Travel & tourism deal activity down 8% in first half of 2025: report

The travel and tourism sector witnessed a notable decline in deal activity in the first half of 2025, reflecting a shift in market dynamics and investor sentiment.

According to data and analytics company GlobalData, the total number of deals (mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and venture financing) announced year-on-year fell by around 8 per cent.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database revealed that all the deal types under coverage registered decline. The number of venture financing and private equity deals registered YoY decline of around 25 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, during H1 2025, while M&A activity exhibited relative resilience, with a slight contraction of 3.5 per cent in deal volume.

“The overall decline underscores a broader trend where macroeconomic factors and investor sentiments are reshaping deal-making strategies within the industry,” said Aurojyoti Bose, lead analyst at GlobalData. “The subdued activity suggests that dealmakers are becoming increasingly cautious, likely due to the macroeconomic challenges and volatile market conditions. The decline in venture financing and private equity deals, suggests a dent in investor sentiment, emphasizing a trend of reduced risk appetite.”

The Asia-Pacific market emerged as a bright spot, witnessing an increase of around 11 per cent in deal volume in the first half of the year. This growth can be attributed to countries like Japan and India showing improvement in deal activity.

Conversely, other regions witnessed decline in deal activity. Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America registered declines of around 19 per cent, 10 per cent, 39 per cent and 12 per cent in their respective deal volumes compared to H1 2024.

The U.S., China and Germany saw YoY decline in the number of deal announcements, while the U.K. managed to maintain the deal volume mostly at the same level.

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