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Noctourism, forest bathing, and beyond: Travel trends that redefined 2025
From sleep tourism and forest bathing to art-led escapes, here’s how 2025 has redefined the way we travel
In 2025, the travel landscape shifted away from "checking boxes" and moved toward profound, intentional experiences.
Whether it was prioritising rest or seeking deep cultural immersion, the modern traveller looked for transformation rather than just a change of scenery.
Set jetting 2.0
The biggest driver for destination discovery in 2025 was the rise of set-jetting 2.0, a trend where fans visit locations where movies or shows were shot. While the original version was fuelled by big-screen Bollywood movies, the ‘2.0’ upgrade is all about OTT series like Squid Games, White Lotus or Emily In Paris. Powered by the desire for ‘Main Character Energy,’ this trend is making places like Paris, Manali, and Ladakh must-visit, aesthetic locations.
Noctourism
Originating globally from a desire to avoid daytime heat and crowds, coupled with a surge in astro-tourism, the year saw the rise of noctourism. This trend’s vibe is the world after sunset! This means moonlit hikes, stargazing, and night markets.
Forest bathing
Forest bathing is inspired by the Japanese wellness practice, shinrin-yoku. It is a mindful and sensory immersion in the forest to de-stress. The rise of stress saw India’s forests like the Himalayas and Western Ghats, become therapeutic retreats with stress-busting greenery.
River walking and land-snorkelling
These are the new playful, low-impact adventures. River walking is traversing riverbeds for intense sensory feedback. Land snorkelling emphasises focus on tiny details of the forest like insects, moss, and textures. They became popular as mindful alternatives to high-adrenaline activities.
Agritourism and rural escapes
In 2025, youngsters traded city chaos for the peace of farm stays, desi village life, and hands-on experiences like harvesting or cooking local cuisine.
Sleep tourism
2025 saw a surge in choosing hotels, resorts, or retreats specifically focused on optimising your rest with sleep menus and ‘sleep concierges.’ This led to Indian luxury hotels competing on who offered the best snooze-friendly experience.
Minication
Why take one long break when you can take four short ones? This trend called minication leveraged long weekends for short yet high-impact and sweet escapes — a necessary and frequent mental health pause.
AI-travel
AI Chatbots and hyper-personalised algorithms create your perfect itinerary and flight alerts instantly. This boomed because travellers are both tech-savvy and price-conscious, making complex, customised trips seamless and cost-effective.
Hotel hopping
A new wave where travellers move between different hotel properties in the same city or region to experience varied vibes and amenities. This trend was all about experiencing diverse localities, despite the inconvenience of frequent packing and check-ins.
Art holidays
Trips centred on hands-on creative experiences. Instead of just seeing the art, you make it — think pottery workshops or attending a local craft residency.
Nostalgia travel
The year marked a surge in seeking comfort and simpler times. The vibe of this trend is all about recreating childhood trips or visiting destinations that feel ‘timeless.’
The soulful journey
Spiritual travel evolved into immersive, high-impact cultural experiences, driven by millennials and Gen Z reconnecting with their roots. It’s all about the ‘Praycation’ (prayer + vacation), where travellers seek experience over darshan — think yoga retreats and cultural storytelling. The Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela (Jan-Feb 2025) was the ultimate spiritual mega-event, reshaping mass tourism.
The desperate dash: Last chance tourism
The flip side of overtourism is last chance tourism — the desperate rush to see vulnerable natural wonders before they vanish due to climate change. This trend, ironically, often hastens the destruction it seeks to witness. Globally, the race was on to see Antarctica’s melting glaciers and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef before it was too late. This urgency puts pressure on fragile sites, leading to a shift towards responsible travel and promoting vast, beautiful, lesser-known regions instead.
