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Q1 Traveler Insights: Travelers head for the sun and the slopes

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

author
Richard Kocher

February 12, 2025

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

 

What have we seen this quarter?

 

Q4 2024 data shows that travelers planned farther ahead as they looked toward 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 travelers 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 December 23 experienced more than a 10% week-over-week (WoW) search uptick as people searched during the week of Christmas and took advantage of Boxing Day sales.

 

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

 

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

Travelers take full advantage of the holidays

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

Takeaway

Maximize the potential of peak moments

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

Travelers 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 travelers 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 travelers looked toward 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

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

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

Takeaway

Ensure your calendar and pricing is up to date

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

Travelers dreaming of sun and slopes

As the weather turned cold in the Northern Hemisphere, our traveler search trends show vacationers 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 U.S. 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 in 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 travelers specifically in North America were Big Bear Lake, California (100% increase), The Blue Mountains, Ontario (90%), while Zermatt, Switzerland saw a 60% increase among EMEA travelers.

Takeaway

Lean into seasonality to appeal to travelers

With travelers booking warm-weather getaways and vacations centered 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. Vacation rental property owners should also look at setting competitive seasonal rates to take advantage of booking opportunities and maximize 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, travelers 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 (Feb 3-9) 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 (Feb 13-16). The uptick was driven – pun intended – almost exclusively by NORAM travelers.

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

 

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

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 search increased 75% YoY while EMEA and NORAM searches increased 60% to Japan. 

 

Travelers interest reach beyond the major Japanese hubs as adventurers look to get away from the beaten track. Travelers in LATAM increased searches for the Hyogo Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture, and Yamanashi Prefecture all by over 75% YoY and were in the top 10 destinations. Similarly, searches from NORAM to the 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 the 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 the Aichi Prefecture opened in 2022 and is attracting international travelers while Niseko in the Hokkaido Prefecture is arguably one of the world places for powder snow in the world, and the Okinawa Prefecture has amazing beaches.

Takeaway

Tailor experiences to emerging Asian traveler trends

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

Top destinations list for EMEA travelers features four new places

In addition to quarterly search volume and window data, we look at top destinations by region to show you where travelers 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 Travelers 

  • Tokyo, Japan

  • Sydney, Australia

  • Melbourne, Australia

  • Osaka, Japan

  • Seoul, South Korea

  • Gold Coast, Australia

  • Fukuoka, Japan

  • Singapore

  • Taipei, Taiwan*

  • Incheon, South Korea

For LATAM Travelers

  • 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 Travelers 

  • London, England

  • Istanbul, Türkiye

  • Paris, France

  • Dubai, UAE

  • New York, New York

  • Amsterdam, Netherlands*

  • Rome, Italy

  • Madrid, Spain*

  • Manchester, UK*

  • Stockholm, Sweden*

For NORAM Travelers 

  • 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 vacation rental destinations for EMEA travelers

Top Vrbo destinations.

 

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

 

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

Top searched vacation rental destinations

*New top 10 searched destinations

For APAC Travelers 

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

For LATAM Travelers

  • 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 Travelers 

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

For NORAM Travelers 

  • 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 vacation rental predictions for 2025

In 2025, we are expecting vacation rental travelers to embrace JOMO, the joy of missing out. JOMO Travel means doing less on vacation to escape the hustle bustle of everyday life and staying at cozy 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 at what’s motivating travelers, Unpack ’25. Download the full Unpack ’25 partner report to learn more about how to take action.

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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.

 

Read more posts by Richard

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