Redion's 2025 Holiday Barometer

As every year, Redion carried out, in collaboration with the polling firm Ipsos*, a large survey on the intentions and concerns of Belgians and Europeans regarding the upcoming summer holidays. Here are the main results:

Travel plans, duration and frequency

• Holiday plans: 73% of Belgians say they will travel during summer 2025. This percentage has remained high since the post-Covid period, when a large number of Belgians seemed to enjoy their "newfound freedom" to travel again.
• Length of trip: Short holidays (a maximum of 1 week) are popular with 45% of travelers, followed by 2-week holidays (39%) and 3 weeks or more (16%).
• Frequency of trips: Among the 73% of Belgians planning to go on holiday during summer 2025, the majority (45%) say they will only travel once. 28% of travelers will go away several times. July is the top holiday month for 24% of travelers.

Belgian holidaymakers' enthusiasm

• Belgians are still just as enthusiastic about going on holiday: No fewer than 76% of Belgians say they are (very) enthusiastic about going on holiday. Some factors nevertheless have a direct impact on this enthusiasm.

• First, the impact of inflation and high prices (for 85% of Belgians).

• Second, geopolitical reasons (armed conflicts), which have taken precedence over other types of concerns (78%).

• Another obstacle is personal or family reasons (78%), a traditionally mentioned concern.

• Finally, climate change is cited as the fourth factor (77%). Many Belgians fear that their holiday destination will be hit by a heatwave, extreme weather conditions and their associated drawbacks.

Destinations and types of holidays

• Among the most popular destinations for Belgians, we consistently find France (22%), Belgium (15%), Spain (14%), Italy (7%) and the Netherlands (6%).
• 42% of Belgians say they want to return to the same holiday destination because it's familiar to them. 37% return for the favorable climate and 33% for the range of leisure activities on offer.
• Belgians still prefer to spend their holidays at the coast (62%). Mountain trips attract 26% of holidaymakers this year. City trips and countryside holidays are chosen by 24% of Belgians.
• Some new trends are also gaining popularity, such as "slow tourism" (63%), visiting places far from mass tourism (61%) and event-based trips (for example, to attend a festival or specific event) (30%).
• Criteria for choosing a holiday destination: 3 essential factors determine the choice of holiday destination: - Safety (general and personal) and the associated geopolitical context. This criterion has become a priority in today's global context. - The climate: Belgians look for the sun, but global warming or the risk of extreme weather conditions also shape their choices. - The cost of living, crowd levels and the local language or culture are more traditional criteria that also influence the choice of destination.
• Modes of transport used to reach the holiday destination: A personal car is the most popular means of transport for 44% of Belgians. It is far outpaced by air travel (51%). 15% choose the train and 9% the bus.

Average holiday budget

• Belgians' average holiday budget for summer 2025 (i.e. the average across all types of households) is €2,710. This ranks third among the European countries surveyed, after Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The average holiday budget in Europe is €2,080.

Travel, artificial intelligence and the environment

• AI in holiday planning: This year, the survey aimed to measure the importance of artificial intelligence tools in Belgians' holiday planning. It turns out that 17% of Belgians have already used AI to plan their holidays. 19% of Belgians intend to do so, 25% are still undecided, and 56% don't (yet) trust it. Those who use AI do so to get information about their destination (39%), their accommodation (34%), their travel itinerary (32%) or activities (31%).
• Environmental footprint: 32% of Belgians are concerned about their environmental footprint while traveling. Despite this trend, only 24% of Belgians say they are considering changing the type of holiday they take in order to reduce their environmental footprint.

Travel and insurance

• Insurance/assistance cover among Belgian travelers: The majority of Belgians are insured in case of medical problems during their trip (79%), as well as in case of problems at home (71%) or a vehicle breakdown (73%).

*This survey was conducted online by Ipsos between February 24 and March 26, 2025 among a sample of 11,002 Europeans (French, German, English, Italian, Spanish, Austrian, Belgian, Swiss, Polish, Czech and Portuguese) and 12,000 non-Europeans. The survey was conducted online using the quota method (gender, age, occupation of the head of household, after breakdown by region and size of urban area).