MEI examined spending around three major sporting events[1], proving them as powerful catalysts for travel: 

• Champions League Final in London: Real Madrid’s victory over Borussia Dortmund led to a 61% YOY increase in German spending, outpacing the overall increase of 14%. Spanish spending spiked by 148% YOY, suggesting fans celebrated by splurging.

• Baseball World Series in Los Angeles: Shohei Ohtani’s World Series debut saw spending by Japanese visitors surge by 91%, six times the cross-border boost. 

• Copa Libertadores Final in Buenos Aires: The rise in spending from Brazilian tourists, where both teams hailed, was more than twice the increase from all foreign countries. 

The Wellness Travel Index (WTI), developed by MEI to highlight destinations leading the way for wellness experiences and self-care[2], has Namibia, South Africa and Thailand topping the list with offerings like eco lodges and meditation retreats. The rising WTI score for Italy, New Zealand and Canada suggests a growing effort to meet this popular trend.

For adventurers, MEI analysed how commerce at major national parks is contributing to overall tourist expenditures.[3] Established wilderness giants, South Africa and Zambia, show the highest national park spending as a share of total cross-border, 23.3% and 15.5% in 2024, respectively. In close third, travellers are heading to the Nordics, where Finland’s national parks account for 7.1% of total cross-border spending.

The number of nationalities seeking local cuisine provides insight into destinations appealing to the foodie-traveller. MEI found that Istanbul's restaurants hosted tourists from 67 countries in 2024, the highest among 43 cities measured. Cannes, Interlaken, Gianyar and Barcelona follow in the top five.

In 2024, currency depreciation drove visitors in search of value to Japan, where a 1% JPY depreciation against the RMB led to a 1.5% increase in Chinese Mainland tourists. However, visitors from New Zealand and the U.S. rose only around 0.2% in response to the same degree of depreciation relative to their currencies.

According to MEI, U.S. and UK corporate flight bookings show the average business trip now lasts longer than before the pandemic. For U.S.-based travellers, trips to the Asia-Pacific region increased from 8.8 days[4] to 10.[2] days[5] and trips to Europe grew from 7.4 to 8.1 days. This trend applies to UK corporate travellers too, except for trips to Canada and the U.S., which shortened between 2020 and 2025.

Asia-Pacific commands the list of trending spots this summer[6] for global travellers, with eight destinations in the top 15. Tokyo and Osaka lead with the largest increases in travel bookings for June-September 2025 compared to last year. For American and Canadian travellers, Tokyo retains the top spot too, but beach destinations like San Juan, Kahului, Punta Cana, Tulum and Montego Bay are gaining popularity. Tirana, Albania gained the largest increase in European visitors — led by tourists from Italy — of any city in 2024[7].

“Global travel motivations go beyond economics,” said Michelle Meyer, chief economist at MEI. “When making the decision to travel, consumers are often seeking purpose and authenticity, along with value. Understanding these motivations is key to navigate the travel sector in 2025, especially during times of economic and policy uncertainty.”

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You can view the full “Travel Trends 2025: Purpose-driven journeys” and other reports and insights from MEI here.