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ITB Berlin 2025: Digital wallets and India’s rapid outbound tourism growth

ITB Berlin, Germany

Germany – Digital identities and India’s rapid outbound tourism growth are hot topics for ITB Berlin 2025.

During the Digital Identity in Travel panel, Vikas Bhola, CEO of Neoke and Annet Steenbergen, advisor at the EU Digital Wallet Consortium examined the transformative impact of the EU Digital Identity Wallet. ‘The future of travel is being ready to fly from the comfort of your home,’ said Bhola.

The wallet aims to streamline processes by consolidating personal identification, travel documents and credentials, making border control, hotel check-ins and airline procedures more efficient and secure. ‘The future is agentic,’ Bhola concluded, emphasising the shift toward traveller autonomy and decentralised ownership through digital identity.

A panel discussion about the rising influence of India in global travel highlighted the country’s position as a top-five outbound travel market. With passport ownership tripling to 90m since 2010 and online travel sales expected to reach 66% by 2028, Indian travellers are increasingly seeking personalised, culturally relevant experiences. ‘For India, the world is becoming an oyster and the future belongs to the brands that are prepared,’ noted Yogeesh Chandra, chief strategy officer at RateGain.

Indian consumers are becoming more affluent and aspirational, driven by social media influence and trust markers. Convenience is central, with visa-free, short-haul destinations such as Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and UAE seeing the highest growth, followed by travel to the UK and Germany for family visits.

For more insights on the growing number of affluent Indian consumers check out our Gen Z in India and State of Luxury: India reports.

Strategic opportunity

Convenience is key – AI-driven personalisation and seamless booking will define the future. Businesses must simplify journeys with automated trip planning, predictive pricing and mobile-first experiences to meet evolving traveller expectations

Foresight Friday: Alice Crossley, senior foresight analyst

Every Friday, we wrap up the topics, issues, ideas and viral moments everyone’s been discussing. This week, senior foresight analyst Alice Crossley critiques Pretty Little Thing’s rebrand and questions whether technology can help save the planet-polluting fashion industry.

: Fast fashion retailer Pretty Little Thing has undergone a rebrand –using a new font and a collection of more conservative, business-casual-skewed clothing (no more pink unicorns or barely-there clubwear) to try to disguise itself as a premium brand. Unfortunately, a new logo, neutral colour scheme and what one critic called ‘old-money cosplay, but polyester’ isn’t much of a distraction from the fact that parent group Boohoo was found to be paying its garment workers £3 ($3.86, €3.57) an hour in 2020 (source: Labour Behind the Label).

: Environmental NGO Wrap has recently published its Textile Displacement report, revealing that buying a second-hand pair of jeans online instead of buying a brand-new pair could save more than 30kg of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) – the same as making 600 cups of tea. Repairing one cotton t-shirt instead of buying a new one could save more than 7.5kg CO2e – the amount generated by ironing for 25 hours. One for Umar Kamani, CEO of Pretty Little Thing, to add to his reading list…

: In more positive news, I’ve just discovered Loom, the fashion app connecting members of the public with designers to redesign and repair old clothes. The idea of using technology to facilitate more environmentally conscious consumer behaviour is the topic of our new Sustainability is Dead report, which outlines the new language and strategies brands and businesses need to adopt to restore meaning to the word ‘sustainability’ and better promote responsible consumption. Perhaps Kamani should read this one too.

AI imagery by The Future Laboratory, UK

Quote of week

‘They are crazy to call this a rebrand, they’re like our ex boyfriends, they’ve not changed’

Aimee Smale, founder, Odd Muse, on TikTok

Stat: Spring break travel costs soar, but demand remains high

Tumi, US

US – According to Florida-based Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison platform, the average trip taken during the peak spring break period from 12–21 March costs £6,450 ($8,306, €7,695). This is 26% higher than in 2024 and more than double the price in 2019, Bloomberg reported.

The platform analysed the value of 6,000 trips booked from 20 February to 15 April 2025 and surveyed 8,000 US travellers. Demand remains strong as consumers prioritise experiences over savings. Despite the rising costs of flights and accommodation, families and students continue to book popular destinations such as Mexico, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Italy.

Japan is an unexpected favourite, even though the average insured trip to Tokyo now costs nearly £7,771 ($10,000, €9,270). The country welcomed a record 36.9m international visitors in 2024, including 2.7m Americans – a 58% increase since 2019. ‘People are wanting to take some of those big trips that they’ve been thinking about since just before 2020,’ said Jenna Hummer, public relations director at Squaremouth.

For more insights into consumer attitudes towards travel, explore our Future Forecast 2025: Travel & Hospitality.

Strategic opportunity

Consider developing services that cater to experience-seeking travellers at a lower cost. For instance, can you create high-end hostel concepts, subscription-based travel packages or premium group travel experiences with budget-conscious perks?