As multiple crises linger, the number of luxury travellers is rising, highlighting that, in challenging times, travellers seek an extra treat and indulgent escape.
Luxury Travel Market Research — Current Landscape
As holiday prices rise, some holidays that haven’t been considered luxurious before now fall into the ‘luxury’ category. While this increases the luxury travel market size and contributes to a growing number of luxury travellers, uncertain times mean spending behaviour remains cautious.
To balance out their spending, travellers are taking shorter holidays closer to their homes, and travel brands can promote mini-sized luxury holidays, providing indulgence at a reasonable cost without compromising quality.
Younger luxury travellers and families are emerging target groups in the luxury travel market. Brands can cater to younger travellers with experiential travel, such as transformative wellness or luxury train experiences, and can help parents celebrate parenthood, while shifting communication to children in their campaigns.
Luxury Travel Market Statistics
- Luxury Travel Trends: The number of Germans who planned to take a luxury holiday has risen to 35% in January 2025.
- Luxury Travel Market Opportunities: To help unleash bespoke holidays, brands can leverage AI to tap into hyper-personalisation, and resonate with 45% of luxury travellers who like to be among the first to try new technologies.
Luxury Travel Market Research — What’s Inside?
Key Topics Analysed in this Report
- Overview of the luxury travel market, including an outlook for the next five years.
- Participation in luxury travel, and how to appeal to younger Germans and families as emerging target groups.
- Key luxury travel trends, including holiday destinations and types (nature-based getaways and cruises).
- The rising demand for luxury amenities and the motivations behind luxury travel, with a focus on how the desire for unique experiences shapes offers.
- Consumer attitudes and behaviours relating to luxury travel, highlighting the importance of personalisation, technology, and sustainability.
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
This report is written by Silvia Hondt, Senior Research Analyst. Silvia explores and writes about German consumer and market trends in the travel and leisure categories. Before joining Mintel, she worked in sports administration and tourism consulting. With her academic background in the field of tourism management, sports and health sciences, she adds significant knowledge of scientific research to her reports.
Amid lingering crises, younger Germans and families are growing target groups for luxury travel brands, who are reshaping luxury with experiential holidays and family celebrations.
Silvia Hondt
Senior Research Analyst
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Opportunities
- Outlook
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OPPORTUNITIES
- Navigate shifting consumer behaviour in times of rising prices
- Leverage the rising number of luxury travellers
- Turn luxury travel into the ultimate indulgent escape during challenging times
- Transfer mini-sized BPC luxury products to luxury travel
- Understand the new luxury travellers
- Diversify luxury holiday offers to resonate with an emerging young key target group
- Embrace kids as the next generation of luxury travellers
- Meet the new luxury wellness travellers
- Master the art of singularity
- Break away from tradition…
- …with bespoke holidays
- Revolutionise travel with hyper-personalised AI services
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CONSUMER
- The luxury traveller
- Mintel’s approach to defining the luxury traveller
- Overview of traveller segments in Germany
- Graph 1: traveller segments, 2022, 2025
- High prices are driving growth of the luxury travel segment
- Graph 2: luxury traveller segment, by financial situation, 2022/25
- Tap into emerging target groups: significant rise of luxury travellers aged 25-44…
- Graph 3: luxury traveller segment, by age, 2022/25
- …is fuelling demand for family luxury holidays
- Budgets for luxury holidays are increasing…
- Graph 4: planned spend on the most-expensive holiday in the next three years, by luxury travellers, 2022/25
- …but consumers are also cutting back on travel days
- Graph 5: length of the most expensive holiday planned in the next three years, by luxury travellers, 2022/25
- Luxury holiday destination
- Demand for domestic escapes and global adventures
- Graph 6: luxury travellers’ considered holiday destinations for the most-expensive holiday planned, 2022/25
- Quality can make a difference in domestic luxury travel
- Tap into trending luxury destinations: The Middle East
- Investing in digital advertising pays off…
- Graph 7: tourist authorities’ & convention and visitors bureaus’ digital ad spend, 2024-25
- …with diverse ad channels
- Graph 8: digital ad spend of brands, by device and format, 2024-25
- Abu Dhabi promotes its versatility with prominent support
- Luxury holiday type
- Embrace the simplicity of promoting beaches
- Graph 9: luxury travellers’ planned holiday types in the next three years, 2022/25
- Be inspired by the quiet luxury trend in fashion…
- …as sometimes promoting the beach is enough
- Focus on nature…
- …across different travel brands
- Cruises: broaden appeal…
- …among younger luxury travellers
- Luxury holiday amenities
- Luxury amenities gain popularity across travellers
- Graph 10: desired amenities for the most expensive holiday in the next three years, 2022, 2025
- Discover new brand values: innovative concepts outweigh star ratings
- Provide adventure-oriented luxury holidays to resonate with families
- Address parents and children as holiday destination decision-makers
- Create magical experiences for kids and parents alike
- Reasons to take a luxury holiday
- Travellers seek a treat
- Pamper five-star big-ticket spenders…
- Graph 11: reasons for planning the most expensive holiday in the next three years, by traveller segmentation, 2025
- …by making their journey a tribute to indulgence
- Create unique travel stories…
- …inspired by ‘A journey by Lufthansa’
- Showcase cultural elements
- Help younger luxury travellers focus on their health
- Time for celebrating parenthood
- Attitudes & behaviours
- Continue to combine convenience and individuality…
- Graph 12: luxury travellers who agree ‘I would prefer to book the most-expensive holiday I plan to take in the next 12 months as a package’, 2022/25
- Graph 13: luxury travellers who agree ‘I would pay more for holidays that are tailored to my needs than for standard holiday packages’, 2022/25
- …and tap into emerging tech to reduce planning efforts for personalised holidays
- Bring sustainability to the next level…
- Graph 14: agreement with ‘It is important to me that local populations benefit from tourism’, by traveller segmentation and age, 2025
- Graph 15: agreement with ‘I would like to do more to minimise my impact on the environment whilst travelling’, by traveller segmentation and age, 2025
- …with a holistic approach
- Embrace emerging luxury travel types…
- Graph 16: interest in taking a food-focused trip, by traveller segment, 2025
- Graph 17: interest in taking a luxury train holiday, 2025
- …and be inspired by luxury travel brands tapping into emerging trends
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MARKET DRIVERS
- The impact of the economy on luxury travel
- Inflation is slowing in some categories…
- …but prices for holidays continue to rise
- Graph 18: consumer price index (CPI), by selected travel categories, 2020-24
- Consumer spending remains cautious
- Well-off Germans are prioritising holidays
- Younger consumers are adapting to higher prices…
- Graph 19: agreement with ‘I feel better equipped to deal with the cost-of-living crisis than I did a year ago’, by age, 2025
- …and are in a better position to manage financial pressures
- International developments
- The influence of US politics on travel decisions
- Health and wellness
- Under-25s’ health is at the tipping point…
- Graph 20: perception of general health for a person of one’s own age (NET), by age, 2024*
- Graph 21: perception of general health for a person of one’s own age (NET), by age, 2024**
- …calling for luxury travel brands to provide help
- Tech
- AI as a game-changer in holiday planning and booking
- Human connection is needed
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APPENDIX
- Report scope and definitions
- Product covered – defining the luxury traveller
- Mintel’s approach to defining the luxury traveller
- Mintel’s definition of the luxury traveller segment
- Abbreviations
- Methodology – Consumer research
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
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