Travel News Stories in 2024 That May Impact Travel in 2025

 

Like every year, the travel industry had its challenges in 2024. Labour issues, airplanes falling apart and IT issues. For Canadians the low Canadian dollar made travel a more expensive venture. There was a rise in anti tourism feelings in some popular destinations, while other areas such as Jasper National Park in Alberta suffered a devastating wildfire. Despite all that people traveled in droves. In 2024 travel increased overall to almost pre-pandemic levels. There was significant growth in the cruise industry and a big increase in indigenous tourism. So, let’s look back at a few of the travel stories from last year that still may have a lingering effect on how people plan their vacations in 2025.

 

Airline Issues

Anyone who was a nervous flyer in 2024 certainly didn’t get any relief from a door plug that blew open on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9. Or having a United Airlines Boeing-777 lose one of its tires from the plane’s main landing gear seconds after takeoff from San Francisco airport. Those were just two of the issues Boeing faced in 2024 along with a labour strike that lasted more than 53 days. In Canada, Westjet also faced a strike by its unionized mechanics, including aircraft maintenance engineers. The strike led to the cancellation of over 800 flights.

On the IT side, the CrowdStrike IT outage in July affected more than 7,000 Delta flights and thousands more worldwide. The financial losses from those cancellations whether IT or labour related are in the hundreds of millions. Airlines will be looking to recoup those costs and unfortunately, it'll be the consumer that may bear the brunt of that cost in 2025. The impact on consumer confidence and damage to the industry’s image will also have a lasting effect. While the demand for air travel may not wane in 2025, flyer frustration with the airlines may continue to grow.

 

The Weak Canadian Dollar

Travel wasn’t cheap for Canadians heading to the US in 2024. The Canadian Dollar exchange rate on December 31, 2024, was 1.44 per US Dollar. At it’s peak the Looney traded at roughly 1.32 US back in January. That trend doesn’t look like it will dramatically reverse course soon.

While a weak Canadian dollar is bad news for Canadians traveling to the US and Europe, it’s good news for people coming to Canada as they take advantage of the exchange in their favor.

 

Anti-Tourism Backlash

Another story we saw last year was the rise of an anti-tourism. In 2024, numerous popular tourist destinations worldwide experienced significant backlash due to the adverse effects of overtourism. The resurgence of global travel post-pandemic led to overcrowding, strained local resources, and escalated living costs, prompting residents to protest and demand regulatory measures. One specific example was in Barcelona where tourists were being squirted by locals with water pistols. Other incidents included signage that was pointing visitors in the wrong direction or offering misinformation. Various destinations are implementing strategies in 2025 to promote sustainable tourism and alleviate pressures on local communities. These include increasing tourist taxes to manage visitor numbers and generate revenue for infrastructure improvements and implementing regulations on Short-Term Rentals. To reduce overcrowding during peak seasons, destinations will be promoting off-season travel in the coming year and developing lesser-known alternative attractions.

 

Jasper Wildfire and other Natural Disasters

The town of Jasper and Jasper National Park is back on its feet again and welcoming visitors. But the impact of the disastrous wildfire from last summer may linger into 2025 and beyond as the potential for sudden natural disasters might encourage travelers to research destinations extensively and make contingency plans accordingly. Areas prone to recurring natural disasters may experience decreased bookings as travelers opt for perceived safer alternatives. The need to have some sort of comprehensive travel insurance covering natural disasters and unexpected cancellations will increase and destinations and travel operators offering flexible booking and cancellation policies will be more attractive.

 

The Taylor Swift Effect

There is also this phenomenon of people traveling to destinations to enjoy specific events and there was no-one more popular than Taylor Swift. If you want to increase tourism, invite Taylor Swift to do a show. Cities hosting Swift's concerts experienced unprecedented hotel occupancy rates. Her performances in Toronto, Dublin, and Los Angeles led to record-breaking hotel bookings. The tour generated approximately $1 billion in additional hotel revenue across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Airlines noted a significant increase in demand to cities on the Eras Tour itinerary. There was also the Olympics last summer and other events that people went to. The total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, for example captivated millions across North America. Estimates suggest that between 1.8 million and 7.4 million individuals traveled to the path of totality to witness the eclipse.

Creating memorable moments with friends and family is part of what’s driving many travel trends. People want to enjoy experiences, whether it’s a concert, sporting event, cultural experience or food experience. And you can bet that’s a trend that will continue into 2025.

 

Of course, there were other travel stories and events that occurred, but these are the ones that come to mind and the ones I think will impact the way we travel in 2025.

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