Image credit: x.com/cntraveller
Jan 31, 2025 | Hotel Trends
The Condé Nast Traveler, the global authority on high-end travel shows 21 new travel trend predictions to guide 2025. The trends that are of interest to Sri Lanka include; Travel gets lit, The long honeymoon, Female travel, Intrepid supper clubs, Female thrill-seeking sojourns, Athletic adventures, Longevity goes holistic, Hotel creative collabs, Detour destinations, The anti-butler boom, Locavore lounges and Night tourism.
- Travel gets lit: This type of travel is inspired by literature such as book festivals around the world, Travel-themed book clubs, Literary Club etc. Galle Literary Festival can be a good attraction for Sri Lanka.
- The long honeymoon: Newlyweds opting for extended honeymoons beyond typical 7 – 10 day period. Hotels can offer longer packages for honeymooners.
- Female travel: A rise in solo female travelers. Sri Lanka can attract this segments as the country is acclaimed as ‘Top destination for solo female travel in 2024’ (timeout.com).
- Female thrill-seeking sojourns: Another growing trend is inspiring more female travelers to seek adventurous experiences far from home. Hospitality providers will have to prioritize inclusivity and safety, ensuring that adventure travel becomes a more welcoming space for all identities.
- Intrepid supper clubs: Gastronomic experiences are reaching new heights by connecting diners with the destination on which they eat. Trying new foods, eclectic settings and ethereal culinary sensations are the highlights of this immersive experience.
- Athletic adventures: From being a sports fan in 2024 to becoming an inner athlete in 2025. Driven by the desire to achieve personal health goals travelers have started incorporating recreational sports into their travel plans. Racketeering, kite-surfing, ski wellness programs and golf enhancement retreats are being offered at several destinations.
- Longevity goes holistic: Wellness continues with retreats focused on less hyped, Blue Zones-backed factors, including purpose, community and natural movement.
- Hotel creative collabs – Multi-sensory design, playfulness and authenticity are moving to the forefront of our travel experiences. Hotels can partner with interesting and unique brands and people to offer creative experiences.
- Detour destinations: This type of travel is all about finding a smaller, lesser-known destination close to the main event and spending a few days there. Thus trend can attract visitors to lesser-known places near major attractions in Sri Lanka.
- The anti-butler boom: Luxury hospitality is evolving with travelers preferring private, personalized experiences that offer them home-like comforts emphasizing desire for autonomy and informality.
- Locavore lounges: the world’s wealthiest passengers are expecting more from their airline lounges. Airlines are adapting to this trend by renovating existing lounges to a higher standard and rolling out new ones to retain high-spending passengers. Taking the lead are Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Delta, JAL, Swiss Air, British Airways and Air France.
- Night tourism: The climate change creating hotter daytimes has influenced the popularity of night tourism (Booking.com).
(Source: www.cntraveller.com – Jan 25)