Long-Haul Travel Barometer 3/2025
At a glance
- Weakness concentrated in key markets: China, Brazil and Canada show increased reluctance among travellers to undertake long-distance journeys.
- Economic uncertainty and evolving preferences are driving a cautious shift in consumer travel behaviour and decision-making patterns.
What the report covers
The ETC's Long-Haul Travel Barometer tracks travel intentions and sentiment among overseas markets toward Europe. This third edition monitors demand from seven major markets, measuring both long-haul travel propensity and specific European destination appeal. Published in 2026 but covering 2025 travel plans, the barometer serves NTOs, DMOs and travel operators as a strategic early-warning tool for shifts in outbound demand and consumer confidence during an economically uncertain period.
Key findings
Long-haul travel intentions have contracted across the surveyed markets. The report finds that 55% of respondents plan to undertake overseas trips between September and December 2025, representing a 4 percentage point decline from the prior year's equivalent period. This softening suggests growing hesitancy among international travellers regarding long-distance journeys, likely linked to economic pressures and shifting consumer priorities.
Demand weakness is unevenly distributed geographically. China, Brazil and Canada emerge as markets where traveller reluctance to book long-haul trips is particularly acute, indicating that regional economic conditions or market-specific factors are amplifying caution. The report does not provide granular figures for these individual markets within the publicly available summary.
Europe's appeal has proven more durable than global long-haul trends would suggest. Despite the overall contraction, 38% of respondents from the seven tracked overseas markets indicate plans to visit Europe in the survey period. This relative resilience implies that European destinations retain competitive advantages in brand perception, safety or value proposition compared to alternative long-haul regions.
Underlying drivers of demand softness combine macro and behavioural factors. The report attributes weakening intentions to economic uncertainties—suggesting cost sensitivity and confidence concerns—alongside evolving travel preferences, signalling that consumer priorities around destination type, trip length or travel style are shifting independently of price.
Why it matters
DMOs & destinations
The 4-point contraction in long-haul demand signals urgent need for destination repositioning in source markets. European DMOs benefit from relative resilience (38% intent), but must capitalise quickly on this advantage while competitors face sharper declines. Strategic focus on safety assurance, value messaging and flexible booking terms will differentiate offerings in a cautious marketplace.
Hotels & hospitality
Reduced long-haul bookings pressure occupancy and pricing power, particularly in properties dependent on intercontinental guests. The barometer's weakness in China, Brazil and Canada signals revenue exposure in those source segments. Hotels should prepare inventory flexibility, dynamic pricing strategies and partnerships with DMOs to support demand-generation initiatives targeting the resilient Europe segment.
Travel tech & distribution
Softening long-haul demand and consumer caution favour platforms emphasising transparency, flexible cancellation and dynamic packaging. The barometer's insight into regional weakness (China, Brazil, Canada) enables better targeting and personalisation. Tech players should prioritise tools that address traveller confidence gaps—real-time safety data, flexible rebooking—to capture market share in a segmented, hesitant environment.
Methodology and limits
This brief is based on the publicly available summary only; the full report text could not be retrieved. The barometer appears to be a survey of travel intentions among respondents in seven major overseas markets, tracking their propensity to undertake long-haul travel and specific interest in Europe for the September–December 2025 period. Figures reflect survey respondent intentions, not observed bookings or outturn. The 4 percentage point decline is measured year-on-year. Market-specific findings (China, Brazil, Canada) are mentioned qualitatively without granular figures in the available summary.
The source document could not be retrieved when this brief was written: it is based on the report's public metadata and abstract only. Check the official source for the full findings.
Official source
The report is © European Travel Commission (ETC). This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel — it quotes only figures published in the source and never reproduces the document.
Check the official statistics on Pulse
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