ATN25 Adventure Travel Roundup; trends, forecasts, the Trump effect and more...
- Pru Goudie
- Jun 11
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 16
by Pru Goudie
During this ATN tour operator 2025 roundup we take a close look at how the year is tracking so far discussing trends, forecasts, the Trump effect and more.
It’s not been an easy start to the year with so much global eco and geopolitical turbulence, but how are things looking for the Adventure Travel Networking (ATN) travel community, mid-year?
We took some time to catch up with some of our valued ATN tour operators this month to discuss how things were tracking so far, what trends were emerging and what forecasts they might have, and if the Trump effect was having any impact on US globetrotters.
How has trading been for the first six months of 2025 and what markets are customers coming from?
Jae Hopkins, Marketing Director at Explore Worldwide reported seeing growth this year in all their markets (UK, North America, Australia and New Zealand) with an excellent take-up of their new Up-graded trips. “This was a product launched last year and travellers are really appreciating the premium accommodation combined with our usual small group adventures” she said.
Image Credit: Explore Worldwide
Will Cairns, who founded Active England Tours in 2008, a multi-award-winning inbound operator offering expertly curated walking, cycling, swimming, and wellness journeys across England, Scotland and Wales shared how 2025 is shaping up for them. “We experienced a temporary slowdown during the uncertainty surrounding the introduction of potential trade tariffs, but bookings have since stabilised and returned to peak levels” Cairns stated.
“We've observed a significant rise in last-minute bookings, an emerging trend that diverges from previous patterns. Although fall bookings are currently tracking slightly behind last year’s figures, our overall revenue continues to grow year on year” he confirmed.
“The most significant shift we’ve seen is the strong and consistent growth in our self-guided tours, which have become increasingly popular with travellers seeking greater flexibility and independence. Regionally, we’re also seeing a shift in the destinations travellers are choosing to visit. There’s been a notable rise in demand for tours in lesser explored regions such as Northumberland and the Lake District, whilst interest in Southern destinations like Cornwall has softened. This trend appears to be accelerating, with Wales emerging as a key destination for both active and luxury travel.” He added, “travellers are increasingly drawn to its unspoiled landscapes and tranquillity, away from the more tourist heavy villages in parts of England.”
Image Credit: Active England Tours
Macs Adventure, founded in 2003, offers self-guided walking and cycling holidays across the UK, Europe, Japan and New Zealand. Certified B Corp, and with over 20 years of experience, the company specialises in flexible, active travel - no groups or guides. Instead, they offer carefully planned itineraries, hand-picked locally owned accommodations, daily luggage transfers, navigation via the award-winning Macs Adventure app and 24/7 telephone support.
They confirmed that trading for the first half of 2025 has been broadly in line with expectations. The United States continues to be their largest and fastest-growing market, with sales well up on last year. The UK and Germany also remain core markets, while Australia is emerging as one to watch. Canada rounds out their top five, with New Zealand also performing strongly this year, and high levels of repeat custom and interest in new trips across the board.
Image Credit: Macs Adventure
Founded in 1998, adventure travel experts Wild Frontiers offer small group tours and tailor-made holidays worldwide, with an emphasis on premium, off-the-beaten track adventure.
We caught up with CEO, Clare Tobin who reported that the first half of 2025 has been their best year ever, exceeding their ambitious sales targets, with customers largely from the UK, North America, Australia and Europe.
Image Credit: Wild Frontiers
“We have found success attracting new customers through our Never Stop Seeking advertising campaign and other marketing initiatives such as our busiest ever Destinations travel show. Of course, our fabulous loyal customers are extremely important to us, and to say thank you we have offered them first access to new tours and offers, put on special events, continued with our popular webinars, introduced The World by Wild Frontiers podcast and continued to innovate with new tour launches such as Iraq” said Tobin.
How about US outbound travel – has there been a significant Trump slump from the US market this year?
Not according to Macs Adventure. Despite the uncertainty, and a dip in demand around the inauguration in February, they’ve found demand from the US market for trips to the UK to be resilient, with strong double-digit growth in PAX in 2025. Their West Highland Way and Cotswolds itineraries continue to top the list for US travellers.
