D/R DOWNLOAD 2.28

What’s Trending

01/ On Google

• “Modern Beach Vacation Rentals” trended +60% this week, indicating that travelers are beginning to plan for spring and summer beach vacations. 

02/ With Media

• This week, media were interested in sleep tourism trends, the best boutique hotels for families for spring break, “The Traitors” inspired vacations, celestial or zodiac-inspired travel experiences, and more. 

03/ In the Zeitgeist

• NBCUniversal secured a 10-year deal for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, locking in broadcast and streaming rights for the famed event, plus two additional holiday specials. 

• Despite the rise of Chinese-owned DeepSeek, U.S.-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT continues to grow, with 400 million weekly active users as of February. Experts believe ChatGPT outperforms DeepSeek in accuracy, performance, and security, with concerns over DeepSeek’s data privacy impacting its appeal.

Industry Insights

• The influx of tourism generated by The White Lotus could overwhelm destinations like Thailand’s Koh Samui, underscoring the need for a more responsible approach to trending luxury tourism promotion in travel media.

• According to Squaremouth, spring break travel costs are hitting a record high in 2025, soaring to an average of $8,306 – double 2019 prices and up 26% from last year.

• With the rise of subscription-based tourism, airlines, cruise lines, and luxury travel brands are now offering "all-you-can-travel" passes, which allow travelers to pay a fixed fee for unlimited flights, cruises, or hotel stays within a designated timeframe.

• Travelers are embracing “taste hunting,” centering trips around viral dishes and local specialties, as social media influences a shift from fine dining to shareable foodie adventures.

• The "icescape" travel trend offers winter escapes to serene, snowy destinations where travelers can enjoy cozy luxury accommodations, peaceful landscapes, and relaxing activities at more affordable prices than peak season.

• Travelers are embracing unique "moons" like retirementmoons, babymoons, and memoons to mark transformative life transitions, emphasizing meaningful experiences.

• Solo travel continues to trend with a 90% growth in searches for solo spring travel, specifically focused on soft travel, with the average stay being 17 nights.

• Safety and welcoming atmospheres are a priority for Black travelers, who spent $145 billion and accounted for 11% of the U.S. leisure travel market in 2023. These numbers are expected to grow, with 76% of Black travelers planning to take a domestic vacation in 2025. 

• Carnival Cruise Line announced an update to its age policy, requiring all solo travelers to be at least 21 years old, while guests 20 and younger must be accompanied by someone over 25.

• The airline industry has had a strong start in 2025, with global passenger demand increasing by 10% over the last year.

• The Four Seasons unveiled a 20-day private jet tour inspired by The White Lotus, which visits all three filming locations plus five additional destinations.

The Good

• Patagonia is standing up to protect public lands in light of news that the Trump administration has potential plans to lease or sell 640 million acres of public lands, which are essential to America’s cultural, ecological, and economic well-being.

The Bad

• Meta apologized for an "error" after Instagram users reported disturbing and graphic content being recommended on their feeds. The company fixed the issue, acknowledging that the content – which was labeled as "sensitive" – should not have been suggested.