Developing your 2025 travel SEO strategy

The travel industry is rapidly evolving, with trends like personalization, sustainability, and AI adoption redefining how brands connect with travelers.

By staying ahead of these developments, businesses can deliver memorable, eco-friendly, and technologically advanced experiences that align with the expectations of today’s diverse travel audience.

Travel confidence on the up

Every year ABTA performs a study, the Travel Confidence Index,

The good news is, that those reporting "high confidence" in traveling is up 7% (rising to 68% from 61% in 2023).

The areas with the largest year-on-year growth in importance include having a welcoming and safe holiday environment, strong health and safety standards at accommodations, and assurance of being able to return home if their travel company fails.

According to ATBA's study, these are some of the reasons people are feeling more confident traveling, that we can apply to our travel SEO strategies and content:

• Knowing the full cost of the holiday in advance
• Know that they have all required documents, visas, etc
• Booking with someone who can offer expert knowledge and advice

Highlighting these aspects in customer interactions or marketing can boost traveler confidence. Additionally, the growing importance of knowing the total price upfront reflects ongoing financial pressures for many.

We can also infer that this increased confidence is translating into search behaviours. Searches for "travel planning" grew by 19% in 2024, and the term is forecast to grow by a further 7% through 2025.

Families (+62) and 25-34-year-olds (+60) remain the most confident travelers, with confidence rising across all groups under 64.

The biggest increase was among 45-54-year-olds, up from +34 to +50, with their overseas travel growing from 47% to 57%, highlighting a link between travel familiarity and confidence.

Changing preferences

Experiences have become more important than material goods for many travelers, a shift that has gained momentum in recent years.

Spending on experiences increased by 65% from 2019 to 2023, with high-profile events like Taylor Swift concerts and the FIFA World Cup driving significant spikes in travel demand and hotel bookings.

Marketers respond to this shift by using data to craft highly personalized journeys.

For example, TikTok campaigns allow users to book concert packages directly through videos.

Users are also leveraging tools and services available to them to get the most out of their experiences, as we can see by the trends of travelers looking for expertise and assistance in planning.

"Help me plan my trip"

Users are looking to leverage subject matter experts in helping them get the most out of their holidays, and compare experiences and not just hotel stars and prices.

This aligns with transitioning from product-centric comparisons (like hotel stars and prices) to experience-centric decision-making.

Users want to envision their ideal holiday and seek tailored insights from subject matter experts to guide them.

We can see this growth in many other search terms seeing yearly growth:

• Itinerary app 18%↗
• Trip organizer 7%↗
• Nice itinerary 16%↗
• Cruise ship itinerary 15%↗

And then, in addition, some potential breakout destinations with specific itinerary search growth:

• Itinerary for Vietnam 33%↗
• New Zealand itinerary 27%↗
• Ireland itinerary 21%↗
• Iceland itinerary 14%↗

The role of AI in trip planning

Generative AI, chatbots, and travel apps increasingly enhance the traveler’s journey.

In 2025 advanced tools - including voice recognition and immersive technologies - will create seamless and engaging experiences.

While many travelers appreciate AI tools for simple tasks, they still value human interaction for complex issues.

This can be seen when looking at queries such as "ai travel planner" which was down 9% year-on-year (according to data from Glimpse).

The forecast is that the query will pick up again by 4% through 2025 despite the 2024 decline, which could be from low-frequency adopters seeing it as a novelty, but they may adopt again later.

This trend is also being reported by ABTA, who are seeing more traditional methods of discovering travel destinations (e.g. the brochure) being very resilient to the new AI and digital tools.

If you're able to provide expertise and advice to travelers, enhancing their experience both on holiday and with your brand - you definitely should be. Your content shouldn't be focused on rankings and conversion, but building a loyal customer base who turn to you repeatedly for the experience.

One thing I don't always understand is why brands, not only travel brands, don't focus on content outside of funnel-mapped clusters, and produce content to make the customer develop trust and appreciation of the value the brand can bring them.

While it's not possible to optimize for search terms like "AI travel planner", unless you offer an AI-enabled travel as a service, you should be focusing on communicating and structuring your content in a way that allows users to know you can enrich their travel experiences and help them plan great itineraries.

Things you can do to cater to users looking for assistance in planning their travel experiences are:

• Showcase curated insights from local guides, travel bloggers, or hospitality professionals to enhance credibility.
• Develop content formats such as "Expert Picks for Beach Getaways" or "Insider Tips for Exploring Hidden Gems."
• Offer interactive tools like comparison charts or visualizations that let users compare based on activities, experiences, and potential value (e.g. relaxation, adventure, cultural immersion).
• Enable Peer-to-Peer Validation - integrate user reviews or community forums where travelers can discuss their experiences, helping prospective users make informed decisions.
• Help users anticipate challenges or concerns, such as weather, cultural norms, or language barriers, while positioning expert advice as the solution -- e.g. “What You Need to Know About Traveling to Bali in December.”

Emerging travel trends

From reviewing data from multiple sources, reports, and Google data sources, these are three key trends I've taken note of that will likely "break out" in 2025.

Solo travel

Solo travel is on the rise, offering travelers freedom and self-discovery. According to a recent American Express survey, 69% of travelers are planning solo trips in 2025, with Gen Z and Millennials showing even greater interest at 76%.

Looking at Google Trends data, through Glimpse, we can see that solo travel as a topic grew by 12% last year, and is forecast to grow a further 9% through 2025.

Social media has significantly amplified this trend, with hashtags like #solotravel generating millions of posts.

Solo travelers often prioritize self-care, hassle-free planning, and authentic local connections.

Marketers can capitalize on this by promoting experiences that emphasize independence and local culture, while also offering visually appealing moments for social media.

Winter travel

Data shows that travelers are planning to experience Winter as a travel experience.

In comparison to 2023, the following trends saw growth in 2024 (according to ABTA):

• Christmas market break 1.3%↗
• Northern lights 2.8%↗
• Skiing/snowboarding holiday 0.7%↗

The 0.7% reported for skiing and snowboarding is low, especially when compared to Google trends data for the same period:

When it comes to skiing and snowboarding, we can also see the resurgence and demand for luxury travel coming to the forefront.

ABTA's phrase is "five-star fans", as the number of travelers staying in, or planning on staying in five-star accommodations has increased from 30% to 35% overall, with Gen Z and Millenials leading the charge, with 10% and 7% growth respectively.

In terms of what people are searching for, we can see this in the winter holiday keyword clusters:

• All-inclusive ski resorts 9%↗
• Luxury ski resorts 44%↗
• High-end hotel 7%↗
• Luxury ski lodge 300%↗

Noctourism

Noctourism refers to tourism activities that take place during nighttime hours. It encompasses a wide range of experiences and attractions designed to engage travelers who wish to explore a destination after dark.

The concept often highlights how cities and destinations transform at night, offering a unique perspective distinct from daytime tourism.

Examples of noctourism activities (outside of bars, clubs, and theatre) include:

• Night markets.
• Nighttime safaris and wildlife tours.
• Stargazing tours.
• Guided nighttime city tours and ghost tours/hidden histories.

Noctourism is also projected to increase in search popularity by 438% next year.

Most destinations offer diverse nighttime activities and experiences, creating content to cater specifically for these experiences (and creating itineraries) can help capture not only travels looking for this experience - but also travelers looking to squeeze every minute out of their travel experience.

In my opinion, DMOs should also be incorporating noctourism into their 2025 strategies.

Noctourism can being several benefits to a destination from expanding the economic impact and reducing daytime crowds and alleviating some over-tourism and congestion issues.