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‘Bleisure’ accommodation and more – 4 travel trends to watch in 2025

Travellers will want more varied accommodation options and eco-centric experiences; medical tourism is primed to do well

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Michelle Zhu

Published Thu, Jan 2, 2025 · 05:00 AM — Updated Thu, Jan 2, 2025 · 09:37 AM

The latest tourism data from UN Tourism indicates that tourist arrival numbers in most regions have already surpassed those of 2019 – the year before the Covid pandemic when travel was shut down. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Wong Kar Ling, chief strategy officer and managing director for South-east Asia of The Ascott Limited, believes 2025 will be a year of “renewed traveller expectations” of a wider variety of accommodation types. PHOTO: THE ASCOTT LIMITED

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THE global tourism sector is approaching a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels, but some demand for travel could taper off. Still, there are some bright spots in tourism as certain themes could take hold this year.

The latest tourism data from United Nations agency UN Tourism, titled World Tourism Barometer, indicated tourist arrival numbers in most regions have already surpassed those of 2019 – the year before the Covid pandemic when travel was shut down.

About 1.1 billion people travelled internationally over the first nine months of 2024, up 11 per cent from the same period in 2023; the number also represents 98 per cent of pre-pandemic levels of international travel, the UN indicated. Visitor spending is estimated to have outpaced arrivals on the back of longer periods of stay and higher average spending per trip.

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Tourism Travel Retail sustainability Medical tourism

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