Travel demand is expected to remain strong in the year ahead. To help companies maximize the opportunities available, our annual travel industry outlook explores four key trends travel companies will need to navigate throughout 2025—from emerging AI use cases to a new administration.
Trends driving travel demand
Travel demand, which surged as soon as pandemic restrictions were lifted, appears poised to continue its strong run. Over the recent winter holiday season, US travelers planned more and longer trips—and planned to increase their average spend compared to 2023. TSA throughput (the number of passengers processed at US airports) rose by 7% year over year for the period between December 20 and January 5.
Three major drivers appear to underlie this strong demand:
Post-pandemic reprioritization: More travelers said they planned to raise their holiday travel budgets vs the prior year. And among those, 40% said they would do so because “travel has become more important to me since the pandemic.”
Laptop lugging: The share of travelers planning to do some work on their longest trip of the season rose significantly, from a third to half. This freedom to roam is not new. It may be settling in as a lifestyle reality that many Americans now use to travel more.
Positive financial outlook: The share of Americans (not just travelers) who say their financial situation has improved vs last year rose, from 31% to 37%.
In order to take advantage of this strong demand in the year ahead, travel companies will need to navigate AI acceleration, international travel trends, expanded offerings, and a new administration. Dive into our full travel industry outlook for 2025 to learn more.
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Navigating a shifting travel landscape
AI acceleration
AI is increasingly being applied to travel. Early efforts have been pointed across the business, at customer service, operations optimization, predictive maintenance, shopping and discovery, and more. Travel providers and startups are piloting applications with more potential for impact to both the business and the experience of travel, ranging from airline revenue management to personalized hotel guest communications.
Mega micro merchandising
Both hoteliers and airlines are in various stages of continuous efforts to sell to travelers in a more robust, customizable way. “Modern retailing” is the phrase in airlines, and “attribute-based selling” is a comparable effort in hospitality. For online travel agencies, it’s “the connected trip.” Whatever you call it, across travel, providers are looking to expand their offerings and enable travelers to purchase the experiences and amenities they want most.
Inbound versus outbound travel
International travel returned slower after the pandemic. US travelers’ enthusiasm to explore brought international trip volume and spend up, but inbound visits have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Many factors driving this imbalance are more difficult to address, but US travel companies can focus on marketing to growth countries, catering to Indian travelers, and supporting the visa process, to name a few.
A new administration
The waiting game that is the recent US election cycle is over. A new administration has taken office, and a new Congress has been sworn in. President Donald Trump proposed several policy changes that could affect travel, some of which were big campaign priorities—including tax cuts, tariffs, and airline acquisitions.
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Kate FerraraVice Chair and US Transportation, Hospitality and Services Sector Leader, DeloitteDeloitte Development LLP
