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Hermione Joye, Google’s head of travel ads in the Asia-Pacific, shared her insights on recent trends regarding traveller behaviour and preference at the TDM Global Summit Singapore 2025 earlier today, 24th November.
Joye pointed out that today’s travellers are looking into shorter trips and more authentic and meaningful experiences in their travels.
She explained: “I think for the brands in the room it’s micro-moments, because travellers are spending a lot longer on travel, but on average they’re spending five hours on a trip [broken into] 4.5-minute segments.”
Joye added that, following the pandemic, there is an ongoing shift in the way travel is perceived the world over.
She said: “When we came out of the pandemic in 2022, it was a luxury. By 2024, it was seen as a reward. Today, in 2025, it’s become a necessity. What we’ve found out is that consumers will prioritise their basic needs, but still try to have enough in order to travel. They see it as core to their value proposition and their ecosystem; they also see it as an option for wellness and a much-needed break.”
An evolving market
Consumers throughout the Asia-Pacific region have notably increased the number of trips they take per year despite challenges in budgeting their disposable income.
Joye explains that, as travel is currently seen as a necessity, people are opting to make a bit of a smart sacrifice in order to put trips high on their list of priorities; hence the need to plan for shorter but more meaningful journeys.
As she explains: “[Trip durations] are being reduced, on average; in APAC we’re down from 14 days to ten. With regard to the average, you can see that beyond APAC it’s a little bit higher; but, within APAC, they’ll travel now for around six days. Outside of APAC, they’ll travel close to nine days.”
Given the current state of the global economy and the escalating cost of living throughout the world, people will still travel, albeit for shorter periods.
At the same time, there has also been a notable shift towards destinations that are off the beaten track or happen to be outside major urban centres.
As Joye explains it: “[Travellers] might choose Chiang Mai versus Bangkok, in order to be able to still travel, still have a unique experience, but do it a little bit more cost-effectively.”
Likewise, a major trend that experts have been seeing of late is the growing number of people travelling to improve their overall wellness.
Some experts have opined that people have felt that they’ve been under more stress since the pandemic years, and the stresses of the average individual have risen by up to 50 percent since COVID initially hit.
As Joye puts it: “When we talk to consumers, we see that they’re definitely looking to escape, to rest, to have a wellness break, and invest in themselves, whether it’s educational, or mental, or physical.”
Content is king when it comes to travel inspiration
Another thing that is spurring people to travel these days is the increasing amount of travel-related content featured on social media.
Younger people, especially those of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, are keen on sharing and viewing content – and travel makes for some of the most shareable content currently online.
Also, content sharing in the context of travel also means building and strengthening connections, particularly in the post-pandemic experience.
Joye said: “If you take a good look at all the people who came straight out of the pandemic, their core desire is to connect with friends and connect with family. That remains true as long as the scars of the pandemic still live with us.”
Post-pandemic travel also involves more meaningful, more authentic experiences; it has to be memorable as opposed to being just another item ticked off from a list.
Joye remarked: “I think Glenn D Fogel, the CEO of Booking.com, summed it up best. Travel is one of the few things that you can keep in your memory box outside of funerals and weddings that really locks into your mind. People might have shortened their time [or are travelling out of season], but they’re still traveling because it’s core to their way of life. It’s the thing that gives them purpose in life.”
Off the beaten track
With regard to the current trend of shifting from popular destinations to lesser-known areas, Joye was asked if this was a personal matter for many travellers or backlash against over-tourism.
She replied with: “There’s a definite desire to do something unique and different, and we’ve seen this in the Kantar research we did earlier this month. At the same time, there’s their purse strings. So it’s dual: people want to have a unique experience that no one else has, something they can tell their friends and family about because it’s special and it’s their milestone moment, but price also matters.”
Indeed, the cost of everything in urban centres has grown more expensive for locals and tourists alike.
The latter thus end up looking for other options, often well off the beaten path, and deciding on a final destination takes more time and consideration.
As Joye explains: “On average, a traveler will change their destination, their end destination, at least three times by the time they get to booking. So they might have a view of the Maldives and say, ‘That’s where I’m going.’ But they’ll end up somewhere in the Philippines. It’s still a beach destination; it still ticks the box for wellness, but it’s actually a much more affordable trip.”
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Source: traveldailymedia