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The Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort in Thailand – Image Credit Global Hotel Alliance
- Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) reports Japan and Thailand as the top holiday destinations for 2025. Business travel growing – 13% increase in planned business trips globally, led by China, Germany, and Spain.
- Relaxation overtakes exploration as the main travel motivation, and loyalty platforms remain the favored tool for hotel search and booking.
Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands, has released its members’ top travel destinations and motivations for 2025. The report reveals that Japan and Thailand are the most popular holiday destinations for the second year, while China climbs to third place, surpassing Spain. Australia, New Zealand, and Italy are tied for fourth, replacing Canada and Hawaii, the favorites in 2024.
GHA members strongly prefer leisure travel, with 99% planning holidays in 2025. However, business travel is also returning, with 62% of members planning work trips led by travelers from China, Germany, and Spain. Travel plans reveal a 13% increase in business trips with overnight stays compared to the previous year.
Asia and Europe are the preferred regions for both leisure and business travel. On average, travelers anticipate six leisure trips and more than five business trips. Chinese travelers anticipate the highest number of trips, followed by Germany and Spain.
The report also reveals a shift in travel motivations, with relaxation and unwinding surpassing exploration as the primary reason for travel in 2025. Recommendations from friends and family remain the leading source of inspiration for travelers, while loyalty platforms remain the top tool for hotel search and booking.
The report concludes with the insight that travelers in 2025 will prioritize the quality of accommodation, loyalty program benefits, and property location over price or hotel brand. Room upgrades, early check-in, and late checkout are still the preferred perks for higher loyalty tier members, especially in Japan and Germany.
Kristi Gole, Executive Vice President of Strategy at GHA, summarises that 2025 will be a year of exploration, with new favorites like New Zealand and Vietnam joining regular favorites like Japan, Thailand, UAE and Italy. As business travel continues to recover and more extended leisure stays become more popular, there is a clear trend towards blending work and relaxation.
