Signal Travel experiences grew 4.4% from 2023 to 2025 while restaurants slowed to 1.2%

Summary

Within the experience economy, travel and restaurants are moving at different speeds. McKinsey reports that travel experiences, a category covering tourism, flights and lodging, grew 4.4 percent from 2023 to 2025. That is close to the rate travel posted before the pandemic, making it the strongest part of the experiences story. Restaurants, another typical experience category, have not recovered their earlier momentum and grew 1.2 percent against 2.2 percent before COVID-19. The contrast suggests consumers are channelling experiential spending toward bigger, planned occasions such as trips rather than routine meals out. Businesses in hospitality and dining may therefore face quite different demand conditions despite both being counted as experiences.