The demand for domestic travel is also expected to keep growing throughout the year, driven by several factors. In the first place, there is a desire to reduce emissions and ease the burden on overcrowded tourist hubs. The affordability of domestic travel also plays a role in this shift as more time for sightseeing and less time for travel appeal to travellers with tighter budgets and fewer vacation days. In large countries with varied travel options such as the United States, Brazil, India, China and Australia, this is especially true. Some spots are also attracting travellers for the so-called effect of last-chance tourism, which prompts people to visit glaciers, coral reefs or national parks altered by climate change before they are gone forever. Concerns around climate change have also influenced the way travellers appreciate nocturnal travel, also known as noctourism, to encourage less light pollution and preserve flora and fauna during stellar experiences. Corporate travel has made a strong comeback, with 2024 numbers nearing pre-COVID levels. Despite rising travel costs, people are again on the move as global inflation starts to ease, companies push return-to-office policies and pandemic travel restrictions fade away. Moreover, business and leisure travel keep blending thanks to advanced bleisure travel policies.

Concerns about over-tourism are also on the minds of travellers and locals alike. The advent of social media has given travellers the ability to more easily discover lesser-known destinations to avoid overcrowding at famous tourist sites that have outgrown their infrastructure capabilities, such as Oaxaca, Venice or Bali. Locals are increasingly pushing back, with residents and officials struggling to handle large crowds, rising costs of living and, at times, disrespectful behaviour towards tourist sites and monuments. Measures such as tourist taxes, bans on cruise ships, restrictions on Airbnb rentals and anti-tourism protests, reflect a general shift toward more sustainable travel practices but also represent potential new barriers to movement.

Eco-friendly destinations remain very popular among travellers thanks to increased awareness about problems surrounding climate change. As climate change continues, it also pushes some countries to start considering new border delineations, both geographically and politically, to manage the environmental challenges. Discussions in Switzerland and Italy over the redrawing of their shared border due to melting glaciers are one example of this. Rising sea levels also pose serious legal challenges for small island nations, including the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Dominica. 

There is no doubt sustainability plays a huge role in the travel and tourism sectors. Tourism alone is responsible for eight percent of the world’s carbon emissions. While we seem to have all the tools to study and analyse the effects of emissions on the environment, it is time the sector’s actors start moving these numbers down.