We like to stay ahead of the curve – we are Original Travel, after all. Our team is always looking to the future and using their combined expertise to predict which trends will be rocking the travel industry in the year to come. From K-culture in South Korea and exciting new properties in Nepal to Summer Sabbaticals and holidays centred around simple pleasures, read on for the lowdown on the 2025 travel trends...
- K-Culture in South Korea
- Nepal’s new properties
- Gap Year Gatecrashers
- Summer Sabbaticals
- Time travel
- Simple pleasures
- Children-led holidays
K-Culture in South Korea
South Korea is a new destination for Original Travel. Thanks to ‘K-Culture’ in all its manifestations, the country is on the bucket list of most people under 25, but those a little more senior than Gen Zs will also find plenty to please. Soulful Seoul is the country’s beating heart, but our tailor-made itineraries for South Korea showcase the country’s unspoilt landscapes, coastal towns, smaller cities with fascinating spiritual significance (such as Gyeongju, the ‘museum without walls’), and the genuine one-off of its DMZ (Demilitarised Zone). The public transport network is easy to navigate and the accommodation – particularly the hanoks (traditional inns, like Japanese ryokans) – make it a destination to remember.
© Olivier Romano
Nepal's new properties
Nepal is emerging from decades of tumult, buoyed by the arrival of some fantastic new properties (we’re particularly excited about Shinta Mani Mustang from interior design visionary, Bill Bensley) which will help tourism back on its feet. We’re delighted to be selling the destination for the first time in years, starting with a handful of land-based itineraries in central Nepal in and around the Himalayas and Kathmandu valley. We also think it makes for a fantastic family holiday so are in the process of developing child-friendly activities, such as cooking lessons, Thanga painting workshops, sports activities like paragliding, zip lining and one day hiking programmes around Pokhara and Nagarkot. And finally, all domestic journeys are undertaken by road, so you can visit the ‘places in between’ that many miss out on.
© Julia Volk/Stocksy
Gap Year Gatecrashers
With the original generation of backpackers now parents of student-age children, we’re seeing a rise in ‘Gap Year Gatecrashers’; parents tagging along on part of their kids’ backpacking adventures. They are keen to relive their youth, revisit the same places they visited on their own gap year and take a trip down memory lane – albeit in a more comfortable way and one that allows them to share memories with their youngsters. In turn the children enjoy a brief upgrade in the quality of their accommodation. These types of holidays are also often centred around a shared interest, be that hiking, watersports, cycling or winter sports and are a chance for one parent to spend quality time with their child after they’ve flown the nest.
Summer Sabbaticals
We're also seeing a huge rise in ‘Summer Sabbaticals’, with parents forgoing the week in the Med and taking the children away for the duration of the summer holidays on four-to-six-week trips to really explore a destination in depth. The most popular countries for these epic trips are Japan, Australia, Canada and USA, with lots of overland travel encompassing multiple stops and packing in plenty of activities. We're well-placed to curate and book these trips, having previously published an entire guide on how, why and where to plan a family sabbatical. Packed with useful tips (including how to negotiate the time off work and a pre-departure to-do list) and of course, loads of inspiration on where to go, it demonstrates our expertise in the area.
© Pia Riverola
Time travel
Not literally, sadly. But we are seeing more appetite than ever for trips that hark back to the golden age of travel. Helped by the ever-improving rail network across Europe (and the reintroduction of night trains), we’re planning more epic adventures around Europe by train than ever before, staying in grande dame hotels and enjoying private tours that are a world away from mass market tourism. Demand for Steam Ship Sudan – our vintage steamship on the Nile – is also at an all-time high, with clients booking years in advance (particularly for the Agatha Christie cabin, after her time on board inspired Death on the Nile) and packing 1920s outfits to complete the illusion of stepping back in time.
Explore our Luxury Train Holidays
© Mathieu Richer Mamousse
Simple pleasures
Leading neatly on from Time Travel, we're also seeing an increased appetite for pared back trips that focus on life’s simple pleasures. Whether it’s an extension of yearning for the simpler times of yesteryear, or a fundamental need to step away from the business of everyday life, we can’t conclusively say; what we do know is that our travellers are increasingly focused on basic joy-giving experiences. Think quality time spent with family (both as a tribe and one on one); walking in beautiful surroundings; sleeping under canvas; foraging from the land; taking the train; watching riverbanks drift by from a boat: discovering somewhere untouched; staying somewhere owned and run by locals; learning about a culture through its food. No gimmicks, no fads, just travel in its purest, most perfect form.
Explore our simple pleasures collections: Back to Nature, Pin Drop Travel, Reconnect Travel, Slow Travel
© Gregor Lengler/STERN-LAIF-REA
Children-led holidays
We carried out a survey with children themselves to find out exactly what they look for from a family holiday and used these fantastic insights to create six ultimate family holidays, one for each of the school holidays throughout the year. Think New York for New Year, Swedish Lapland for February half-term, Easter in South Africa, Portugal in May, Indonesia over the summer and finished off with some October sunshine in Morocco. Combined, the trips offer everything the children surveyed wanted, if they could plan their trips away together, think: seeing wildlife, learning a new skill, staying somewhere super-cool, hanging out at the beach and last – but by no means least – just spending lots of quality time together.
© Olivier Romano
Written by Ella Mawson
