The demand for long-haul holidays is strong right now, with booking sales up 14% ahead of last year.
The figures come from worldwide travel company Kuoni who state January and February have been one of the best sales periods since 2019 as people are seeking out winter sun.
The company has seen the most interest in the Maldives, with this being a firm frontrunner on the best-sellers list. Others in the top 10 include Thailand, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Bali, Antigua, Vietnam, Malaysia, the USA, and South Africa.
“We’ve had a terrific start to the year with a real breadth of destinations around the world selling well, it’s clear that long-haul is really winning out right now for lots of different reasons,” said Mark Duguid, managing director of Kuoni in a press release.
“Value shines through as a common theme, Vietnam is a good example of somewhere which is leading the way with experience and adventure travel, with contrasting bustling cities, food, culture and fabulous beaches which creates an ultra-special trip but at affordable prices.”
What long-haul holidays are trending in 2025?
Aside from the top 10, other trending destinations for the year are said to include India, Tanzania, Australia and the Seychelles. The travel company says all are experiencing a rise in bookings since last year.
Another trend that has been spotted includes multi-centre trips which tend to be more complex itineraries.
“People are feeling confident and optimistic about making travel plans for the year ahead and making it a priority.
“There’s a taste for experience-led trips building in exploration, food and wellbeing which is also driving demand, whilst family travel is on the up. Overall family travel is up 40% from last year and proving popular in both short and long-haul destinations.”
The travel experts at the company are said to be seeing people turn up with a ‘blank sheet of paper, and instead asking for wildlife experiences, cookery classes, wellbeing breaks, and bucket-list trips as people become more open-minded about where to go.
“It used to be big zero birthdays, honeymoons and anniversaries but now it could be anything, teenagers passing exams, couples rekindling a sense of adventure or two friends travelling together to switch off with a pile of books, people are defining their own sense of what makes life special, and travel is something they want to invest in.”
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram