Trendspotting

What happens when you put five travel and tourism professionals in a virtual room, giving them an hour to talk about key industry trends of 2025?

Answer: a fast and furious discussion, and enough food for thought to last you into next year.

My guests on this special edition of Tour Pro Talks were, Max Dubravko Fijacko , Ashley Weinaug , Benjamin Rhatigan , Stefan Pettersson and Kerstin Devine . These are five inspiring individuals and, knowing about their respective expertise in interpretative tourism, social media, branding, sustainability and slow tourism, I knew we'd have loads to talk about. In the end, an hour wasn't nearly enough - we could have spoken all day.

I've managed to pull ten key trends out of the discussion, but I'd recommend watching the replay, as this summary just scratches the surface of a fascinating conversation.

So, what 10 top trends should we have on our radars this year? Read on.

1. Regenerative Tourism

Regenerative tourism transforms how visitors engage with destinations. How does it do this? By making them part of the experience. Benjamin shared a striking example from Barcelona, where the Sagrada Familia and the Liceo Opera house have redefined visitor engagement. They’ve introduced a new concept where visitors sit on stage with musicians during performances, creating a personal experience that goes beyond typical tourist expectations and seldom features on social platforms like TikTok or Instagram.

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2. Destination Dupes

'Destination Dupes' tackle overtourism by offering alternatives that reduce the environmental impact of travel. Ashley described how this concept works by using Albania as a less crowded alternative to the Amalfi Coast: "It gives you that essence of what you would have in the Amalfi Coast, but it's a bit more of a local, more scaled-back experience."

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3. Deep Tourism

Deep tourism encourages travellers to build meaningful connections with their destinations. Kerstin highlighted the importance of slowing down to truly experience a place. She spoke about the transformative potential of deep tourism, where travellers become explorers who are not just ticking off destinations but engaging deeply with local cultures and learning new skills. Max spoke about crafting personalised travel experiences. He stressed that meaningful travel requires understanding individual values and needs, and advocated for personalised itineraries that consider the traveller's holistic experience.

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4. Authenticity in Travel

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True travel authenticity stems from genuine experiences and a deep sense of trust. For Benjmain, authenticity is fundamentally about transparency and creating a connection with people. He explained, "When we think about authenticity, it really comes down to trust. We're bombarded by marketing messages and pretty pictures, and with the advent of AI, it's challenging to see if it's something we can really trust." Benjamin outlined key practices for fostering authenticity, including having a consistent brand story, using video to build authenticity and making sure that your marketing messages are aligned with the actual experience you offer.

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5. Sustainable Practices

Sustainability should be at the core of all tourism practices. Stefan argued for a fundamental shift in perspective and urged the industry to lead by example, "We need to create better, more regenerative experiences so that travellers don’t have to choose based on their budget." Stefan also noted importance of cost considerations in travel decisions, "And when it's about the wallet, the latest research actually shows that for more than 50% of the people who travel, the main thing which they have in mind is the cost. This is more important for customers than sustainability." Cost remains a dominant factor for the majority of travellers, so sustainable options also need to be cost-effective.

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6. Storytelling

Storytelling through social media can enhance how destinations are perceived and experienced. Ashley shared the concept of "sonder"—the realisation that everyone around you is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. She believes that "the more viewpoints we have, the more people sharing their stories, their experiences, what they connected to during their travels, it will expand that a little bit more. And we'll be able to reach and highlight different places." When people share their travel stories, it not only diversifies travel content but also deepens the collective understanding of places and cultures, thereby enhancing the travel experience for everyone.

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7. Cultural Integrity and Local Engagement

Respectful and authentic cultural engagement makes travel experiences richer. Kerstin Devine spoke about the theme of this year’s International Tourist Guide Day, emphasising its focus on peace and the importance of breaking down barriers and making connections between cultures. Kerstin herself offers bespoke tours and smaller groups that allow for more meaningful interactions with local communities. "The tourist is no longer just a tourist; the tourist is more like an explorer now, wanting to have this experience, to learn, to skill up," she says.

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8. Technology's Role in Enhancing Tourism

While technology can enhance operational efficiency, it should not replace personal interactions that define the hospitality industry. Benjamin voiced concerns about finding the right balance, noting the tension between technology and the human experience. He shared an example from a hotel in Japan, "They had gotten rid of most of their front desk people and had just a big screen with drop-down menus to fill in your information. It was so complex and time-consuming that they actually had to have a person standing over your shoulder to help you get through it."

Benjamin stressed the importance of maintaining human contact in hospitality:

Technology such as AI is really going to help advance things and make a lot of really tedious manual processes a lot less expensive and a lot more efficient. But we have to be really careful that it doesn't interrupt the chain of human contact that we have that creates that authenticity that we're really looking for with our experiences.

?Ashley spoke about the innovative use of AI in travel, illustrating with Black Tomato’s campaign: "They launched a tool called their Feelings Engine, which is an AI tool where you can type in how you want to feel during your trip rather than just where you want to go".

She emphasised the potential of AI to enhance the emotional aspect of travel planning, "It’s a really interesting strategy to create this tool that doesn’t have that authentic connection but does it in a way that people can connect with."

And here's what Kerstin had to say about AI in marketing:

?9. Early riser and nocturnal tourism

Adjusting tour schedules to early mornings can alleviate the effects of overtourism. Max Dubravko Fijacko spoke about an 'Early Riser' tours in Dubrovnik, addressing the challenges of a destination overwhelmed by tourism. "We created Early Riser a few years ago, which starts early in the morning. So first, people are happy because it's before the crowd. Second, they can take the photos as they have seen on Instagram, not the photos which are real actually with full of people and everything."

Early morning and night time tourism allow guests to enjoy and appreciate the locale in a manner that respects both the environment and the quality of the visitor experience.

?10. Empowering small-scale operators

Small operators should feel encouraged to experiment with authentic and sustainable business practices. Kerstin Devine urged smaller enterprises to have a go and learn through experience: "Start trying things out and don’t be afraid to fail, because it’s through these experiments that you find what resonates with your clientele."

Once again, huge thanks to my panel of experts for sharing their wisdom and giving us all so much to think about.

The next Tour Pro Talks is on Wednesday, when I’ll be having a brew with certified tea expert and founder of Chiya and Chai, Sandra Benn.

Sandra will be spilling the tea on how she turned her fascination with the UK’s favourite drink into a refreshingly different tourism event. If you’ve ever wondered about:

?? how to turn an interest into a thriving business

?? the dos and don’ts of creating a speciality drink tourism offering

?? what the secret of the perfect cuppa is

...then pour yourself a nice cuppa and join our chat next Wednesday. We’d love you to join us.