Cyprus puts Mallorca in the shade for summer 2025

While when it comes to travel in 2025, ABTA says more people are looking to expand their horizons with trips to more far flung and less familiar destinations. That’s according to ABTA’s new report, Travel Trends for 20251, which shows that more than a third (34.2%) of people are planning to visit long-haul locations outside of Europe and North America (up from 28.2% last year).

Using a seedlist of popular holiday destinations, trtl analysed the number of monthly Google search results for each location to reveal the top 10 spots for a getaway in 2025.
And they are: 1st: Cyprus — 9,000 searches
Ibiza — 6,700 searches
Nice — 5,000 searches
Mallorca — 4,000 searches
Barcelona — 3,500 searches
Split — 3,000 searches
Malta — 2,300 searches
Mykonos — 2,300 searches
Algarve — 1,600 searches
Amalfi Coast — 1,100 searches
Santorini — 1,000 searches

And, according to ABTA, Asia is the continent set to welcome the biggest year-on-year rise in visitors, with one in 10 (11%) people planning to travel there in the year ahead (up from 8.9% the year before). Japan, Thailand, India and China are among the top locations that people plan to visit.
Africa and Oceania2 are also set for a significant rise in visitors, welcoming 7% (up from 5.1%) and 6% (up from 4.3%) respectively, with the latter being driven largely by plans to travel to Australia.

ABTA’s research also suggests that many trips in 2025 may be ‘baecations’, as people are increasingly choosing to travel with their partners – or ‘baes3’ – over anyone else. 44% of travellers said they went on holiday with their significant other in the past 12 months, up from 40% the year before.
It’s not just couples without children who are travelling in twos, 29% of parents4 treated themselves to a baecation in the past 12 months, up from 21% last year.

ABTA predicts that five-star stays will also be big next year, particularly for Gen Z. More than one in five (22%) of Gen Z say they’re planning to spend more on their holidays next year so they can upgrade their accommodation, compared with 14% of Millennials, 11% of Baby Boomers and 8% of Gen X.

It follows on from an increase in Gen Zs taking five star trips this year - 47% of this group said they stayed in five-star accommodation when holidaying abroad this past year (up from 37% the year before). That compares with the overall average of 35% of people who went on a holiday abroad stayed in five-star accommodation, which had also increased, up from 30% the year before.

Graeme Buck, Director of Communications at ABTA – The Travel Association, said: “More people are looking to travel abroad in 2025, and our report shows that many are looking for new experiences.
“Our advice for anyone thinking of going away is to speak to an ABTA travel agent or tour operator. They are experts at turning people’s plans into their ideal break and can offer any support or guidance needed along the way.”