Newmarket Holidays reveals travel trends for 2025

The escorted tours specialist has reported that total sales to Southeast Asia have almost doubled in 2024, with bookings for tours such as Follow the Mekong through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam up by 100 per cent and Borneo's Orangutans and Rainforest Adventure three times higher than the previous year. 

New destinations including Indonesia and Bali have been strong growth drivers for Southeast Asia and the operator is planning further additions to meet the trend, as well as increasing its product offering in the Far East with new options for Japan and South Korea. 

Newmarket Holidays has also seen a big rise in ultra-early bookings for long haul destinations, as customers book dream destinations two or more years in advance to help manage payments. The trend encouraged the company to put its tours for 2027 on sale in autumn 2024, with new tours regularly added to the early booking options.

Hayley Morris, Head of Trade and Partnerships explains: "Southeast Asia has exploded in popularity over the past few months, driven by a post-lockdown desire from mature travellers to visit wish-list destinations. With the BBC’s high-profile nature documentary, Sir David Attenborough’s Asia, adding to the allure, we think that interest in the region will continue to grow.

"We're expanding our Asia collection to keep pace with the trend, ensuring agents have a wide choice of great quality, superbly-priced tours that provide interesting and engaging itineraries that showcase must-see sites and immerse guests in the culture and heritage of their chosen destination."