BLOG POST

Q1 Traveller Insights: Travellers head for the sun and the slopes

Our exclusive first-party search and booking data from Q4 2024 reveals the latest traveller behaviours and trends.

author
Richard Kocher

12 February 2025

Welcome to the first Quarterly Traveller Insights blog of 2025. For newcomers, each quarter we reveal exclusive traveller insights from Expedia Group’s first-party data, highlighting key demand trends and the latest traveller behaviours.

 

What have we seen this quarter?

 

Q4 2024 data shows that travellers planned farther ahead as they looked towards the new year—warm weather destinations and ski towns gained in popularity and several new destinations made the top 10 searches in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

 

Read on to uncover more Q1 2025 travel trends and for tips and tricks about how you can use these to kick start a successful 2025.

Search volumes increase year-over-year

Our travel search trends show travellers are more eager to travel than last year, driven by a 25% YoY search increase in Asia Pacific (APAC) and 15% in North America (NORAM).¹

 

Here’s a breakdown of the busiest periods in this timeframe: 

  • The week of 23 December experienced more than a 10% week-over-week (WoW) search uptick as people searched during the Christmas week and took advantage of Boxing Day sales.

 

  • There was more than a 20% WoW search increase the week of 30 December, with 25% WoW increases in EMEA and 20% increases in LATAM and NORAM as travellers planned for the new year.

 

  • The week of 2 December showed strong WoW increases for NORAM travellers following the Thanksgiving holiday, as they emerge from time spent relaxing with family and friends.

Travellers take full advantage of the holidays

Over the week of Christmas (23-29 December), international travel across all regions increased YoY, with travellers from NORAM increasing the most, with an over 10% increase. Looking at the whole holiday season (20 December-5 January), the standout destinations for each region were:

 

  • NORAM travel increased YoY to Japan (45%), Dominican Republic (35%) and Puerto Rico (35%)

    •  

  • APAC travel increased YoY to Vietnam (26%) and Japan (15%)

    •  

  • EMEA travel increased YoY to Turkey (60%) and Sweden (35%)

    •  

  • LATAM travel increased YoY to Costa Rica (50%), the US (30%) and France (30%)

 

EMEA travellers made the most of the holidays as the length of stay increased by almost 30% compared to the prior 16 days.

Takeaway

Maximise the potential of peak moments

As demand for travel increases and searches ramp up, it’s vital to capitalise on the opportunity. But it can be a challenge to be noticed. A way to boost your chances is to appear at the top of search results in specific regions or around specific dates when you know there is high traveller appetite. A sponsored listing with TravelAds can do this.

Travellers are planning their mid-year trips

By looking at search windows—the period of time spent planning before the first day of travel—we can see that travellers were using the end of the year to get ahead of planning as searches looked deeper into 2025.

  • Searches in the 31+ day window increased quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). There was a 20% increase in the 180+ day window QoQ as travellers looked towards mid-year 2025 trips. This trend was strongest in EMEA, where there was a 75% QoQ increase in the 180+ day window and domestic searches experienced a 30% increase QoQ.

    •  

  • Compared to previous years, NORAM travellers increased international searches during the 14- to 20-day window by 15%, potentially as travellers looked for last-minute holiday getaways.

    •  

  • During the second half of November and throughout December, searches for the 91+ day window increased from earlier in the quarter as travellers looked towards 2025 holidays.

Takeaway

Ensure your calendar and pricing is up-to-date

Ensure that you are connecting with travellers who are looking deeper into 2025 by updating your calendar and pricing. Here are 8 tips on how to maximise the calendar tool to manage a holiday rental business efficiently, while hotels can leverage the competitive market insights in Rev+ to help you quickly and confidently optimise your rates.

Travellers dreaming of sun and slopes

As the weather turned cold in the Northern Hemisphere, our traveller search trends show holiday makers headed towards warmer weather and the ski slopes.

