Virtuoso & Globetrender identify 7 key luxury trends
Virtuoso has partnered with travel trend forecasting agency, Globetrender, to unveil the Luxury Travel Trend Watch: 2025.
Working with global data from Virtuoso’s 2024 Brand & Travel Tracker Survey – a global survey of its high-net-worth/ultra-high-net-
Silver Bullet Wellness
Wellness tourism, projected to grow 16.6 percent annually and reach $2.1 trillion by 2027 (Global Wellness Institute), is seeing the rise of “Silver Bullet Wellness,” which provides personalized health habits and longevity plans. Luxury travellers are now seeking treatments for issues like insomnia, cognitive decline and disease prevention, moving beyond traditional pampering treatments to life-extension programs.
Switzerland, Spain, Germany and Thailand are among the countries leading the charge, with high-net-worth travellers increasingly favouring retreats offering intensive, tailored mind-body transformations. With one in eight Virtuoso clients traveling for wellness, demand for specialized treatments is soaring.
F**k it lists
The term “bucket list” has long dominated the travel landscape, but now, the focus has shifted to spontaneous, short-term experiences, reflecting a “carpe diem” mindset. In 2025 and beyond, travellers are embracing “F**k-It Lists” – spontaneous, fun and liberating adventures that prioritise living in the moment.
As the affluent continue to favour experiences over luxury goods, this trend is fuelling splurges on more extravagant modes of travel like yacht charters, first-class flights and private jets. “F**k-It Lists” also serve to push travellers out of their comfort zones, focusing on personal fulfilment rather than conventional tourist spots.
Mood boarding
When planning a trip, most people think of the destinations and activities, often overlooking how they want to feel. Many seek relaxation but find themselves still thinking about work by the pool. In reality, an itinerary involving physical activities like hiking may better help disconnect from professional stress. As travel designers ask the right questions to tap into clients’ true motivations, they can address deeper emotional needs, giving rise to the “Mood Boarding” trend in pre-trip consultations.
Virtuoso believes luxury travel advisors should help clients distinguish between “wants” and “needs,” curating experiences that offer emotional nourishment. For instance, a candlelit beach dinner may be less about the event itself and more about fostering connection or forgiveness between partners.
XZ beta travel
By 2025, seven generations will be travelling together for the first time in history, as “Beta Babies” are born to Gen Z parents (aged 16-30). This includes Generation Alpha (aged 1-15 in 2025), Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and the Matures. A key trend, “XZ Beta Travel,” will see young Gen Z parents traveling with their children and Gen X grandparents, who often finance the trips.
Gen Z, with 2 billion people and expected to represent 27 percent of the global workforce by 2025, is a growing and aspirational consumer group. McKinsey reports that 35 percent of the luxury travel market consists of “aspiring” travellers with net worths between $100,000 and $1 million, typically under 40 and increasingly from Asia. This demographic drives over a third of the $239 billion luxury travel market. The challenge is catering to this new group of young parents, who often find inspiration on TikTok (60 percent of users are Gen Z). While many Gen Zs are delaying or opting out of parenthood, even a small percentage having children will still amount to millions, and hotels are adapting.
Wander women
The rise of independent travel among women is set to grow in 2025 and beyond, with more women of all ages opting for solo, adventurous trips. Travel providers are responding by offering tailored experiences to cater to this trend, dubbed “Wander Women.” According to Virtuoso, 71 per cent of its solo travellers are women, with 47 percent of them divorced, separated or widowed, highlighting a surge in post-partner or family-raising travel.
AmaWaterways removed single supplements for solo travelers on select European river cruises in 2024, while Swiss travel network A Small World launched the Solo Cruise Company, targeting women 55+. In small group travel, Intrepid Travel will debut its first women-only trips to Saudi Arabia in November 2024, in partnership with a local female-owned operator. Experiences include visiting Saudi women’s homes and female-only beaches. Meanwhile, startups like Mom’z offer “babymoons” in Spain for pregnant women, and the Amilla Maldives hosted a “mid-life wellbeing” retreat for perimenopausal and menopausal women in 2024. Luxury providers are finding niches in solo female travel, focusing on personal connections, unique experiences and women’s specific needs.
Memoirs in motion
The trend “Memoirs in Motion” involves luxury travellers hiring professional film crews to document their travels, turning holidays into cinematic experiences and personal legacies.
Unlike the “Set-Jetting” trend, which focuses on visiting movie locations, this new trend lets clients star in their own documentaries, reflecting the growing demand for personalised storytelling and memory preservation.
Racketeering
The trend of “Racketeering,” coined by Globetrender, reflects the growing popularity of racket sports like tennis, pickleball and padel during vacations, spurred by the 2024 film “Challengers.”
Companies like Pickleball in Paradise now organise racket sport-themed vacations. Resorts worldwide are capitalising on this trend by adding state-of-the-art courts, clinics and tournaments. Notable destinations include Marbella Club, the birthplace of padel in Europe, and Necker Island, where Richard Branson hosts the exclusive Necker Cup tennis tournament. His Moskito Island estate also offers tennis facilities.
Luxury resorts like Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in France, in partnership with Lacoste, have embraced this trend with branded tennis courts and a limited-edition tennis apparel collection. Meanwhile, the Maldives’ Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani resorts added padel courts, hosting pro players through the “Soneva Stars” program. Other destinations like One&Only Aesthesis in Greece, Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland, and Le Grand Bellevue Switzerland have also embraced racket sports. Even cruise lines, such as Crystal Cruises, now offer onboard pickleball and padel courts on their ships.
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