Published on September 16, 2025
As world challenges proceed to power travel, tourism in America demonstrates singular resilience and adaptability, according to nan latest insights from MMGY’s 2025 Portrait of American Traveler Summer Edition. The research, conducted among 4 1000 5 100 US adults, reveals that contempt economical and geopolitical headwinds, leisure recreation remains a halfway priority, pinch important shifts successful really travelers research destinations and scheme their journeys.
One of nan standout trends is nan resurgence of road trips, which deed a decade high in popularity. Nearly two-thirds (sixty-four percent) of Americans undertook roadworthy trips successful nan past year, driven mostly by Millennials and Gen Xers pinch children seeking flexibility, affordability, and nostalgia. The iconic Pacific Coast Highway emerged arsenic nan astir celebrated route, underscoring location travel’s tie for family-friendly, accessible adventures that blend scenic beauty pinch section culture.
AI Technology Enters Mainstream Travel Planning
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into recreation readying marks a caller section for tourism successful nan US Around forty-two percent of leisure travelers now usage AI-powered devices for illustration ChatGPT to support travel preparation, a fourteen percent emergence from nan anterior year. While AI supplements accepted research, quality recommendations stay doubly arsenic trusted, illustrating really exertion enhances alternatively than replaces experiential insights.
Younger demographics, especially Gen Z and Millennials, are nan starring adopters. This displacement signifies increasing request for personalized, businesslike readying mechanisms that cater to circumstantial interests and lifestyles, reflecting broader integer translator trends successful the tourism industry.
Cannabis Tourism Expands arsenic a New Growth Sector
An emerging facet fueling American tourism is cannabis-related travel, pinch thirty-nine percent of US travelers expressing liking successful incorporating cannabis experiences into their vacations. The strongest request comes from Gen Z and Millennials, including galore who are not regular cannabis users, highlighting curiosity and desire for unique, replacement experiences. Popular activities specified arsenic visits to cannabis shops, tasting rooms, and farms position cannabis tourism arsenic a caller driver unsocial to compliant US states, diversifying destination entreaty and boosting localized economies.
Evolving Definitions of Luxury and Wellness Travel
Luxury recreation successful America is being redefined for 2025. More than one-third (thirty-four percent) of travelers now self-identify arsenic luxury consumers, yet preferences are shifting significantly. Spending connected accepted luxury accommodations and restaurants has declined, while premium airfare has go a nonnegotiable priority, indicating that travelers for illustration to put successful value carrier that enhances nan wide experience.
This inclination emphasizes nan increasing value of wellness, lifestyle, and elastic experiences complete conspicuous consumption. Travelers now activity meaningful, personalized journeys that merge health, well-being, and taste immersion, signaling opportunities for destinations to innovate successful wellness tourism offerings.
Family Travel and Diversity Shape Tourism Landscape
The study besides sheds ray connected family recreation and nan diverseness wrong nan American recreation market. Families stay a halfway segment, spearheading request for experiences that harvester relaxation pinch escapade and taste education. Increased diverseness among travelers prompts destinations to tailor trading and merchandise improvement to varied taste preferences and expectations.
These insights alteration tourism stakeholders to trade inclusive, responsive strategies that bespeak evolving demographics and manner aspirations, ensuring that destinations stay applicable and charismatic successful a competitory world market.
Tourism Industry Outlook: Adaptability Fuels Recovery
Overall, nan MMGY study depicts a tourism assemblage marked by alteration and resilience. Though anticipated spending and travel volume may soften somewhat done 2025 owed to ostentation and geopolitical concerns, nan committedness to recreation endures. Leisure recreation memories are weighted supra worldly purchases by seventy-six percent of respondents, underscoring nan affectional value that tourism holds successful modern American life.
Travel marketers are advised to expect fluctuating user behaviors and stress personalized, elastic experiences supported by technological innovation. Ability to pivot successful consequence to outer shocks will proceed to find occurrence successful nan tourism assemblage for nan remainder of nan twelvemonth and beyond.
MMGY Insights Guide a New Era of American Tourism
MMGY’s “Summer Edition” of Portrait of American Travelers offers landmark information that captures shifting values, technological adoption, and emerging trends successful US leisure travel. As communities crossed America wrestle pinch economical and societal change, nan evolving recreation behaviors uncover optimism and opportunity successful adjacent measure.
From a surge in road trips to nan ascent of AI readying tools, nan emergence of cannabis tourism, and nan redefinition of luxury travel, these dynamics supply a blueprint for destinations, recreation brands, and policymakers aiming to align offerings pinch modern traveler expectations and thrust sustainable tourism growth.