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ITB Berlin 2025: The future of the travel experience and YouTube’s influence on tourism

ITB Berlin, Germany

Germany – At day two of ITB Berlin 2025 industry leaders highlighted the rise of immersive experiences, increasing demand for private and VIP tours among affluent consumers and the growing role of digital media in destination discovery.

In a keynote on The Future of Travel Experiences, Douglas Quinby, CEO of Arival, emphasised the evolving desires of younger travellers. ‘It’s not enough to see or hear – they want to touch, taste and feel. They want to be co-creators in the travel experience,’ he said.

He also explained the growth of luxury and experience-led travel is particularly driven by affluent travellers earning over £116,500 ($150,000, €139,200) per year. Quinby noted that the top 10% of US earners now account for 50% of consumer spending. Among US travellers, this group’s share of experience and tour bookings has risen from 34% in 2019 to 46% in 2024. Demand for private and VIP experiences is also surging, with private tour bookings increasing from 17% in 2018 to 47% in 2024.

YouTube’s head of culture and trends, Roya Zeitoune, discussed the platform’s role in travel planning, revealing that 73% of travellers use YouTube as a search tool before booking – making it the second most-used search platform, 20% ahead of its closest competitor. In addition, 54% of users prefer to watch content before experiencing a destination. Zeitoune highlighted YouTube’s ability to provide diverse perspectives, connect niche communities and blend exploration with research and expression. She also pointed to AI’s role in merging fantasy and reality, fuelling trends such as set-jetting and tour-ism, where travellers seek out locations inspired by pop culture and media.

For more insights on how Gen Z are reshaping travel search, explore our TikTok Travels Agents report. For a deeper look at tv-inspired tourism, check out Pop Culture Pilgrimages.

Strategic opportunity

Create engaging, hands-on, multi-sensory content on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, bringing destinations to life through vivid storytelling, immersive visuals and rich soundscapes. Showcase the flavours of local cuisine, the textures of cultural crafts and the atmosphere of unique locations – allowing travellers to feel the experience before they even book their holidays

Saint Laurent opens Sushi Park inside Parisian flagship store

Saint Laurent Rive Droite Sushi Park, Paris, France

France – Saint Laurent is expanding its footprint in the world of luxury hospitality with the opening of Sushi Park Paris, an intimate omakase dining experience in the basement of its newly renovated Rive Droite flagship store on Rue Saint-Honoré.

The restaurant is the first outpost of Sushi Park, the Los Angeles-based omakase – a formal Japanese dining experience that involves direct interactions with the chef – founded by chef Peter Park in 2006. Known for its unassuming strip mall location and A-list clientele, the original Sushi Park has long been a favourite of Saint Laurent’s creative director, Anthony Vaccarello.

With dark wood interiors, waxed concrete, steel, lantern lighting and glazed ceramics by Daeyong Kim, the Paris location offers a seasonal tasting menu that merges haute couture with high-end gastronomy. The restaurant’s launch was unveiled through a short film directed by Pierre-Ange Carlotti and starring model Lourdes Leon and musician Saint Levant.

In our Luxury States: New Codes of Luxury 2024–2025 macrotrend, we analysed how brands must become Tastemaker Brands – thinking of themselves as multi-faceted personas and engines of culture and taste.

Strategic opportunity

Position your brand as an arbiter of culture by curating exclusive experiences that reflect a distinct aesthetic, community and lifestyle

Stat: Podcasting goes visual as viewers embrace video-first formats

Dyson OnTrac noise-cancelling headphones, Global

Global – YouTube has surpassed 1bn monthly podcast viewers, reinforcing its position as a key player in the podcast sector and intensifying competition with Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

YouTube is now the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the US, according to Edison Research, and the platform’s success underlines a growing consumer preference for video-first podcasting. More than 400m hours of podcast content were watched on living room devices in 2024 (source: YouTube).

In response, Spotify is accelerating its investment in video podcasting, having begun paying top video hosts in late 2024. But YouTube’s ad revenue-sharing model continues to attract creators at scale. To further enhance user experience and monetisation, YouTube will implement new mid-roll ad placements from 12 May 2025, ensuring ads appear at natural breaks rather than disrupting conversations.

Head to our Streaming’s New Frontier report for more insights into how platforms are evolving beyond binge-watching to capture audiences – and keep them subscribed.

Strategic opportunity

Rethink your brand’s podcast strategy to embrace video-first formats that use visual storytelling to deepen engagement, attract ad revenue and future-proof content for an audience that increasingly watches podcasts