Every quarter, Jack Ezon and the Embark group publish one of the carefully watched temperature checks in our trade with a developments report that blends onerous knowledge with frontline insights from advisors, hoteliers, and purchasers alike. The Q3 2025 version pulls no punches: some locations are hovering, others are stumbling, and the forces behind these shifts inform us as a lot about tradition and psychology as they do about economics. Under, I’ve pulled out a couple of of essentially the most hanging regional tales as a reminder that in luxurious journey, even the icons aren’t immune to alter.
France Tops Italy: The Riviera’s Second
For the primary time in current reminiscence, the French Riviera has edged out Italy’s Amalfi Coast as summer season’s reigning queen. St. Tropez and the encircling Côte d’Azur weren’t simply busy, they have been magnetic, drawing spillover to Monte Carlo and Cannes as nicely. Whereas Italy nonetheless thrives, pushback on stratospheric charges has nudged vacationers towards France, the place the Riviera’s seaside golf equipment and breezy glamour supplied equal sparkle at a touch extra palatable worth. The end result? France claimed the crown of summer season’s number-one vacation spot, an unthinkable shift only a few years in the past.
The Paris Impact: Unstoppable Vitality
Paris has entered a golden streak. After the Olympic Video games cleared final summer season’s calendar, the town got here roaring again, buoyed by blockbuster cultural programming, high-fashion moments, and even a lift from the worldwide Taylor Swift phenomenon. Removed from peaking, Paris appears to reinvent itself every season, making it the town du jour for prosperous vacationers. Whether or not it’s couture weeks, headline exhibitions, or a renewed eating scene, Paris is the uncommon vacation spot the place momentum retains compounding.
London’s Luxurious Hunch
Throughout the Channel, London tells a unique story. Regardless of its timeless draw, the capital is struggling beneath an ideal storm: weakened company journey, the removing of VAT refunds that after fueled high-end procuring sprees, and an oversupply of luxurious lodge rooms. Wimbledon was noticeably softer this yr, and even Artwork Basel’s Paris version drew eyes away. For a metropolis that thrives on world buzz, London feels unusually muted. It’s not that vacationers aren’t coming in any respect, however they aren’t coming within the numbers or with the identical urge for food for indulgence.
Greece: A Worth Story in Disguise
At first look, Greece appears prefer it’s slipping, with numbers down in comparison with its Mediterranean rivals. But in fact, that is extra about repositioning. As Italy and France command eye-watering costs, Greece has emerged because the “worth” luxurious possibility: nonetheless dazzling, nonetheless refined, however at charges that all of a sudden appear cheap by comparability. For vacationers who need island glamour with out Côte d’Azur markups, Mykonos and past quietly ship. Greece could also be down, however it’s hardly out.
Botswana’s $10,000-a-Evening Drawback
In Africa, safari demand stays sturdy, however Botswana — lengthy a jewel of the continent — is shedding share. The offender? Extremely-premium charges that now brush $10,000 per evening at some camps. For a lot of vacationers, that’s a tipping level, pushing them towards equally spectacular alternate options in Kenya, Tanzania, or South Africa. Botswana nonetheless presents extraordinary wilderness and exclusivity, however its pricing dangers alienating even the ultra-wealthy if unchecked. In luxurious, there’s a high quality line between aspirational and off-putting.
The Takeaway
Luxurious journey is a residing, respiration market the place notion, pricing, and cultural cachet collide. France and Paris are flying excessive, London is recalibrating, Greece is repositioning, and Botswana is prone to pricing itself out. For advisors and vacationers alike, the lesson is evident: understanding not simply the place to go, however why now, makes all of the distinction.