Skyscanner has published a new report exploring the latest trends in travel – titled Skyscanner Horizons: 2024/5 spending, planning and destination insights, the report unpacks and explores a combination of consumer survey and proprietary search data to provide a unique view of how travellers are thinking about their plans for the next 12 months.
Surveying 19,000 consumers across 16 markets, the report delves into key indicators such as travel propensity, spend, trip type, and the trip planning process, including the top sources of destination inspiration, AI use and views on overtourism. Of the total, there were 6,000 survey respondents from Asia-Pacific, including Australia, India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Skyscanner’s search data further complements these insights by offering details on destination choice, average lead times, average trip length and year-on-year search volume comparisons.
Asia-Pacific travellers are continuing to prioritise travel and travel expenditure, with those from India planning to travel and spend the most. 80% of those in the region are planning as many, if not more trips in 2025 than in 2024.
Across the board, travel behaviour is being shaped by a desire for collective experiences, from sports events and immersive art installations to gaming ‘pilgrimages’ that bring people together. Seven travel trends were identified, consisting of Sport mode, Astro Adventurers, Reset Jetters, Art-Venture, Cowboy Core, Horti-Culture and Gami-Vacation.
Travel remains priority, with travellers expecting to spend more
72% of Asia-Pacific travellers are planning to spend more or the same on flights in 2025 versus the previous year. Similarly for accommodation and car hire related behaviour, 71% and 46% of travellers in the region are planning to spend more or the same, respectively.
For ancillaries spend, top flight upgrades were seat selection (38%), insurance (38%), better quality food (29%), access to airport lounge (25%) and extra baggage (23%). About 31% of travellers are willing to upgrade their hotel rooms – for example to a larger room or one with a sea view – and the same proportion would be open to upgrading accommodation for a higher star rating.
Food triumphs as top factor in travel planning
Outside of costs, food is the biggest decision-making factor when choosing a destination. Two thirds of Asia-Pacific travellers (67%) agreed that food is important when picking a holiday destination. Other top factors observed were the weather (55%), natural landscape (55%), the attractions (54%) and culture (54%).
Confidence in using AI for planning grows
46% of Asia-Pacific travellers express confidence in using AI tools to assist with travel planning and booking, with about 17% indicating they are very confident.
Top four applications of AI in travel include destination research (40%), the creation of travel itineraries (36%), comparison of options (33%), and destination inspiration (31%).
Attitudes towards overtourism and impact
When asked how they would change the way they travel in the future, more than one in four (27%) Asia-Pacific travellers said they would consider less touristy destinations and 25% would try to make a positive impact on the places they go.
South Korean travellers are observed to be especially interested in visiting quieter, less busy destinations, while Indian travellers are the most inclined to make a positive contribution to the destinations they visit.
When discussing factors that will influence their choice, travellers are increasingly interested in exploring lesser-known destinations, with 27% Asia-Pacific respondents expressing intentions to visit these less touristed areas.
59% of Asia-Pacific travellers cited safety as a top reason for hesitance to choose an under-touristed destination over a popular one. A high proportion of Singapore (67%), India (60%) and South Korea travellers (64%) contributed to this sentiment.
Additionally, understanding where to go (36%) and confidence in available activities at the destination (34%) were also significant factors influencing their decisions to travel to lesser-known locations.
Top sources of travel inspiration
Social media and word-of-mouth recommendations are the leading sources of travel inspiration for travellers worldwide. More than half of Asia-Pacific respondents (55%) look to social media for travel ideas, while 45% rely on word-of-mouth recommendations.
Other notable sources include online media (42%), films and television shows (40%) and guidebooks (28%), all of which play significant roles in shaping travel choices.
2025 destination trends and trip lengths
Travellers continue to seek inspiration through Skyscanner’s popular ‘Everywhere’ search feature, which ranks highly across all regions. The top destinations identified in Asia-Pacific revealed a preference for big cities across Asia.
Average trip length is short, peaking at six days, apart from London at two weeks. Across the board, trip lengths are down year-on-year (YoY) by around a day. Average lead times broadly fall between 30 and 70 days, with the highest being for London and Tokyo. Travellers are booking flights to New Delhi, on average, just 28 days before departure.
Trending destinations identified in Asia-Pacific showed a love for off-the-beaten path Asian destinations – with China’s Dayong and India’s Shillong both experiencing large YoY increases in search volume of over 800%.
Smaller destinations in India, Japan and Cambodia are seeing a surge in popularity, taking up six of the top 10. Average trip lengths are short – all in single digits – as travellers keep their visits brief.
“Our data shows that travel demand remains resilient, and travellers are adapting their itineraries as they seek out collective experiences. This blend of resilience, ingenuity and innovation from both travellers and airlines looks set to make next year a transformative one for all,” noted Hugh Aitkens, vice president, strategic relations and development at Skyscanner.
“Looking ahead, we expect the market to become more active with seat sales and promotions as airlines compete for share of wallet.”
