2025: the year we stopped waiting for package tours
For me 2025 was the year the traveller stopped being a passive buyer of a package and became the author of the trip — choosing the route, the dates and the experiences. AI, maps and social media are tools, not masters.
For me, 2025 was the year the traveller stopped being a passive buyer of a package. Before: you picked a tour, paid, and went where you were told. Now: you assemble the route, the dates and the experiences yourself. AI, maps and social media are tools, not masters.
I feel it in my own trips. Shanghai 'for tomorrow' — not because of some 'personalisation trend,' but because I wanted to and hit buy. Sustainable tourism has stopped being a buzzword: people choose more consciously where and how they go — less single-use plastic, more local. That makes sense.
Technology removed the barriers: a translator in your phone, a ticket in three clicks, reviews from real people instead of brochures. But the main thing isn't technology — it's the change of role. You're not 'tourist No. 847.' You're the author of your trip. 2025 proved it's possible: cheap, fast, spontaneous — if you don't put it off. 2026 is the sequel, just with fewer excuses.