This week we’re featuring the second half of a special episode of Trade Secrets, a sister podcast to the Folo by Travel Weekly that is co-produced by Jamie Biesiada, a senior editor at Travel Weekly, and Emma Weissmann, the executive editor of TravelAge West.

In this episode, Jamie and Emma take a rapid-fire look at 25 trends for 2025, starting in the mid-teens and working their way up to Number 25. This second half is a little more travel industry- and advisor- focused. Let us know if you're seeing any of these trends come to the fore at your agency.

This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Riverside Luxury Cruises https://www.riverside-cruises.com

 Related links:

Part 1 of Trade Secrets 25 trends for 2025: https://www.travelweekly.com/Podcasts/Folo/trade-secrets-editors-predict-travel-trends-1

 A host of problems https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/A-host-of-problems

 New details emerge on Universal Horror Unleashed experience in Las Vegas https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/new-detail-Universal-Horror-Unleashed-Las-Vegas

Travel Weekly's 2024 Travel Industry Survey https://www.travelweekly.com/For-Travel-Agents/Travel-Industry-Survey

 V-shaped plane is one step closer to reality https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/V-shaped-plane-is-one-step-closer-to-reality

The new autonomous wheelchairs at Miami Airport https://news.miami-airport.com/miami-dade-mayor-and-american-airlines-announce-new-autonomous-wheelchairs-at-mia/

Additional info:

The music used in the Trade Secrets podcast is Sock Hop, by Kevin MacLeod

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Folo by Travel Weekly we are featuring a special episode of Trade Secrets, a sister podcast to the Folo that is co-produced by Jamie Biesiada, a senior editor at Travel Weekly, and Emma Weissmann, the executive editor of TravelAge West. In this episode, Jamie and Emma take a rapid-fire look at 25 trends for 2025. 

This episode is split into two parts: The first, which you're listening to here, focuses on consumer-related travel trends that Emma and Jamie think will be popular. The second half, which is a little more travel industry- and advisor- focused, will air next week. 

This episode was edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor:

This episode of the Folo by Travel Weekly is sponsored by Collette Vacations: https://www.gocollette.com/travel-advisors

Related links:

From Travel Weekly: Preview 2025 https://www.travelweekly.com/preview-2025

From TravelAge West, The top 5 trends for 2025

From TravelAge West, This cruise expert reached $3 million in annual sales using TikTok

From Travel Weekly, Women-only tours: A niche that is going mainstream

From Travel Weekly, Summer of the destination ‘dupes’

Additional notes:

The music used in the Trade Secrets podcast is Sock Hop, by Kevin MacLeod

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re turning to every traveler’s favorite – or least favorite – topic this week, and that’s airfares. After aviation editor Robert Silk wrote an article on which way air prices are trending in 2025, we asked Scott Keyes, the founder of Going -- an app that combines software and human Flight Experts to uncover flight deals and mistake fares and send them to its 2 million-plus members -- to come onto the episode with Silk and host Rebecca Tobin.

Together, we unpack the numbers further and ask: Why are fares trending upward? What does that mean for airfare bargain-hunters? And when is the best time to book a flight (and should you wait for a last-second deal)?

This episode was recorded Jan. 17 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Collette Vacations: www.gocollette.com/travel-advisors

Related links:

Higher airfares are expected in the first half of 2025 https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Higher-airfares-expected-first-half-2025

Going https://www.going.com/

 

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In last week’s episode we delved into the trends and predictions for several aspects of the travel business: aviation, cruise, hotel and the outlook for travel advisors. This week, host Rebecca Tobin asks Tom Stieghorst, our interim cruise and river cruise editor, to share some of his findings for 2025. We draw on a new survey from the U.S. Tour Operators Association to look at what tour operators are most concerned about. And, of course, we look at top destinations for travelers this year. 

In the last section of the episode, we have the final piece of the initial discussion: Where the rest of our travel team is headed this year. Each trip reveals a minitrend in destination or travel style, like the opening of a new theme park in Orlando, expedition travel to Antarctica, the popularity of Las Vegas and, for your Folo diehards out there, competitive sitting. 

These episodes were recorded separately. The interview with Tom Stieghorst took place Jan. 3, and the discussion with the other editors was Dec. 13. Both were edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor: 

This episode is sponsored by Collette Vacations https://www.gocollette.com/travel-advisors

Related links:

Preview 2025 https://www.travelweekly.com/Preview-2025

Politics replaces the economy as a chief concern of tour operators https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/Politics-chief-concern-USTOA-poll

Globus gears up for a big year in Italy https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/Globus-gearing-up-for-busy-year-in-Italy?ct=tours

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to our annual Preview episode, where we gaze into our crystal ball and draw on interviews with expert sources to talk about what we’ll be seeing in the next 12 months, travel-wise. 

In this episode we examine the overall health of the business, changes in the luxury sector and what might happen on the aviation-regulatory-merger front, especially with the Trump administration set to enter.

Featuring: Host Rebecca Tobin and four of Travel Weekly’s senior editors: Jamie Biesiada, who covers retail; Andrea Zelinski, who covers cruise; Robert Silk, who covers aviation; and Christina Jelski, who covers hospitality. 

