From “Wander Women” to “Racketeering”: Virtuoso identifies 7 trends for 2025

Virtuoso has partnered with travel trend forecasting agency, Globetrender, to unveil its own “Luxury Travel Trend Watch” for 2025.

Working with global data from Virtuoso’s 2024 Brand & Travel Tracker Survey – a global survey of its high-net-worth/ultra-high-net-worth clientele – Globetrender and Virtuoso have identified seven trends shaping the luxury travel landscape for next year.

“Silver bullet wellness”

Wellness tourism, projected to grow 16.6 percent annually and reach $2.1 trillion by 2027 (according to the Global Wellness Institute), is seeing the rise of “Silver Bullet Wellness,” which provides personalized health habits and longevity plans.

Luxury travellers are now seeking treatments for issues like insomnia, cognitive decline and disease prevention, moving beyond traditional pampering treatments to life-extension programs, says Virtuoso.

Switzerland, Spain, Germany and Thailand are among the countries leading the charge, with high-net-worth travellers increasingly favouring retreats offering intensive, tailored mind-body transformations.

With one in eight Virtuoso clients traveling for wellness, demand for specialized treatments is soaring. Adopters of Silver Bullet Wellness want to return home regenerated and rewired, whether that’s thanks to a “monk-level” meditation retreat at the Aleenta Retreat Chiang Mai in Thailand; genetic testing at Buchinger Wilhelmi in Germany; menopause therapy at the Amilla Maldives; or “quantum healing” at Kintsugi Space in Abu Dhabi.

F**k-It Lists

The term “bucket list” has long dominated the travel landscape, but now, the focus has shifted to spontaneous, short-term experiences, reflecting a “carpe diem” mindset.

In 2025 and beyond, travellers are embracing “F**k-It Lists” – spontaneous, fun and liberating adventures that prioritise living in the moment.

It should be noted that this term was first coined in 2021 by Calgary-based travel advisor Tannis Dyrland, now the owner and CEO of Tisson Travel Group. 

Virtuoso says this trend is fuelling splurges on more extravagant modes of travel like yacht charters, first-class flights and private jets.

“F**k-It Lists” also serve to push travellers out of their comfort zones, focusing on personal fulfilment rather than conventional tourist spots, the consortium says.

Examples include tagging hammerhead sharks in Costa Rica, canyoneering in Utah’s Zion National Park, hot air ballooning in Namibia, attending Burning Man or participating in a psychedelic ceremony.

Mood boarding

“Mood Boarding” is a trend that applies to pre-trip consultations.

Virtuoso believes luxury travel advisors should help clients distinguish between “wants” and “needs,” curating experiences that offer emotional nourishment.

For instance, a candlelit beach dinner may be less about the event itself and more about fostering connection or forgiveness between partners.

In 2023, U.K.-based Black Tomato launched “See You in the Moment,” a series of experiences designed to create lasting psychological impact by promoting presence, such as a candlelit banquet inside a volcano in Iceland.

XZ Beta Travel

By 2025, seven generations will be travelling together for the first time in history, as “Beta Babies” are born to Gen Z parents (aged 16-30).

This includes Generation Alpha (aged 1-15 in 2025), Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and the Matures.

A key trend, “XZ Beta Travel,” will see young Gen Z parents traveling with their children and Gen X grandparents, who often finance the trips.

Gen Z, with two billion people and expected to represent 27 per cent of the global workforce by 2025, is a growing and aspirational consumer group.

McKinsey reports that 35 per cent of the luxury travel market consists of “aspiring” travelers with net worths between $100,000 and $1 million, typically under 40 and increasingly from Asia.

This demographic drives over a third of the $239 billion luxury travel market. The challenge is catering to this new group of young parents, who often find inspiration on TikTok (60 percent of users are Gen Z).

While many Gen Zs are delaying or opting out of parenthood, even a small percentage having children will still amount to millions, and hotels are adapting.

Shangri-La Hong Kong Island, for example, transformed an entire floor into a luxury haven for Beta Babies and Generation Alpha, complete with communal spaces and themed rooms like treehouses and submarines.

In the Italian Dolomites, Sonnwies caters exclusively to families with its wellness offerings, including milk baths and chocolate massages for kids, an aquapark, playgrounds and zoo.

Wander Women

The rise of independent travel among women is set to grow in 2025 and beyond, with more women of all ages opting for solo, adventurous trips.

Travel providers are responding by offering tailored experiences to cater to this trend, dubbed “Wander Women.”

According to Virtuoso, 71 percent of its solo travellers are women, with 47 percent of them divorced, separated or widowed, highlighting a surge in post-partner or family-raising travel.

AmaWaterways removed single supplements for solo travelers on select European river cruises in 2024, while Swiss travel network A Small World launched the Solo Cruise Company, targeting women 55+.

In small group travel, Intrepid Travel will debut its first women-only trips to Saudi Arabia in November 2024, in partnership with a local female-owned operator. Experiences include visiting Saudi women’s homes and female-only beaches.

Meanwhile, startups like Mom’z offer “babymoons” in Spain for pregnant women, and the Amilla Maldives hosted a “mid-life wellbeing” retreat for perimenopausal and menopausal women in 2024.

Luxury providers are finding niches in solo female travel, focusing on personal connections, unique experiences and women’s specific needs.

Memoirs in Motion

“Memoirs in Motion” involves luxury travelers hiring professional film crews to document their travels, turning holidays into cinematic experiences and personal legacies.

Unlike the “Set-Jetting” trend, which focuses on visiting movie locations, this new trend lets clients star in their own documentaries.

With most people storing thousands of unused photos and videos on their phones, luxury companies like Cookson Adventures cater to the need for meaningful retrospectives.

Inspired by David Attenborough-style documentaries, Cookson provides clients with cinematographers to create daily film edits, social media reels and full documentaries, starting at $17,000.

Racketeering

The trend of “Racketeering,” coined by Globetrender, reflects the growing popularity of racket sports like tennis, pickleball and padel during vacations, spurred by the 2024 film “Challengers.”

Companies like Pickleball in Paradise now organize racket sport-themed vacations. Resorts worldwide are capitalising on this trend by adding state-of-the-art courts, clinics and tournaments.

Notable destinations include Marbella Club, the birthplace of padel in Europe, and Necker Island, where Richard Branson hosts the exclusive Necker Cup tennis tournament. His Moskito Island estate also offers tennis facilities.

Luxury resorts like Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in France, in partnership with Lacoste, have embraced this trend with branded tennis courts and a limited-edition tennis apparel collection.

To view the entire report, click here.

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