In September 2025, 13% more trips were booked than in the same month a year earlier. This growth continues the late summer surge, according to research conducted for ANVR by NIQ*. This growth comes on top of the increase in August, bringing the total number of bookings for the first nine months of 2025 to a small increase of 1% compared to 2024.
Although the late summer months are not the largest in terms of volume, they do send a clear message: travelers continue to travel – and in an increasingly varied way.
Booking behavior: shorter before departure and longer ahead
"In September, customers booked an average of about three months before departure. That's not much different from 2024," says Frank Radstake, director of the ANVR (Dutch Association of Travel Agents). "But the distribution does show a clear trend: more last-minute bookings for the autumn holidays and more bookings with departures six months or longer away. This means the anticipation for 2026 has already started early."
Faraway destinations make a leap
Surprisingly, the growth isn't coming solely from Europe. The share of intercontinental travel rose to 20%. Destinations like Australia and New Zealand are showing strong growth. North America, particularly Canada and the US East Coast, also saw double-digit growth.
In Africa, Morocco and Egypt were particularly popular, with South Africa as a rapidly growing destination compared to 2024. In Asia and South America, the booking pattern remained stable, without any major outliers.
Europe: warm and popular
Within Europe, almost all top 10 destinations performed better than last year – with the exception of Austria. Greece, Italy, and Turkey stood out with strong double-digit growth. "Given the growth in Morocco and Egypt, you can safely say that customers were looking for autumn sun in September," says Radstake.
Although smaller European destinations showed slight declines, these monthly fluctuations are not unusual, according to the ANVR.
Source and more information: www.anvr.nl