Why British holidaymakers are choosing more 'meaningful' overseas trips

13 June 2025, 13:26 | Updated: 13 June 2025, 14:39

This summer, British travellers are flipping the script for their holidays.

At GetYourGuide, a leading platform to discover and book travel experiences that has sold 200 million tickets to date, our latest booking data reveals a fascinating paradox. While Brits are venturing further afield to discover hidden gems internationally, they're simultaneously embracing deeper, more meaningful experiences closer to home.

Where there was travel to tried and true destinations and lining up to visit iconic attractions and landmarks, there’s now more passion-based travel to unusual locations, with an interest in immersive, smaller group activities.

This shift reflects a broader cultural transformation towards travel that champions connection over commerce.

Our recent research found that 44 per cent of people travel for their passions and interests, dovetailed by a rise in the “hobby holiday.”

You see the shift in what Brits are booking: far more private guided tours and workshops.

And that makes sense.

If you’re travelling for connection, private tours give us a more intimate experience of a destination. We can ask more questions, get more bespoke information, and connect with others more easily. At GetYourGuide, 84% of the comments left in reviews are for guided experiences — and of those, 98%(!) cite the guide as a highlight of the experience.

Workshops as well are inherently participatory. They are the antithesis of passive observation, of taking a selfie and moving on. I’ve done this myself; just last year, I spent two weeks learning French in Aix en Provence. Our customers in the UK are shaping this trend. They’re choosing to make waffles in Amsterdam, roll pasta in Florence, and even make knives in Tokyo.

A big driver of this is a desire to choose culture over crowds. We’ve all seen the news. British travellers understand that a crowded destination will impact the way they experience a place. Launching at a pivotal moment, the All Art. No Crowd. campaign addresses a growing concern with overcrowding among travellers, institutions, and destinations alike. Simon Kucher did some really insightful research that showed that a fifth of travellers are cancelling trips due to overcrowded destinations.

This trend extends beyond individual preferences to reshape entire travel patterns. We’ve seen the biggest increases in travel to destinations like Sarandë in Albania, and Berat—the UNESCO-listed "City of a Thousand Windows"— which have each experienced four-fold growth on our platform. These aren't your typical selfie hotspots; they're places where people go to experience something new.

Trending destinations also include regional gems. Chester is the fastest growing domestic destination on our platform for the British traveller, and has seen bookings surge by more than ten times compared to last year. We don’t have to travel far to be awed.

The industry is responding innovatively too, especially in the UK. As part of our recent "All Art, No Crowd" initiative to offer intimate museum experiences before opening hours, London’s own Tate Modern led that campaign. And, there’s a growing opportunity for smart destinations, tour guides and operators to evolve our industry to a more experience-based economy.

I’m speaking to a group of EU-policymakers alongside some experience providers later this month to show how we can leverage data, insights and a changing travel culture to enrich local economies.

What excites me most about these trends is what they reveal: we’re moving away from holiday-as-escape and toward holiday-as-enrichment. Holiday time is some of the most precious time we have. We don’t just want to tick a box — we want it to leave an impression, to transform us.

British travellers are signalling that the most rewarding journeys don’t just take us away–they bring us closer to what we love.

As an industry, it’s our job to help make those journeys possible.

Anna Cashman is Head of B2B Brand & Insights at GetYourGuide, where she spearheads the biannual Travel Experiences Trend Tracker report and works with destinations worldwide to evolve the way they engage with the modern traveler.

Cities Ranked by Year-Over-Year Growth in Bookings from UK Travellers (GetYourGuide bookings data from UK travelers from April and May 2024 v. April and May 2025)

1. Chester, England
   Growth: More than 10x increase
   Known For: Roman history, medieval city walls, Tudor-style architecture, and landmarks like Chester Cathedral and the Rows shopping galleries.
   
2. Faliraki, Greece
   Growth: Nearly 8x increase
   Known For: Sandy beaches,n bvibrant nightlife, water parks, and family-friendly resorts on Rhodes Island.
   
3. Sarandë, Albania
   Growth: More than 5x increase
   Known For: Stunning beaches, UNESCO site Butrint, and the Blue Eye spring along the Ionian Sea.
   
4. Loucha, Greece
   Growth: Nearly 5x increase
   Known For: Traditional stone houses, untouched by tourism, and scenic vineyards on Zakynthos Island.
   
5. Hammamet, Tunisia
   Growth: Nearly 4x increase
   Known For: Sandy beaches, historical medina, luxury resorts, and vibrant nightlife on the Mediterranean coast.
   
6. Hiroshima, Japan
   Growth: Nearly 4x increase
   Known For: Peace Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Dome, and Itsukushima Shrine in southwestern Honshu.
   
7. Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
   Growth: Nearly 4x increase
   Known For: Port wine cellars, scenic riverfront views, and cable cars across the Douro River from Porto.
   
8. Berat, Albania
   Growth: Nearly 4x increase
   Known For: Ottoman-era architecture, UNESCO World Heritage status, and "City of a Thousand Windows."
   
9. Bari, Italy
   Growth: More than tripled
   Known For: Historic old town, Basilica of Saint Nicholas, and vibrant port city on the Adriatic Sea.
   
10. Albufeira, Portugal
    Growth: More than tripled
    Known For: Stunning beaches, lively nightlife, and historic old town in the Algarve region.
    

The UK’s top ten most booked workshops and classes on GetYourGuide (source; GetYourGuide)

1. Traditional Dutch Syrup Waffle Making Workshop – Amsterdam, Netherlands
   
2. Pasta Cooking Class with Unlimited Wine – Florence, Italy
   
3. Pasta & Tiramisu Class with Fine Wine by the Vatican – Rome, Italy
   
4. Cooking Class, Market and Thai Herbs Garden Tour – Chiang Mai, Thailand
   
5. Vietnamese Coffee Culture and Coffee Making – Hoi An, Vietnam
   
6. Pasta Making Class with Wine, Limoncello, and Dessert – Rome, Italy
   
7. Mini Perfume Workshop – Paris, France
8. Basket Boat with Lantern-Making & Cooking Class Tour – Hoi An, Vietnam
9. Roe and Co Distillery Cocktail Workshop Experience – Dublin, Ireland
   
10. Tea Ceremony in a Traditional Tea House – Kyoto, Japan