Travel 2025

AIRFARES In 2025, I think we’ll continue to see airfare breakthroughs. Already, if you were booking now for June 2025, you could be paying less than $1500 economy return with Malaysia Airlines, a bit over $1900 with Singapore Airlines, less than $2000 with Qatar, $2200 with Qantas, and mid-$2000s with Emirates. Those sort of prices. But look out for “spot sales” in which airlines offer special deals in both economy and business classes. + If you are really cost-conscious, the trick is to take the dates with the best prices, then plan your holidays between the inbound and outbound flights. That sort of flexibility can give travellers great value. + Being out of the main summer season helps, of course. Early in the year, you could be paying under $1400 return with Cathay Pacific. COOLCATIONS Some in the travel industry are identifying a shift to places with cooler weather, and away from countries which can get really hot. Virtuoso, a leading global network of agencies which specialise in luxury and experiential travel, sees “coolcations” as one of the top trends in 2025. A Virtuoso spokesperson says: “A ‘coolcation’ sees travellers escape sweltering summer cities in destinations like Italy and Greece for cooler climates — think Nordic countries and Swiss Alps.” SOLO, FEMALE We’ve been watching the number of solo female travellers grow and grow. And the new Luxury Travel Trend Watch 2025 report for Virtuoso reports 71 per cent of its solo traveller clients are women. Nearly half of them are divorced, separated or widowed, “indicating that many women are hitting the road after being tied to a partner or raising a family”. They call them “Wander Women”. XZ BETA TRAVEL The first “Beta Babies” will be born in 2025, and Virtuoso says that will mean a new generation of young families with Gen Z parents, perhaps travelling with their Gen X grandparents. LOCAL LEARNING As we reported recently, research for Destination Queenstown, on New Zealand’s South Island, reveals 87 per cent of Australian survey respondents are looking to learn about local culture and heritage, and to participate in local cultural activities when they travel. And 85 per cent are more interested in learning about the places they visit than taking photos or souvenirs. Eighty-eight per cent say they prefer locally owned and operated accommodation, tourism experiences, and products and services. SUSTAINABILITY The Destination Queensland research also found 81.8 per cent of the Aussies surveyed identified as sustainable travellers, and 67 per cent were specifically concerned about their carbon footprint and the environmental impact of their travel. Destination Queenstown has ambitiously set its sights on becoming the world’s first tourism destination to have a carbon-free visitor economy by 2030. LUXURY RAIL Debuting in July 2025, Belmond’s Britannic Explorer marks the new era in sleeper train travel, with itineraries in England and Wales. A Belmond spokesperson says it fuses rail heritage with contemporary British gastronomy, culture and style. Each of the Britannic Explorer’s 18 cabins has been carefully crafted in Britain. Fine dining experiences are by renowned chef Simon Rogan. Oh, and prices start from $21,365 (£11,000) for a double cabin on a three-night itinerary, including excursions, meals, wine and alcoholic beverages on board. KIMBERLEY During 2020 and 2021, the far north of WA often seemed about as far away as we could get. But then in 2022 and 2023, we were back out in the world. It took the Kimberley out of our sights a bit. But I think it should be firmly back in 2025. My one-stop shop for Kimberley experiences is a company called (can you guess it?) . . . Kimberley Experiences. The team there pull a lot of options together for visiting the Kimberley in 2025. They have self-drive, luxury and eco-accommodation available. Their website also has a good planning guide to Kimberley waterfalls, coastal cruises and tours. Plan (under the categories of destinations, experiences and itineraries) and book at kimberleyexperiences.com.au. + And it’s not too late to plan a Kimberley cruise. For example, Kimberley Quest recently announced that it still has dates available on its 2025 voyages. F**k-it lists Excuse the language, but this is another of Virtuoso’s new categories to watch. A spokesperson says: “The term ‘bucket list’, which describes the things people want to do and see before they die, has been dominating the travel media landscape for several years. However, people are now less concerned about long-term scheduling. Instead, the focus has shifted toward short-term rewards and a “carpe diem” attitude. In 2025 and beyond, luxury travellers want to celebrate living in the moment. With this in mind, Globetrender and Virtuoso coined the term “F**k-it lists” to represent the thirst for more spontaneous, frivolous, fun and liberating experiences that don’t necessarily require the same level of complex planning.” CRUISE NEWS The cruising tide continues to rise, with more ships, more features, sharper pricing . . . and a wave of more interesting itineraries and on-shore experiences. + There are several ways to go. Book early and you should be looking for earlybird incentives, and you’ll see a wider choice of cabins. For 2025, we are mostly midway through the booking cycle, and companies will often try to stimulate sales with new deals. Then, at the last minute before the cruise, lots of companies like to try to fill empty cabins, which means more deals. + Among the new ships in 2025, Viking will add Viking Vesta, while Princess Cruises gets Star Princess, its second big Sphere-class vessel, and Celebrity will launch its fifth Edge class ship, Celebrity Xcel. NORTHERN LIGHTS Interest in seeing the northern lights seems unabated. The aurora borealis has been building in frequency, and should peak in 2025. The lights are best from the beginning of September and to the middle of April. I’d be heading to northern Norway, Iceland, Greenland and Finland to see them. Cruise line Viking has a good 13-day itinerary called In Search of the Northern Lights, sailing far north during Norway’s winter. Ponant recently announced its specific Northern Lights 2025 itineraries. RIVER CRUISING River cruising in Europe was subject to the vagaries of weather in 2024. The one thing I can’t predict with any certainty in this travel guide is what the weather will be like in 2025. But I can predict lots of West Australians will go river cruising in Europe, and some of them haven’t booked yet. I’d look for the shoulder seasons — May and June at the beginning of summer, and October and November at the end. Across the board, there are still cabins available. If you are thinking about it, look at Amsterdam to Budapest, Seine River (west from Paris), the Rhone and Saone (south of France), Bordeaux region (south-west France), and River Douro in Portugal. SILVER BULLET WELLNESS This is a catchy new phrase for souped-up wellness treatments and retreats, which also send clients home with healthy habits and a road map for longevity. The Global Wellness Institute reckons wellness tourism will grow by more than 16 per cent a year, to reach $US1.4 trillion in 2027. OFFBEAT HOTSPOTS + Turkey + Albania + Armenia + Kazakhstan WELCOME WORLD In Australia, holiday arrivals are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels (4.5 million) in 2025, before increasing to 5.8 million in 2028. The number of short-term visitor arrivals is expected to surpass the pre-pandemic level in 2025 to set a new record of 10.2 million international visitors in the year. It’s all there in the Australian Government’s Tourism Forecasts for Australia 2023 to 2028. EASY ETAS An electronic travel authorisation will be needed for visa-exempt travellers to the UK and EU in 2025. They are seen as a key part of improving border security as authorities can check inbound travellers against security databases before they arrive. The UK introduces ETAs on January 8, with the EU following in May. Australians can apply for an ETA to the UK now, for a set fee of £10 ($20). But beware — travellers used to visa-free travel entry to the UK who arrive without the ETA will be turned away. From May, visitors face the same requirements in the European Union. ETA applications can be made through gov.uk, and opened on November 27.