- Research among over 2,000 South African travellers reveals that more than six in 10 plan to take more holidays in 2025.
- Bravecations and heritage holidays emerge as key travel trends for 2025.
- Savvy spenders on the rise as travellers seek the best value for their trips.
- AI usage in holiday planning skyrockets, alongside growing sustainability considerations.
The travel market is set to grow in 2025, according to Marriott Bonvoy’s 2025 Ticket to Travel research (http://apo-opa.co/3AQaXQo) (www.Marriott.com). The study, conducted amongst 21,374 adults in 10 markets across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East (EMEA) and more than 2,000 travellers in South Africa, reveals that more than 60% of South Africans plan to take more holidays next year compared to 2024, with 18% maintaining their current travel frequency.
Surveyed South Africans are planning an average of 2.7 domestic holidays, two short-haul holidays (four-hour flight or less), and 1.8 long-haul holidays in 2025. This totals 6.5 holidays or trips, equating to more than one every two months. Among those planning holidays, the top travel destinations are South Africa (27%), USA (11%), Mozambique (10%), France (10%), and Mauritius (10%).
‘Bravecations’ and ‘heritage holidays’ arise as emerging trends
The research highlights several emerging travel trends. One notable trend is ‘bravecations,’ where travellers are more adventurous on holiday, trying activities they wouldn’t normally attempt at home. An impressive 85% of South African travellers say they are braver on holiday, the highest among all markets surveyed. This trend is particularly strong among younger travellers, with 87% of 18–24-year-olds and 91% of 25–34-year-olds expressing a willingness to try new and exciting things. Popular activities include climbing high structures (56%), participating in high-octane activities like zip-lining, skydiving or theme park rides (54%), and trying unusual foods (45%).
Another rising trend is ‘heritage holidays,’ where travellers explore their family’s heritage, history, or ancestry. Seventy-five percent of South Africans have taken or plan to take a heritage holiday soon. This trend is more prevalent among younger generations, with 77% of 18–24-year-olds and 88% of 25–34-year-olds having taken a heritage holiday or plan to, compared to just 42% of those aged 65 and above. Key motivations include the desire to understand where their family comes from and what their life was like (64%) and to see where their ancestors lived (53%).
Solidifying Trends
Sustainability and the use of AI in travel planning are set to become even more significant in 2025. Eight in ten travellers (80%) consider the environmental impact of their travel plans, higher than the EMEA average of 72%. Nearly eight in ten (79%) checked the sustainability of their accommodation on their last holiday, with 64% doing so before booking, far higher than the EMEA average of 30%.
The use of AI in travel planning is also growing rapidly. Nearly half (48%) of South African travellers have used AI to help plan or research a holiday, above the EMEA average of 41%. This trend is led by younger travellers, with 57% of 18–24-year-olds and 63% of 25–34-year-olds using AI in the past year, indicating its mainstream adoption among younger South Africans.
Travel Priorities for 2025
When it comes to choosing accommodation in 2025, the ‘brilliant basics’ remain key priorities with cleanliness (97%), location (96%), and customer service (96%) being the most important factors.
South African travellers are family orientated, preferring to holiday with their family or partner’s family and children (46%), above just their partner or spouse (36%), and friends (12%). Only five percent prefer to travel alone. Additionally, ‘spending time with friends and family’ (63%) is the top priority for holidays, followed by ‘treating themselves’ (54%). Over half (52%) say it is important they return feeling healthier than when they left, significantly higher than the EMEA average of 36%.
Savvy Spending
Despite planning more holidays, South Africans are keen on getting the best value for their money. The main factor that would encourage travellers to book a holiday is ‘getting a special price’ (62%). Shoulder season breaks—taking vacations during the months surrounding peak season—are another popular way to make holidays more affordable. Seven in ten (70%) have or have considered doing this, with the main reason being to get better value (56%). More than half of South African travellers (46%) always consider exchange rates when planning holidays, but 14% say they ‘never usually do but will in 2025′.
Dorcas Dlamini Mbele, Area Commercial Director, Marriott International – Sub-Saharan Africa, says: “We’re witnessing a profound shift towards valuing experiences over material possessions among South African travellers. Trends like bravecations and heritage holidays are at the forefront, reflecting a desire for meaningful and enriching journeys. The integration of AI in travel planning and a strong focus on sustainability further enhance this forward-thinking approach. It’s an exciting era for the travel industry, and we’re eager to support South Africans as they embark on new adventures and create lasting memories both locally and globally.”
Africa Fact: The ruined mosque in the Kenyan city of Gedi had a water purifier made of limestone for recycling water.
Midas
The Man who could only Drink Milk
I know an old man who had lived a life full of adventure, but his health started to catch up with him. He\’d run the Boston Marathon, was an avid surfer, and climbed Everest, but he\’d started to have abdominal pains around his 85th birthday and went to see a doctor. Sadly, he ultimately was diagnosed with a rare degenerative liver disease that slowly made him allergic to everything he ate.
He kept copious notes, and as an avid gastronomist slowly grew to despair as everything he\’d spent his life enjoying became something he could no longer eat. Alcohol went first, then mushrooms, then bread, then root vegetables, then coffee, one at a time he had to remove them from his diet. The doctor was clear: if he kept eating something his liver rejected the autoimmune response would be quick and severe, and would lead to a painful death. Little by little, everything was taken away as an option, until the only thing that remained was milk.
In some ways, this actually made life easier, because the mental strain of remembering what he could and couldn\’t eat was gone, but then so was the joy in variety. But he took it in stride, and got his own cow and took classes from a farmer to learn everything he could about the only thing that could give him sustenance. And even within milk, he could still have yogurt, butter, cream, some cheeses, and other milk-derived products he hadn\’t fully rejected yet, so it wasn\’t all bad. But then one day a few months later he felt the pain again, and he knew cow\’s milk was no longer an option.
Lacking other options, he tried goat\’s milk, and he was delighted that it worked! The protein structure is just different enough that his body still tolerated it. That bought him another month. And that\’s when we came up with a wonderful plan to go on one last grand adventure around the world. If he could get one month of life out of the milk of every mammal, he\’d actually have a few more years to enjoy life to the fullest and see the world in all its beauty. Each month, we\’d pick a place with a new mammal, and he would immerse himself fully with the locals, learn all the ways to prepare the milk, and just enjoy the hand he had been dealt as much as he could.
We milked sheep in New Zealand. Camels in Egypt. Zebras in South Africa. Giant bats in Indonesia. Do you know how many Peruvian cuy you need to milk to get a single glass? I do. Even as his health slowly faded, he stayed cheerful, and I felt lucky to join him on the adventure of a lifetime. That brings us to today when he got to the very end of his spreadsheet, and declared that he was now allergic to every mammal. He\’d enjoyed his journey, but his time had come to an end, for there was nothing left to milk.
To which I said nonsense, I bet we can milk a few thousand karma out of this post.
Midnight Rider
Gatvol – fed up / had enough [ghut-foll] Meaning ‘filled to the brim’ and is used to describe someone who is very angry or tired of the same thing happening over and over again.Example: “I’m gatvol with that nonsense.” / “I’m gatvol that they keep losing all the time.”