Asia's Travel Surge Drives Moderate Global Growth
Skift Take
Key Points
- The Skift Travel Health Index for January 2025 indicates a 2% increase in global travel industry performance, driven significantly by the Asia-Pacific region.
- Asia-Pacific leads the index with a 6% rise, driven by factors such as strategic tourism campaigns and relaxed visa policies, and is expected to account for 50% of global air passenger growth over the next 15 years.
- Thailand anticipates 40 million international visitors in 2025, reflecting a strong recovery and growth in regional travel demand.
Summary
The Skift Travel Health Index for January 2025 shows a slight increase in global travel industry performance, with the index rising by 2% from the previous year. The Asia-Pacific region is leading this growth with a 6% increase, driven by factors like strategic tourism campaigns and relaxed visa policies. The region is expected to dominate future growth, accounting for half of global air passenger increases over the next 15 years, with Thailand projecting 40 million international visitors in 2025.
The Skift Travel Health Index for January 2025 reveals that the travel industry’s performance rose slightly, with the index at 102, indicating a 2% increase from a year earlier. 2024 was a landmark year for travel, during which the industry set new post-pandemic benchmarks.
We anticipate this trend to continue, with moderate growth in overall travel performance throughout 2025.
The Asia-Pacific region stands out, leading the index with a 6% rise in travel performance in January 2025. The region has consistently led the Travel Health Index since last year, a trend corroborated by our data partner, Amadeus.
It recently published its Travel Trends 2025 report, which highlights 'Asia Uplift' as a top trend for this year. In 2025, Asia is poised to re-establish itself as a premier travel destination, the report says.
Skift Travel Health Index Score by Region
| Region | Jan-25 |
|---|---|
| Asia-Pacific | 106 |
| Europe | 100 |
| Latin America | 104 |
| Middle East and Africa | 95 |
| North America | 101 |
The key statistics driving this trend are as follows:
- Over the next 15 years, the Asia-Pacific region will be responsible for 50% of global air passenger growth.
- The global share of leisure travel spending by people in the region is expected to go from 29% in 2023 to 35% in 2025.
- Thailand is expecting 40 million international visitors in 2025, up from 36 million in 2024.
Strong domestic and intraregional travel are driving growth. Strategic tourism campaigns, growing consumer demand, and relaxed visa policies are also contributing.
Overall, the Skift Travel Health Index indicates that the global travel industry is poised for moderate growth. The Asia-Pacific region will likely continue its dominance, and with other markets also showing slight year-on-year growth, 2025 is expected to be a year of steady progress.
Read the Skift Travel Health Index: January 2025 Highlights for a country and sector level analysis.
The Skift Travel Health Index is a real-time measure of the performance of the travel industry at large, and the core verticals within it, which provides the travel industry with a powerful tool for strategic planning. We have been tracking travel for 22 of the largest global economies since 2020, with consistent monthly data inputs across 88 indicators that are aggregated to cover categories such as aviation, hotels, short-term rentals, and car rentals.
Read The January 2025 Highlights for more insights and the Travel Health Index dashboard to visualize the data.
Photo Credit: Kyoto, Japan unsplash.com / Andre Benz
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