2025: Asia will be the most popular destination for American tourists

According to travel experts, American tourists can still find deals when they travel abroad, especially to Asia-Pacific countries thanks to the advantage of the rising value of the US dollar...

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According to Skyscanner, a company that collects international travel and aviation data, airfare and hotel costs will be the two main factors leading to Americans' travel destination decisions in 2025.

A Skyscanner survey conducted across the United States found that about 51% of respondents said they would choose a destination based on airfare priority and 50% said hotel costs were an important factor in deciding where to travel.

Based on the average consumer price index in the US, Skyscanner concluded that the cost of travel for Americans is increasing significantly.

Airfares rose an average of 8% year-over-year in December 2024, while hotel costs rose 2%. However, travel experts say American travelers can still find deals when traveling abroad, especially to countries in the Asia-Pacific region, thanks to the strong dollar and preferential travel policies of destination countries.

Recent analysis by online travel platform Kayak found that airfares for international trips from the U.S. are forecast to decline 4% in 2025 compared to 2024; about two-thirds of all flight searches for 2025 are for international flights.

In contrast, according to Kayak, airfares for domestic flights in the US in 2025 are estimated to increase by 3% compared to 2024.

Kayak's analysis looked at internal search data on the company's online sales platform from May 1, 2024, through October 31, 2024, for trips departing in 2025.

Similarly, statistics from travel website Hopper show that domestic airfares in the US were about 12% higher in January 2025 than they were a year ago. Prices are expected to remain higher than 2023 and 2024 levels until at least the second half of this year.

“Overall, 2025 will be a more expensive year for domestic travel in the US,” said Hayley Berg, chief economist at Hopper. This is largely due to the fact that domestic flights in the US will be cheaper in 2024, as airlines have “thrown a lot of seats” into the market, Berg said.

Assessing the outlook for international travel, Berg said long-haul fares from the U.S. to Europe, South America, Oceania and Asia were stable or lower at the start of the year. “Of course, a trip abroad will likely be more expensive than a trip closer to home,” she said.

But Hopper data shows that the average round-trip airfare within the US in January 2025 is around $300, not much lower than the $685 to South America, $750 to Europe and around $1,100 to Asia.

Travel to Asia will continue to be a dominant trend for American travelers in 2025. Ms. Berg said that travel to Asia will continue to be a “good deal” for American travelers in 2025. The average airfare to the continent in 2025 is expected to decrease by 7% compared to 2024.

Among Asian markets, Kayak said Tokyo is the most searched international destination on its platform for travel in 2025. Similar to Asia, travel to the Caribbean is also now the cheapest it has been in three years, with airfares down 17% from 2024, according to Kayak. Average hotel prices abroad and in the U.S. are similar to 2024, according to Kayak.

Advertised hotel room rates in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to be 11% lower in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to Lighthouse, a hotel market research firm.

Hotel prices will vary widely across the globe, depending on the location and its popularity, with Paris, London and some areas in Asia such as Tokyo and Bangkok expected to “reflect high demand,” said Melanie Fish, vice president of global public relations at travel company Expedia Group.

“Meanwhile, emerging destinations or places that are less crowded may be more affordable,” she said. Another factor that benefits American travelers when traveling abroad is the strength of the U.S. dollar against many other international currencies. Based on this criteria, Argentina, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and Hungary are among the top destinations where Americans can spend the most, “making activities, dining and lodging more budget-friendly,” Fish said.

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