From food and sport related travel to the influence of social media and AI, travel in 2025 appears to be even more personalised and focused on experiences.
These insights were gleaned from Trip.com Group’s Momentum 2025 report on travel trends. The report was based on a survey of 6,000 respondents across Asia-Pacific, including Singapore, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
Travellers’ decision-making are increasingly motivated by the media they consume, whether it is movies and TV series or social media. The 25 to 34 year old age group showed the highest interest in media-inspired travel, while nearly half of those in the age 65 and above group are influenced by what they watch.
Meanwhile, 45 per cent of survey respondents are influenced by TikTok, with Tokyo and Kyoto as the most-visited spots. Social media is a key driver for booking decisions by younger travellers from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
Many people seek out the local cuisine at their destination when they travel, making plans to dine at certain restaurants. Indeed, food-inspired travel is going to gain even bigger momentum among Asia-Pacific travellers in 2025, with 60 per cent of Trip.com’s users searching for food-related content on its platform since January 2024.
Across Asia-Pacific, food festivals (62 per cent), hotel dining (60 per cent), and street food tours (57 per cent) will be the top food experiences with the strongest appeal. Gen Z and millennials are particularly drawn to food festivals, while millennials are more interested in more diverse and unique dining options.
Hotel dining is the most popular type of experience for Japanese and South Korean travellers, while those from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand favour food festivals and street food tours.
Across the region, 66 per cent of respondents are willing to travel for concerts and have planned their holidays around them.
Sports tourism is also thriving, with football and basketball as the most preferred live sports, followed closely by Formula 1 across all the counties surveyed.
Cruise tourism continues to grow, with travellers mainly motivated by onboard dining options (44 per cent), all-inclusive packages (38 per cent), and live shows or entertainment (31 per cent).
Travellers are also looking for more unique and niche experiences, with activities such as dark sky stargazing (37 per cent), underwater hotel stays (30 per cent), cultural immersion stays (20 per cent), space tourism and rural glamping (13 per cent), emerging as micro trends.
To better meet the preferences of its customers, Trip continues to evolve its offerings, integrating technology to ease the booking process.
Edmund Ong, senior regional director, SEA, general manager, Singapore, at Trip.com Group said: “We are a one-stop shop as we offer accommodation, flights, trains, attractions and tours, car rentals, cruises and much more.”
On the app, there are features such as an AI-powered TripGenie providing recommendations, as well as events exclusively on its platform for booking such as Artbox in Singapore last year and the upcoming Sneaker Con SEA.
“We pride ourselves as having one of the best (customer service),” he added, referring to Trip.com’s 16 customer service centres around the globe that provide support in 20 languages, and are operational 24-hours a day.
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Further analysis conducted by the 2025 ACI Salary & Employment Trends Report noted that job instability is expected to continue into 2025, as 10 per cent of hiring managers said jobs would be eliminated this year (this was six per cent in 2024) while 32 per cent said recruitment in 2025 would only be for replacements. Another 20 per cent were unsure if new hires would be brought into their company in the next 12 months.
