While this summer promises to be another busy one for Europe travel, there are indications that visitors are increasingly shifting to more off-the-beaten-path destinations, responding to the industry’s efforts in recent years to help lessen overcrowding in popular cities.
Virtuoso booking data, for instance, shows a number of trending destinations that are typically less traveled than major cities like London, Paris and Rome.
Based on travel already booked for June, July and August, the European destination with the most year-over-year sales growth for Virtuoso is Slovenia. The destination is up 473%, a spike Virtuoso attributes to holding its annual Chairman’s Event for top producers in the country last year.
A number of other European destinations are also enjoying increased sales this summer, with Croatia, Malta, Turkey, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary all up by triple digits and Montenegro and Germany seeing double-digit growth.
Travelers also seem to be following another trend that’s emerged lately as summers in Europe have been particularly hot: traveling to cooler destinations. Virtuoso said summer bookings to Scandinavia, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are up 263% year over year.
Drew Daly
Drew Daly, senior vice president and general manager of Dream Vacations, said the network’s Europe bookings are “very strong” in 2025 compared with last year.
Demand is growing for river cruises, Daly said, which also offer travelers a chance to visit less-touristed destinations over the course of their itinerary.
“River cruising is seeing more growth as the demand for more enriching and cultural experiences continue to emerge,” Daly said. “Consumers like the intimacy of the product along with the connectedness to the towns and the people when you visit.”
At Travel Leaders Network, tours have resurged this year, according to president John Lovell. Overall, land sales are up 9% compared with the same time period last year, when land sales were essentially flat compared with 2023.
John Lovell
The touring and FIT segment is leading the way under the banner of land sales, up 23% year over year (fun-and-sun sales are up 1.5% and theme parks 8%).
Lovell said the resurgence of touring, in particular, indicates travelers visiting places that are more off-the-beaten-path.
“Touring is typically outside of some of those major hubs,” Lovell said. “You’re out in the countryside. You’re going from city to city in a more dispersed fashion.”
For Travel Leaders in particular, destinations like the countrysides of Ireland and Scotland are “doing extremely well,” Lovell said.
Melissa Cohn, owner of a Dream Vacations franchise on New York’s Long Island, said Italy remains a popular destination for her clients this summer, which she finds surprising given that it’s virtually guaranteed to be more crowded this year: The Catholic Church is celebrating Jubilee, a Holy Year that occurs every 25 years and is expected to draw millions to the country.
Melissa Cohn
But Cohn is seeing more interest in Switzerland, which isn’t typical, she said. Clients also want to visit places where they have ancestral ties, such as Sicily.
For Julie Sommer, owner of Brownell affiliate Jewel Travel Co. in Jersey City, N.J., Europe is always her clients’ top-requested summer destination — but their priorities are shifting, in part because she offers them “immersive, off-the-beaten-path” options.
Julie Sommer
“Demand is super-strong, but people are just being more intentional about their choices,” she said. “Maybe they’re not including every place in Italy that they want to go to, and staying at certain off-the-beat places a little bit longer and getting more of an authentic feel. Maybe not mixing countries as much.”
For instance, Greece remains a hot destination for Sommer, but instead of Santorini and Mykonos, she’s seeing interest in islands like Milos and Paros. With the Jubilee in Rome this year, clients are interested in the north of Italy, like Lake Como and Portofino, as well as Puglia in the south and the island of Sardinia. In France, Normandy — recently described to her as “the Hamptons of France,” where locals go on the weekend — is trending.
Sommer’s clients are increasingly interested in shoulder-season travel to Europe, too.
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Publish date : 2025-02-18 21:00:00
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