ABTA’s Destinations to Watch 2025 report offers holidaymakers inspiration for their trips this year and insight on places we anticipate will become increasingly popular with the UK traveller.
2025 looks set to be a promising year for international travel, following a strong 2024.
ABTA’s data* finds 68% of people intend to take an overseas holiday, with the opportunity to relax and spend time with family and friends driving people’s desire to travel.
Many people are open to exploring somewhere new – with almost half (45%) saying they are likely to try a country they haven’t been to before next year, up from 41% last year, and 48% saying they’re looking to go to a city or resort they’ve not previously visited, rising to 60% for both 25-34 year olds and 35-44 year olds.
While beach breaks and city breaks remain the most popular type of trip intended for next year (48% and 45% respectively), people enjoy a whole range of holidays. There is strong demand for countryside breaks (27%), multi-destination trips (18%), visit to lakes and mountains (17%), adventure holidays (15%) and cruise (14%).
ABTA members are reporting that people are increasingly seeking out experiences from their holidays – including the great local food and wine, the rich culture or sporting activities, like cycling or hiking. Holidaymakers are looking to dig a little deeper into their destination to discover a more authentic experience, and we reflect that in many of this year’s destination choices.
Our Destinations to Watch 2025 report is here to help people quench their thirst for travel by offering ideas and inspiration to explore lesser-known places or get a new take on a familiar place. The destinations are selected by ABTA experts, reflecting customers’ sentiment and trends we’re seeing in the market, rather than being a simple selection of the ‘most popular’ or most visited locations.
*The data featured is from ABTA’s Holiday Habits research and report 2024-25.