Squaremouth highlights three new travel trends for 2025
US travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth has identified three key trends for travel next year
The trends are based on policy sales data from its website, from purchases with travel dates between 1 January and December 2025.
Rising costs – declining interest
Squaremouth reported that, once again, international travel costs are due to rise in 2025, for the fourth consecutive year in a row.
The average trip cost will be around $9,922 – up 11% from 2024, 16% from 2023, and 32% from 2022.
The company warned that with the trend showing no sign of stopping, many travellers may feel motivated to cut back on travel due to the rising costs.
Americans heading north and east
While Squaremouth noted that “overall interest in international travel appears to be declining in 2025” among its customers, some destinations have bucked the trend.
Most notably, European destinations are continuing to rise in popularity in 2025, with interest in trips to the UK rising by 16%, and to Italy by 11% over last year.
Interest in travel to Canada has also gone up nearly 10% – possibly reflecting a greater interest in visiting destinations that are perceived as “safe”.
Squaremouth noted that Canada was recently named by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP) as one of the safest destinations in the world in its Safest Places to Travel list for 2025.
By contrast, Mexico, another popular destination for US travellers, has seen a decline in travel interest of 19% for the coming year.
Rising travel costs more manageable for older generations
In spite of the rising cost of international travel, older travellers – who typically have more disposable income – are expected to be travelling more frequently in 2025.
Squaremouth noted that over 80% of travellers on its platform looking to take a trip next year are aged over 45 – an 11% increase for that demographic compared with 2024.
This is balanced by a 17% year-on-year decrease in the number of those aged 44 and under – who may be less able to absorb the costs – planning a trip in 2025.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently reported record levels of demand in September 2024.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor for Voyageur Group, joining in 2021. He writes for both ITIJ and AirMed&Rescue, covering a range of topics including international travel and health insurance, medical assistance provision and air medical transportation. He also serves as Title Editor of the Assistance & Repatriation Reviews. Oliver holds an MA in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University, as well as a BA in English with Creative Writing from Falmouth University.