Here are 15 more powerful travel industry predictions for 2025 by Steve Glenn

For the last 3 weeks, I have shared my annual list of Travel Industry Predictions for 2025. This is my last of 60 predictions for the year. Let’s see how many come true. CLICK HERE to see the previous 45 predictions.

46. Airlines are about to kill the goose that lays the golden egg by allowing too many people into the airline lounges – All the major airlines are promoting airline credit cards that provide special perks like free admission into the airlines’ airport lounges. This helps sell a lot of credit cards but is putting too much pressure by filling all the lounges at the busiest time of the travel day. Some days there are no seats to sit down inside the airline clubs. I often find it more refreshing to sit outside the lounges. At a cost of almost $600 a year, one has to start questioning the hassle factor of investing in airline club lounges in 2025.

47. Short Flights within Europe to be Banned in 2025 – Short-haul flights within Europe will be phased out in 2025, with trains taking their place. If you’ve ever seen the 1987 movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles with John Candy and Steve Martin, you might soon feel like you’re living that story as EU countries move to ban short inter-country flights, especially those offered by budget airlines. This is part of their environmental protection efforts. France was the first to implement a ban on flights that can be completed in under 2.5 hours by train, and Spain may soon follow suit. Instead of hopping on a quick flight, travelers may now need to take a train downtown to catch a connecting train to their final destination. On the bright side, European trains are known for their punctuality, so delays should be minimal.

48. One of every three hotel rooms will go empty in 2025 –  Hotels worldwide rebounded strongly in 2023 and 2024 as the post-COVID vacation travel fueled the pent-up demand and helped fill empty hotel rooms. Even with this improvement, almost 1 out of 3 hotel rooms will go empty in 2025. 

49. Hotels will find ways to hide new fees as the government prohibits resort fees – Fighting new hotel fees is kind of like playing the game of Whack-a-mole. Last year the government said they planned to crack down on hotels charging resort/destination fees. Unfortunately, this may work for a few months, but we all know the hotels will come up with other ingenious ways to charge you more when you arrive at the hotel. Why do hotels treat their guests so poorly? 

50. The hottest travel trend of women traveling with groups of other women will get even bigger in 2025 – Seven years ago, Executive Travel launched “Women of the Midwest”, which were women-only travel groups. The concept has taken off like wildfires, and we expect this to continue exponentially as women have the money and time to travel and want the safety and security of traveling with other women.  To see our many tours visit womenofthemidwest.com

51. The four best months to travel to Europe are May, June, September, and October – These months offer the perfect blend of great weather, fewer crowds, and excellent prices. During these months, the weather is typically mild and pleasant, making it ideal for exploring cities, countryside, and coastal areas without the intense heat of summer. Crowds are smaller compared to the peak travel months of July and August, allowing for a more relaxed and enjoyable experience at popular attractions. Additionally, prices for flights and accommodations tend to be lower, especially in May and October, giving travelers exceptional value for their trips. 

52. Travel Insurance is Essential for Travel in 2025 –One key lesson from COVID is the importance of protecting your travel investment from unforeseen circumstances. Both young and old travelers face health risks, especially if another pandemic arises. For instance, if you’ve booked a $5,000 international tour to Europe, what happens if you fall and break a leg just before your departure? Or if a family member falls ill and you can’t travel? What if you’re injured during your trip and need to delay your return home or extend your stay? These scenarios could lead to significant financial loss, but certain travel insurance plans can cover these costs. Even for domestic travel, insurance is crucial, as unexpected health issues can disrupt your plans and result in major expenses.