Will Cairns, founder of Active England Tours confirmed “We’ve seen a notable rise in Canadian visitors this year, outpacing growth from the U.S. Having said this, the majority of our guests still come from the United States. We’re also seeing increasing interest from long-haul markets such as Australia. This diversification in our international base is encouraging, reflecting a broader global appetite for active, experiential travel in the UK.”
Back to Wild Frontiers, “our US business is up 30% year on year,” reported Clare Toben, “so we are seeing great growth there. There was a blip when the tariffs were announced in April but thankfully things have calmed down since then.”
What trends that are emerging with destination choice and preference of travel time?
Staying with Wild Frontiers, The Silk Road, the Caucasus and the Balkans continue to be strong after a great 2024, and Japan and South East Asia are trending. Off-peak travel is also proving popular, with travellers increasingly keen to travel without the crowds even if that means travelling during the wet season or when the weather is colder or hotter.
Macs Adventure report that Scotland continues to top destination charts, but it’s Italy that’s seeing the highest growth in 2025. It’s a perfect fit for self-guided travel - offering a winning mix of food, wine, stunning landscapes, warm hospitality, and of course, weather! Travellers are increasingly drawn to "slower adventures" that combine walking with relaxation, and Italy delivers that beautifully. Regions like Tuscany, Umbria, Chianti, and Puglia are proving especially popular, offering authentic experiences away from the Instagrammed, over-touristed spots.
Image Credit: Macs Adventure
Jae Hopkins at Explore Worldwide tells us “One of our travel trend predictions for 2025 was an increase in ‘set-jetting’ (visiting the settings of our favourite films and TV series)."
"We’d seen giants like White Lotus and Gladiator increasing demand for their locations, but the ongoing Race Across The World series seems to be having a bigger impact than we could have predicted. In the five weeks since the fifth season of the popular BBC series begun, we have seen a whopping 211% increase in organic traffic to our China webpages, a 38% increase for India and 41% for Nepal."
Image Credit: Explore Worldwide
The series has been an incredible PR piece for China, showing some of the country’s most spectacular landscapes and rural settings as well as its iconic cities. It’s a country with lots of surprises. Now we’re watching the four remaining pairs work their way through India, we’re seeing an increase in demand for our India trips. Our new Spiritual India tour visits some of the locations seen in the series, including Rishikesh and Shimla and its already proving hugely popular for this winter.” Hopkins concluded.
Final Comments …
“We’re seeing a real shift in how people want to travel” said Jim Eite, Product & Commercial Director at Macs Adventure. “There’s growing demand for flexibility, authenticity, and really immersing yourself in a destination, all of which play to the strengths of self-guided travel.
“As more travellers look to escape the crowds and connect with local culture at their own pace, we’re well-positioned to keep leading the way in this space. The appetite for ‘adventure with purpose’ has never been stronger” he concluded.
Will Cairns told us “While we've always focused on uncovering hidden gems, it’s particularly rewarding to see more travellers choosing places like Wales, Northumberland, and Somerset, regions that are often overlooked in favour of more traditional hotspots like the Cotswolds. We know from experience that these underexplored areas are equally breathtaking. What’s more, the expanding luxury offering in these regions means guests can enjoy five-star comfort alongside immersive, active adventures, or the option to stay in charming, locally run inns and B&Bs.”
Finally, Clare Tobin shared “As we exceed our growth strategy and launch exciting new destinations like Iraq we continue to improve our customer offering. We recently celebrated 15 years of giving through the Wild Frontiers Foundation, helping to launch the Lake City Rickshaw Company in Udaipur, a social enterprise which provides training and employment opportunities for women from underserved communities to work within the busy tourism sector in India.
Image Credit: Wild Frontiers
ATN Conclusion
It's encouraging to hear that the ‘adventure travel’ sector is in a good state and on an upward trajectory this year. This further validates the conversation that took place at the annual Adventure Travel Networking (ATN) Conference held in Central London in February, when we kicked off with our ATN25 Market Insights panel session.
Our findings were based on a number of bellwether reports conducted, where we surveyed the ATN adventure travel community to take the pulse of the industry and gain an understanding of how things were looking for 2025.
To find out more about this panel session you can read ‘6 reasons adventure travel is set to reach new heights in 2025’ by Pippa Jacks, Editorial Director, TTG Media
Thanks to Active England Tours, Explore Worldwide, Wild Frontiers and
Macs Adventure for participating in the ATN Adventure Travel Roundup.
-ENDS-
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