From ‘om’ to ‘nom nom’: Why we’re traveling in 2025

Travel isn’t just about the destination anymore. We’re now in the “being present” era: When it’s easy enough to “visit” a place via Google Earth or social media, experiences matter more than ever. When people plan vacations, they don’t just think about where they want to go — they think deeply about what they want to do once they get there.

But travelers are still susceptible to vibes when it comes to planning their vacations, whether those vibes come from subtle marketing or from zeitgeisty TV shows. The Mastercard Economics Institute has used anonymized and aggregated transaction data in its newly released travel report to track where those vibes are leading us.

01
Wellness

On vacation or om vacation? For some people, travel isn’t about hiking, birding or extreme sports; it’s more about resting the mind. Many might define relaxation as lying mindlessly on a beach, while others prefer to put forth more money and effort with spas and yoga retreats. And these days, even wellness is getting more extreme: It is now possible to pay money to spend your vacation sleeping somewhere that is not your home and not just at night — an entire snoozy haven loaded with sleep hygiene techniques. It’s time to wake up to sleep tourism.

There’s also been a rise in eco-lodges and meditation retreats, especially in Namibia, South Africa and Thailand, but if that’s too far to travel, wellness resorts are sprouting up in more conventional destinations like Italy, New Zealand, and Canada ( “White Lotus: Saskatoon,” anyone?)

02
Wilderness

Sometimes there’s nothing like a towering mountain or gaping canyon to make you contemplate your place in this world. It’s also hard to take a bad picture when you’re standing in front of one of the great natural wonders. 

Another draw: National parks are relatively affordable travel destinations, and they are everywhere. More specifically, travelers have been increasingly drawn to hiking and adventure sports in latitudinal extremes such as Scandinavia, Namibia/South Africa, Canada and Argentina. New Zealand’s otherworldly landscapes remain popular for would-be hobbits.

03
Sports

Is there anything that gives a fan bigger bragging rights than traveling long distances to watch their favorite team in a “Very Important Game” in person? In 2024, visitors flocked to London for the Champions League finals, Buenos Aires for the Copa Libertadores finals and New York and Los Angeles for the World Series (and Shohei Ohtani — one Japanese travel agency told CNN last year that it was booking up to 200 clients from Japan at every Dodgers home game).

Sadly, Olympics or World Cup tourists will have to wait until 2026, but there are plenty of annual games, tournaments and test matches in every corner of the globe.

04
Food

If you traveled far from home but your culinary adventures ended at the hotel restaurant, can you really say you’ve been abroad? Analyzing the number of countries that diners hailed from at local restaurants, the Mastercard Economics Institute determined the top foodie city in every country. At the top of the list is Istanbul which appropriately enough straddles two continents and in 2024 hosted visitors from 64 different countries. 

But travelers also love to eat their way around the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, notably Colombia’s Cartagena, and across the Pacific, from Queenstown, New Zealand, to Quepos, Costa Rica. And some surprising destinations have emerged. Did you know, for instance, that Canada’s Niagara Peninsula is full of vineyards? Niagara Falls: It’s not just for honeymooners anymore.