Warm weather locations gain traction

Search increases from October to December

Between countries/territories

  • 210% increase from France to Mexico
  • 40% increase from US to US Virgin Islands, French Polynesia and St. Lucia
  • 40% increase from India to Thailand

To specific destinations

  • Clearwater Beach, Florida (115% increase)
  • St Augustine, Florida (80% increase)
  • Acapulco, Mexico (80% increase)

Looking at specific markets, the top hot-climate destinations were Mexico City (170% increase) in EMEA, and San Lorenzo, Costa Rica (260% increase), Tecolutla, Mexico (195% increase), Piracicaba, Brazil (180% increase) and Valladolid, Mexico (160% increase) in Latin America (LATAM).

Ski town destination increases

Year-over-year

  • Big Sky, Montana (50% increase)
  • St. Mortiz, Switzerland (35% increase)
  • Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan (25% increase)
  • Aspen, Colorado (25% increase)

From October to December

  • South Lake Tahoe, California (75% increase)
  • Breckenridge, Colorado (50% increase)
  • Park City, Utah (50% increase)

The biggest increases in October to December searches from travellers specifically in North America were Big Bear Lake, California (100% increase) and The Blue Mountains, Ontario (90%), while Zermatt, Switzerland saw a 60% increase among EMEA travellers.

Takeaway

Lean into seasonality to appeal to travellers

With travellers booking warm-weather getaways and holidays centred around winter activities, use seasonality to your advantage. Whether you’re a sunny locale or winter wonderland, you can highlight the seasonal benefits of your property or destination in your advertising to drive more demand. Holiday home owners should also look at setting competitive seasonal rates to take advantage of booking opportunities and maximise revenue potential.

Sporting spectacles and festival fever fuel searches

With a busy sporting calendar across the world and in a wide range of events and tournaments in 2025, travellers started planning in Q4. Some of the big event-creating spikes in searches include:

  • A 175% increase in searches for New Orleans, Louisiana, during the week of the Super Bowl (3-9 Feb) QoQ. The places with the biggest increases were Jacksonville, Florida; Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California and New York, New York.

  • A 175% YoY increase in searches for The Daytona 500 in Daytona, Florida (13-16 Feb). The uptick was driven—pun intended—almost exclusively by NORAM travellers.

  • A 50% YoY increase in searches for the F1 Melbourne in Australia (14-16 March) and an 80% YoY increase for F1 Shanghai (21-23 March).

 

Festivals are also fuelling bigger spikes in searches compared to last year. Searches for Austin, Texas during South by Southwest (SXSW) are up 50% YoY (7-15 March) and searches for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for Carnival are 175% higher YoY (28 Feb – 4 March), with the increase coming from NORAM travellers.

Takeaway

Use Flight Sponsored Listings to capture sports fans and festival-goers

Flight Sponsored Listings allow airlines to drive ticket sales and promote strategic sporting and festival flight routes using Expedia Group’s cost-per-click advertising tool. With Flight Sponsored Listings, airlines secure a premium position in search results and use custom copy to encourage sports fans and music-lovers to book.

Eyes on ramen and sushi for 2025 travel

Japan is clearly a desirable destination for 2025. Across all regions in Q4, searches for Japan increased YoY. In LATAM, searches for Japan increased 75% YoY, while EMEA and NORAM searches increased 60%.

 

Traveller interest reaches beyond the major Japanese hubs as adventurers look to get away from the beaten track. Travellers in LATAM increased searches for Hyogo prefecture, Aichi prefecture and Yamanashi prefecture by over 75% each YoY and they were in the top 10 destinations. Similarly, searches from NORAM to Hokkaido prefecture, Hyogo prefecture and Aichi prefecture all increased by over 80% YoY, with Hokkaido making the top 5 top Japanese destinations. In EMEA, search increases for Okinawa prefecture and Hyogo prefecture both increased by over 80% YoY.

 

These spikes could be driven by a range of factors. For example, Ghibli Park in Aichi prefecture opened in 2022 and attracts international travellers, while Niseko in Hokkaido prefecture is arguably one of the world’s best places for powder snow; Okinawa prefecture has amazing beaches.

Takeaway

Tailor experiences to emerging Asian traveller trends

Our latest study into Asian traveller trends and preferences showed Japan is the top destination for travel. To capitalise on this emerging opportunity, travel businesses need to tailor experiences to this emerging demographic. Read the full results and tips here.

