Summer Travel Outlook 2025
Since releasing the Spring Travel Outlook, several trends have come into sharper focus. Zartico is sharing an updated set of top recommendations to help destination leaders navigate peak summer season effectively. Watch the video overview here, or read on for the full story.
Let's Start With The Context
Low Consumer Confidence
Key indices show continued decline in consumer confidence. Economic news this year has been challenging, and as prices remain relatively high, consumer confidence is lagging.
Hotel Occupancy Pacing Behind
The hotel occupancy growth rate in April 2025 shows a 6.6% decline compared to last year, with four consecutive months of increasing declines.
Zartico’s pacing reports show most destinations' hotels are tracking about 13% behind year-over-year for the next quarter.
However, historical data shows actual performance is only 2-9% below last year.
The gap between pacing and actuals comes from late bookings—travelers are waiting for deals and increased confidence.
Later Booking Windows
Travelers are showing “wait and see” booking behaviors, with budget travelers being most likely to wait or defer travel.
Multiple destinations report their budget lodging properties have the highest vacancies, and families skipped spring break trips this year to save for summer travel.
Recommendations
We know people want to travel and will travel this summer. Here's how to position your destination for the strongest possible performance during weaker-than-normal summer demand:
Market Close To Home
When budgets tighten, travelers often choose drive destinations over fly destinations. For marketers, nearby markets—both proximity and overnight markets—are more economical to reach with lower cost-per-acquisition.
Through Zartico’s DCO, we're seeing that drive markets have approximately four times lower cost-per-acquisition than fly markets.
For more insight, see our "High-Efficiency Markets" series on LinkedIn.
Use Content Strategically
While AI tools like ChatGPT are building itineraries and capturing search traffic, destinations still have opportunities to craft unique itineraries for travelers seeking novel, unexpected experiences. As AI tools do not excel in this area, destinations have a chance to shape travel demand and better distribute visitors throughout their destination.
Consider including budget-friendly options in your itineraries to acknowledge many travelers' financial realities this summer.
Tip The Scales In Your Favor
With travelers taking a "wait and see" approach, they're likely researching multiple destinations to find the right balance of cost, convenience, and experiences.
Maintain an advertising presence on OTAs and booking platforms to stay top-of-mind at booking time. Continue using social media to inspire and share itineraries, experiences based on your top visitor profiles, and highlight upcoming events in email and social posts.
While events rarely drive trip bookings unless they're major attractions, they can serve as time-sensitive catalysts for influencing bookings by offering experiences unavailable at home.
Watch The Full Video
How Are You Navigating Summer Travel?
We want to hear from you. What trends are you seeing in your region? What’s working—or not working—for your team this summer?
Join the conversation on LinkedIn to share how you're navigating the summer season—and subscribe to Zartico's email intelligence below to stay ahead of the trends all year long.