside “slow travel”; Night Tourism – skip the crowds and heat at your favorite destinations.
Global hotel transaction activity picked-up at the back-end of 2024. Will this continue into 2025? JLL’s investor sentiment survey points to strengthening deal flow this year, with 80% of investors expecting to invest the same, or more, capital into the sector. This is driven primarily by lower interest rates, but also by hotels emerging as a preferred asset class in CRE, given robust operating performance and superior risk-adjusted returns. This has also attracted new investors, with 27% of hotel deal volume in 2024, being from first time buyers.
We’ve Done Revenge Travel and Normalization. Here’s What to Expect in 2025
We have done 2023 revenge travel and 2024 normalisation, so what is in store for 2025? According to Skift, expect further growth as travel remains the #1 discretionary spend for consumers. According to their global survey, consumers intend to spend 9% more on travel this year. This corresponds to industry revenue forecasts from OTAs, hotels, airlines, etc. Alongside solid top-line growth will come the inventible challenges and opportunities in the form of regulatory action on over tourism, angst on labour costs and inflation, and the embrace of AI and technology.
Have a wonderfully rewarding 2025 filled with many travel adventures.
