Luxury Group by Marriott International released their 2025 report recently, which looks at the travel plans of high net worth (HNW) individuals in APAC for the upcoming year, and analyses travel trends. According to this report, the affluent traveller of 2025 is the intentional one — an individual that prioritises meaningful travel, with purpose. Whether that purpose is to eat in good food, connect with their families, or to nurture their fatigued minds, affluent travellers have approached their every trip with deliberation and care.

To conduct this report, Luxury Group by Marriott reached out to the wealthest 10% of residents in Australia, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, with 1,750 respondents participating, 250 from each market 

In last year’s report, the Marriott International revealed that gastronomy was the top driver of travel. Perhaps unsurprisingly (to the average Singaporean), this fact remains unchanged in 2025. 

However, a notable change was the greater expectation for personalisation. 9 in 10 respondents expect every detail of their trip to be tailored, from the type of hotel rooms and menus, to the activities that they engage in. Affluent travellers are also increasingly doing their own research, and relying more on online sources rather than personal recommendations. Notably, 1 in 5 travellers now utilise artificial intelligence to help craft their luxury travel plans, signalling a greater desire to have personal input into every bit of one’s itinerary.

Furthermore, more travellers are packing their days with activities, to create curated, intentional experiences that they can look back on fondly.

This greater desire for personalised, full days while overseas, may be a reflection of a desire to maximise their budgets, due to economic related concerns earlier this year. After all, the report also mentions that most HNW travellers of 2025 are planning fewer trips and shorter international stays. 

On average, affluent travellers areplanning 6 domestic and 4 international leisure trips in the next 12 months, with domestic short stays increasing in length and long international trips decreasing in length. To add to this, 78% and 86% of travellers mix business with leisure when travelling internationally and domestically respectively, reflecting a desire to maximise their every trip. 

Of all high net worth respondents, those from Singapore and Indonesia are planning to travel overseas the most, with Australia, Indonesia and Singapore also showing the greatest intent to increase their investment into premium experiences.

Alternatively, the report posits that the trend of more personalised, packed travel plans is reflective of a change in mindset, as people become more emotionally invested in travel, and therefore aim to make more intentional choices. 

In one case, individuals increasingly want to connect, and do so deeply, to the places that they visit, whether it is by shopping local, participating in meaningful cultural activities, or learning about the history of the space. Nature is also a huge priority for individuals, with 92% of respondents wanting to be close to nature and half of all respondents wanting to see breathtaking locations. To fulfil all their goals, packing the day is only natural.

One fifth of the travellers reconnecting with nature aim to do so with their families. This is not a trend exclusive to nature travels, as families as a whole remain a robust travel group, with half of respondents planning to go overseas with their immediate family. 

The report attributes this persevering trend as a desire to spend time meaningfully with loved ones, bringing back memories that are inherently cherished.These individuals are also willing to spend more when travelling with their families, with 47% of them willing to do so, as compared to 28% of individuals willing to splurge on trips with their partners, 10% with just their children, 9% with friends, and 6% when travelling solo. 

With this increased investment into connections with the place and people, 93% of affluent travellers prefer to return to counties they have visited before and loved. This has also resulted in new markets becoming popular, such as Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Cambodia emerging on the top 10 most planned destinations — alongside familiar favourites of Australia, Japan, and Mainland China — as they allow for convenient regional access, allowing people to have their cake (fresh destinations) and eat it (returning to beloved locales).

Another strong motivator is wellness travel. Travellers are looking to be more deliberate and intentional with their travels, and investing into enriching wellness experiences are one way to do so. 90% of travellers cite wellness experiences as a key factor in their travel decisions, an increase of 10% from the previous year. Asia emerges quite naturally as a top destination for wellness journeys, with two thirds of respondents planning to travel there. 

Holistic wellness experiences are most popular, such as ones that include aspects of reconnecting with nature, like forest immersions; ones that center the body, such as nutrition programmes; and more spiritual programmes such as sound healing. Wellness retreats and spa getaways have also increased by 7% as compared to the year before.

Getaways as a whole are increasingly popular among affluent travellers. Besides wellness related ones, countryside getaways and safari travellers have also increased in popularity, with around 3 in 10 of respondents having plans to engage in one. 

However, these travellers still expect luxury touchpoints, such as with their accommodations, and environmentally friendly decisions. 91% of affluent travellers say that environmental practices could influence their decisions, with around half saying that they look out for vegetarian or vegan menus, healthy food options, or eco-conscious practices. 

“Luxury travelers are now more intentional than ever before,” says Oriol Montal, Regional Vice President, Luxury, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International. “They are seeking journeys that align with their values, enhance wellbeing, and deliver deep personal meaning.”

As travel continues to evolve in 2025, it’s clear that luxury is no longer defined by extravagance alone. For Asia’s affluent travellers, meaning, mindfulness, and memory-making are becoming more significant indicators of a worthwhile journey, espeically as people’s priorities shift amind a tumultuous geopolitical landscape.