This conversation was recorded Dec. 13, 2024, so a note of caution: At some points in this conversation we make reference to “this year” and “next year” which can be stand-in terms for 2024 and 2025, depending on the context.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Collette Vacations https://www.gocollette.com/travel-advisors

Related links:

Travel Weekly's 2025 Preview https://www.travelweekly.com/Preview-2025

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time for our semi-annual drop-in to the ski industry. Dan Sherman of Ski.com, ski blogger and podcaster Stuart Winchester and our in-house ski reporter Robert Silk talk about the major trends for skiers and riders, namely, Japan and Europe. There's big demand for ski vacations this year: Why?

We talk about the tricks to scoring cheaper-than-the-window ticket pricing, which at some resorts is now at or above $300. And the big question each December: Where is everybody headed this year? 

This episode is part of our annual Winter Series, where we feature some of our favorite recent Folo by Travel Weekly discussions. This episode was recorded Nov. 12 and has been edited for insight and clarity. 

Related links:

Alterra CEO addresses soaring daily prices at ski resorts https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Alterra-CEO-addresses-soaring-daily-prices

Big and small resorts: The Colorado Ski experience https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Focus-on-Ski-Mountain-Travel-2024

Deer Valley expansion is ahead of schedule https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Deer-Valley-expansion-ahead-of-schedule

Rebecca Tobin's report on Jackson Hole: Rising to new challenges at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Rising-to-new-challenges-at-Jackson-Hole

Stuart Winchester's Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast https://www.stormskiing.com/

Ski.com https://www.ski.com

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travel Industry Survey is our annual, premier research product that surveys travel advisors about their business. To dig deeper into the report’s data and talk about how it dovetails with everyday business trends, we’ve invited retail reporter Jamie Biesiada and news editor Johanna Jainchill to talk about what the survey said about booking trends, preferred products, education and support, technology uses, marketing strategies, outlook and concerns.

This episode is part of our annual Winter Series, where we feature some of our favorite recent Folo by Travel Weekly discussions. This episode was recorded Nov. 12 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Travel Industry Survey is produced in partnership with Phocuswright, the travel research company under the Northstar Travel Group umbrella.

Related links

Travel Industry Survey 2024: https://www.travelweekly.com/Industry-Survey-2024

Travel Industry Survey 2023: https://www.travelweekly.com/industry-survey-2023

Phocuswright: https://www.phocuswright.com

 

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It’s time for our annual Year in Review discussion, where we look back at some of the biggest travel-related stories and trends of 2024. Joining us on this episode is news editor Johanna Jainchill, the architect of our Year in Review report, and retail editor Jamie Biesiada, to talk (among others) about travel “normalization,” the embrace of generative AI, a big year for cruise, companies that went under in 2024, American Airlines’ failed NDC strategy and the Taylor Swift effect on travel. 

This episode was recorded Dec. 13 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Related articles

The year in review, 2024 https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/2024-year-in-review

Growth has slowed, but it's still a great time for the travel industry https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/WTTC-Global-Summit-2024

Is this cruising's 'golden era'? https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Is-this-cruising-golden-era

Q&A with Hornblower CEO Mike Flaskey https://www.travelweekly.com/On-The-Record/Mike-Flaskey-Hornblower-Group

The Taylor Swift effect on hotels https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Taylor-Swift-effect-on-hotels

Alienating travel agencies could cost American $1.5 billion https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/American-Airlines-earnings-Q2-2024

Arnie Weissmann's From the Window Seat column, July 2022: Travel's pandemic bankruptcy record https://www.travelweekly.com/Arnie-Weissmann/With-Crystal-revival-a-major-miracle

 

 

 

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This week’s travel trend is the growing popularity of women-only tours. From on-the-ground adventures in far flung destinations like Saudi Arabia and Morocco to a luxurious river cruise in France’s wine country, there are options galore for today’s so-called “queenagers.” 

We’ve asked reporter Tom Stieghorst to share his insights and his reporting, and Shirnett Fleet, the chief marketing officer of Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, to talk about what women-only tours offer, where the trend is headed and why it's moved from niche to mainstream.

This episode was recorded Nov. 21 and has been edited for length and clarity. 

Related links

Women-only tours: A niche that is going mainstream https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/The-growth-of-women-only-tours

A women-only cruise leans into luxury https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Insights/women-only-river-cruise-uniworld-luxury

Uniworld: https://www.uniworld.com

Background on the term 'queenager' https://eleanormills.substack.com/p/eleanors-letter-what-is-a-queenager

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time for our semi-annual drop-in to the ski industry. It’s the unofficial start to the season, so it seemed like a perfect time to gather a few experts -- Dan Sherman of Ski.com, ski blogger and podcaster Stuart Winchester and our in-house ski reporter Robert Silk -- to talk about the major trends for skiers and riders, namely, Japan. And Europe. There's big demand for ski vacations this year: Why? We talk about the tricks to scoring cheaper-than-the-window ticket pricing, which at some resorts is now at or above $300.

And the big question each December: Where is everybody headed this year? 

This episode was recorded Nov. 12 and has been edited for insight and clarity. 

Related links:

Alterra CEO addresses soaring daily prices at ski resorts https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Alterra-CEO-addresses-soaring-daily-prices

Big and small resorts: The Colorado Ski experience https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Focus-on-Ski-Mountain-Travel-2024

Deer Valley expansion is ahead of schedule https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Deer-Valley-expansion-ahead-of-schedule

Rebecca Tobin's report on Jackson Hole: Rising to new challenges at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Rising-to-new-challenges-at-Jackson-Hole

Stuart Winchester's Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast https://www.stormskiing.com/

Ski.com https://www.ski.com

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.