Top destinations list for EMEA travellers features four new places

In addition to quarterly search volume and window data, we look at top destinations by region to show you where travellers are going.

 

Last quarter, several new places broke into the list of top 10 destinations. In EMEA, Amsterdam, Madrid, Manchester and Stockholm emerged at the top, while in LATAM, Guadalajara and Orlando broke into the list. The full lists by region are here:

Top searched destinations by region

*New top 10 searched destinations

For APAC travellers 

  • Tokyo, Japan

  • Sydney, Australia

  • Melbourne, Australia

  • Osaka, Japan

  • Seoul, South Korea

  • Gold Coast, Australia

  • Fukuoka, Japan

  • Singapore

  • Taipei, Taiwan*

  • Incheon, South Korea

For LATAM travellers

  • Mexico City, Mexico
  • Cancun, Mexico
  • Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
  • New York, New York
  • Playa del Carmen, Mexico
  • Madrid, Spain
  • Guadalajara, Mexico*
  • Orlando, Florida*

For EMEA Travellers 

  • London, UK

  • Istanbul, Türkiye

  • Paris, France

  • Dubai, UAE

  • New York, New York

  • Amsterdam, Netherlands*

  • Rome, Italy

  • Madrid, Spain*

  • Manchester, UK*

  • Stockholm, Sweden*

For NORAM travellers 

  • Cancun, Mexico
  • Las Vegas, Nevada 
  • Orlando, Florida
  • New York, New York
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  • Miami, Florida
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida*
  • Boston, Massachusetts 

Three locations enter the top 10 holiday rental destinations for EMEA travellers

Top Vrbo destinations.

 

New destinations also made the top 10 Vrbo searches. For EMEA travellers, New York entered the rankings at number 7 and London surged into the list for NORAM travellers.²

 

Here’s the full list of the most-searched Vrbo destinations: 

Top-searched holiday rental destinations

*New top 10 searched destinations

For APAC travellers 

  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Perth, Australia
  • Adelaide, Australia
  • Brisbane, Australia
  • Auckland, New Zealand
  • London, UK
  • Waiheke Island, New Zealand
  • Paris, France
  • Canberra, Australia

For LATAM travellers

  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Florianópolis, Brazil
  • São Paulo, Brazil
  • Camaçari, Brazil
  • Guarapari, Brazil
  • Ipojuca, Brazil
  • Mexico City, Mexico
  • Salvador, Brazil
  • João Pessoa, Brazil*
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina*

For EMEA Travellers 

  • London, UK
  • Paris, France
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Rome, Italy
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Lisbon, Portugal
  • New York, New York*
  • Madrid, Spain*
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands*
  • Kissimmee, Florida

For NORAM travellers 

  • Scottsdale, Arizona
  • Kissimmee, Florida
  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • New York, New York
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Paris, France
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
  • London, England*
  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida*

Takeaway

Our holiday rental predictions for 2025

In 2025, we are expecting holiday rental travellers to embrace JOMO—the joy of missing out. JOMO travel means doing less on holiday to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and staying in cosy cabins or peaceful beach houses to boost relaxation and reconnection. 

 

JOMO is just one of many trends that was revealed in Expedia Group’s data-driven assessment of what’s motivating travellers, Unpack ’25. Download the full Unpack ’25 partner report to learn more about how to take action.

Research & insights

Discover additional insights

Discover the latest traveller data, trends and insights to help inform your business and marketing strategies.

View our insights

Keep up to date

Sign up to let us know whether you’d like to be notified about future blog content.
Sign up now
A headshot of Richard Kocher

Richard Kocher

Senior Director, Media Insights & Planning

 

Richard is Senior Director of Media Insights & Planning. His team is responsible for mining Expedia Group’s exclusive first-party search and booking data and market insights to inform partners’ strategies, product selection and audience targeting. Prior to overseeing the global Media, Insights and Planning team, Richard led Business Development and Account Management teams in display and sponsored listings across EMEA and APAC. He has postgraduate degrees in Anthropology from the University of Sussex and Business Administration from Warwick Business School–and lives with his family in Redmond, Washington, USA.

 

Read more posts by Richard

Was this page helpful?

Tell us how we did so we can improve our site.