Innovative tourism ideas Amatungulu Tours can customise for you.

1. Friendtrips

2023 and 2024 saw a rise in group travel and “reunion” travel when people began to get together again, often marking the occasion with a trip. Now we have “friendtrips,” referring to the growing trend of young adults, particularly from Gen Z, turning to group trips as a way to travel with buddies—and even make new friends on what the New York Times called “friend-finding tours.” 

According to surveys by TravelPulse and Travel And Tour World, young adults crave travel that takes them away from their digital lives and helps them make new friends and enjoy new experiences with like-minded people.

2. Frolleagues

If you thought “bleisure” was maybe one of the less poetic portmanteaus from our 2024 report, “frolleagues” might just have it beat. Bleisure (also see below) describes the trend of business travellers tacking on some leisure time to the end of business trips or just taking their family along with them. Now, as many people return to the office, there’s a growth in business professionals combining work and leisure travel with coworkers—or frolleagues (colleagues who are also friends).  

3. Bleisure

Talking of business travel, we haven’t seen the last of “bleisure.” Business travelers still like the opportunity to tack on a short leisure trip to a work trip to maintain some work-life balance. Forbes Magazine highlighted a few other business travel trends for 2025, including:

• Personalized and seamless booking: Travelers want intuitive, self-service booking platforms that offer tailored options aligning with their needs and company policies. 

• Technological integration: The use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline booking processes, personalize travel experiences, and improve expense management.

4. Noctourism

When the sun goes down, that’s the signal for one of 2025’s rising trends to get going. “Noctourism” is a major trend to watch in 2025. Stargazing trips and activities, also known as “astrotourism” and “dark skies tourism,” will be even more popular in 2025 due to high solar activity. There will be two total lunar eclipses and two partial lunar eclipses during the year. Other experiences include watching the Northern Lights and going to an observatory.

5. Sleep tourizzzm

Sleep is obviously also a popular nocturnal pursuit. Last year we highlighted how the travel industry had woken up to the opportunities offered by a rise in “sleep retreats.” This trend continues to grow with what the 2025 Hilton Trends Report dubbed “Sleep Tourizzzm 2.0: The Next Sleep Cycle.”  The report highlighted trends like “Hurkle-Durkling,” a Scottish term for just lazing around in bed, a growth in hotels catering to especially sleepy travelers, and wellness retreats that include a sleep component.  

6. Staying longer

Look for travelers favoring longer stays on vacation in 2025, driven by a desire for more immersive cultural and local experiences while also enjoying time to just kick back and relax. This has also been referred to as “slow travel.” Examples include the continued rise of “skillcations” and other trends mentioned earlier, a desire to experience a destination like a local, and the popularity of train travel as both a means to travel and see more of a destination. 

7. Avoiding the crowds

Expedia’s 2025 travel trends report calls the trend toward seeking out less well-known, and therefore less crowded, destinations “detour destination” travel. Less crowded destinations can offer that relaxation and de-stressing element many travelers seek, while also providing a rewarding holiday to somewhere different.

8. JOMO and soft travel 

Move over “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) and the hectic itinerary that often results from it. It’s time for “JOMO,” the Joy of Missing Out. Instead of working through a list of “must-see” attractions and experiences, many travelers in 2025 want to visit more serene, calming destinations, such as a remote cabin or restful beach house, to disconnect and relax. JOMO is part of a broader trend toward “soft travel” that includes things like “forest bathing” to connect with nature, and “digital detox” trips to disconnect with modern life.

9. Gigtripping

Another type of gocassion is a travel trend that has been music to the ears of the travel industry for a couple of years now: “gigtripping.” For example, “swifties” flocked to cities hosting Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour during 2024. CN Traveler called this the Swift Effect, as people travel to one-off gigs to see their favourite performer, as well as to established and new multi-day music festivals. It’s yet another example of the broader trend of travelers seeking more immersive and memorable experiences during their vacation time.

10. Quiet travel and “calmcations” is the last of the innovative tourism ideas

Not everyone is looking for a transformational outcome from their vacation; many simply want to unwind and enjoy some quality “me time.” Continuing on from the 2023 and 2024 trends that saw more and more people wanting to unplug and recover from a busy world, we now have “calmcations.” These are holidays and quiet escapes that encourage travelers to leave their devices at home and embrace a quieter, unplugged approach to vacationing.

These are just a selection of travel trends with innovative tourism ideas for 2025 that we can tailor make for your group.

Please see our itineraries at https://www.amatungulu.com/ and https://www.toursouth.africa/, select some ideas to incorporate into your preferred vacation and inquire for your adventure here: info@amatungulu.com.

From our booking site Rezgo, written by | Rob Mathison, edited by Jakes