Heading off on a well-earned vacation remains a top priority for most people regardless of their budget, according to a recent report from travel giant Expedia Group. But rather than while away the days by a hotel pool, many people are veering toward more adventurous experiences, such as visiting the Arctic’s northern lights or “set-jetting” to the locations of hit shows.

These changing travel tastes mean Expedia Group — whose brands include Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Vrbo — is working extra hard to stay ahead of the latest trends and give customers the choices they want.

As more people turn to social media for inspiration, Expedia Group’s Travel Shops let influencers curate their hottest tips — from boutique hotels in Zanzibar to Bangkok market tours — which customers can then click to book.

By joining forces with Mastercard, Expedia Group has been tapping into travel loyalty by enabling customers to seamlessly use their credit card points to book travel through the Travel with Rewards program.

Mindy Rehse, Expedia Group’s Orlando-based vice president of Private Label Solutions, Americas, gives a rundown of how travel is taking off.  

Rehse: With nearly 90% of global consumers planning a trip over the next year, the addressable market for travel is still very untapped. Even with consumer and spending habits changing, people still want to travel. That’s not going to change. They’re just not necessarily all coming to the U.S., so we’ve been focused on where they are looking to go.

What we’re trying to do now is shift our focus to those places where the consumers are. If they’re in Canada wanting to travel to Mexico, how do we get promotions and offers for the travels top of mind and in front of them?

After the pandemic, there was a big overspend — revenge travel, as everyone was calling it. We’ve seen some pullback, but that’s not necessarily based on U.S. economic trends — it was just bound to even out. 

Rehse: As part of our latest research, the 2025 Traveler Value Index, the largest travel theme we heard was nature travel: 36% of travelers surveyed are actually planning some type of nature trip, doing something outdoors, such as hiking. The next biggest one is family reunions, then wellness and spa retreats. 

Another thing we’re seeing is “detour destinations.” These are the hidden gems — the road less traveled. These spots are worth adding to your itinerary, either as an add-on or the main destination. So, if go to Cancún, I’m taking a side trip to Cozumel. If I go to Los Angeles, I’m also tagging on Santa Barbara. A lot of people who go to Dubai on holiday also go to Abu Dhabi.

And as travelers find inspiration from such TV shows as “Yellowstone” or and the “The White Lotus,” we’re definitely seeing “set-jetting” as a trend.

Rehse: Consumers are influenced by what others are booking and what others have enjoyed. Social media drives a big portion, and Travel Shops plugs into that with influencers. It’s a new product, and we’ve tripled the amount of travel shops available since launching beta. Friends and family play a big part in making destination decisions too, but I think as we evolve the product, we’ll continue to see “OK, my friends and family haven’t been to Tokyo, and I really want to go there. Who should I trust to tell me where to go?”

Rehse: Right now, we are incorporating AI into every layer of our business. For instance, generative AI can summarize reviews. If you’re looking to find out about the strength of Wi-Fi at a specific hotel, we’ll provide you that information based on a set of reviews.

We’re also using AI to deliver more relevant experiences after people have already booked their trips. That could be providing check-in instructions or sharing a list of things to do in a specific destination. It may get to the point where AI plans and books your entire trip, but we’re not there yet. 

Rehse: There are a lot of consumers out there with loyalty points, whether those points are earned through banking, through credit card spend, etc., and those consumers are looking to burn those points.

Mastercard allows us to unlock travel as a reward so consumers can use those points, and they know Mastercard is powered by a known and trusted travel brand. Eighty percent of people are interested in booking travel through non-travel loyalty programs. We’re seeing more and more consumers gaining confidence in that.