53. Your butt will get bigger or the airplane seats smaller in 2025 – All the major airlines are trying to quietly put more seats on airplanes so they can make more money on every flight. The seats are getting so small they are actually painful to sit in for many flyers. I am 6’4” tall and it is almost impossible for me to fit my legs between the seats. Even the “economy comfort” seats offered by all the major airlines that offer 4-5 inches more legroom are better but they are also decreasing the width of the seats so a flight that lasts over one hour is like being in a torture chamber.
54. Unisex bathrooms will slowly take over the restaurant world in 2025 – I really like the direction the restaurant world is heading by adding unisex bathrooms instead of the standard men/women bathrooms. Having an individual room that includes a toilet and sink with privacy is amazing. I know it takes up a lot more room but boy is it nice.
55. Don’t fly Frontier, Spirit, or Allegiant during the holidays or risk being stranded for 4 days or more – Flying low-cost airlines during the busy holiday travel seasons is just not smart as a simple weather event, cancelation or mechanical problem can leave you stranded for days. During holiday travel windows (one week around each holiday) the planes are all 100% full. This means that if a low-cost airline has weather or mechanical problems there is no alternative flight to put you on as these airlines do not reciprocate with other airlines to provide alternate flights for stranded passengers.
56. Is this the year Hertz and Avis Car Rental finally start offering “No-show” fees? – For the last 12 years, I have been predicting that car rental companies will start charging a “no-show” fee if you did not show up for your car rental. Avis and Hertz once again are foaming at the mouth to kick this idea off by charging this fee to vacation renters. Enterprise/National, which is the largest car rental company, has put the brakes on the idea for the last 11 years, but their competitors see so much revenue with these new fees
    that Hertz and Avis will go ahead and launch these new fees in 2025 regardless if National says “No”.
57. The pain of flying is causing people to drive for trips of 500 miles or less – Domestic air passengers are
    avoiding flying for shorter distances of under 500 miles since the pandemic. They are simply getting in their car to save time, money, and hassle by driving to events rather than taking short flights.
58. Some European cities will charge tourists a $5 daily visitor fee – Fearing that some major tourist cities are seeing “over tourism”, some cities are implementing a daily visitor fee to hopefully slow down the casual tourist from overcrowding the city. Venice, Italy, is charging a 5 Euro entry fee for people entering the city center between 8:30am and 4pm during the peak tourist season and some weekends. Once the concept of a daily visitor fee is implemented, I could see that many cities will go to the next step and issue permits for admission only during certain times of the day. This would stagger when visitors come into the city with the hope that it takes overcrowding away. I don’t like this idea, but I bet we see it come back in future years. Amsterdam increased its tourist tax to 12,5% in 2024. This tax adds over $20 a night to a hotel stay. Iceland appears next in line to add
    a tourist tax.
59. Travelers are changing which days of the week they travel – Travel during Tuesday and Wednesday has dropped like a rock since the pandemic. Traveling on Saturday and Sunday is now sky high. Some of this is reflected by more vacation travelers are traveling now. Some low cost carriers are reacting to these new flying patterns by cutting almost all their Tuesday and Wednesday flights.
60. The BIG 3 airlines will see a seismic shift and have less than a 50% domestic market share in 2025 – The BIG 3 airlines will continue to lose market share to low cost carriers and see an acceleration of that loss of market share in 2025. Twenty years ago the BIG 3 airlines of American, Delta and United had a 68% domestic market share. Today that is at 52% and falling every day. Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska Air, Hawaiian Air, and other low cost carriers are taking away the BIG 3 market share to the point that in 2025 I anticipate the BIG 3 will have less than 50% domestic market share.
61. Bonus -Travel advisors are the new rock stars of travel in 2025 – One thing that changed dramatically during the pandemic was the appreciation and utilization of the professional travel advisor. With all the rules on masks, visas, vaccinations, airline tickets and refunds, hotel rules, etc., travelers young and old turned to their trusty travel advisor to lead them along their journey. Not only is this happening with baby boomers who may not have the online skills but also younger people who appreciate a good coach and a safety value to protect their travel investment.
62. Bonus -. The travel industry in 2025 is “Full speed ahead” – Travelers continue to be filled with optimism, despite a tinge of uncertainty with the wars in Israel and Ukraine, uncertain inflation, and high interest rates. Despite all the uncertainty travelers are saying “Lets live life to the fullest” and travel is a large part of their life in 2025.
63. Bonus – The Nebraska football team will win the BIG 10 this year – Hope springs eternal!.
64. Bonus – Executive Travel will celebrate its 40th year anniversary at the end of 2025 – Thanks to all our customers, employees and friends who have helped make this happen.

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Escorted Tours to Europe for All – Travel while you Can!
If Europe is on your bucket list, do not hesitate to secure your spots. We have a great variety of tours, and they sell out fast! A few cabins are left on our Danube River Cruise, March 20 – April 1. Portugal, June 14-25, focusing on culture, history, and agriculture, is very popular. Our tour to England, July 29 – August 9, to experience the beautiful countryside and London is filling. Our repeated Greece journey, September 5-16, will soon be sold out, and finally, the Scotland, Nothern Ireland, and Ireland tour, April 16-30, 2026, is selling like hotcakes. These tours are open to everyone! CLICK HERE to see all the tailor-made itineraries; most tours are limited to 20-30 travelers, making them even more enjoyable. Call or email our friendly group department to learn more and secure your spots at 888-549-1186.

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