Economics plays an important role in travel — but it’s not the whole story: People pack their bags for all kinds of reasons: business meetings, yoga retreats, food exploration, adrenaline rushes or to watch their favorite athlete compete.
Every trip has its own purpose, and even when economic uncertainty looms, those personal motivations can still drive us to explore.
Today’s economy faces policy changes and broader geopolitical dynamics. This volatility carries real risks: if the broader economy slows down, consumers may adjust their discretionary spending, becoming more cautious about how and where they employ their purchasing power. This could have a ripple effect on travel decisions, a risk that should not be ignored.
However, not all sectors are equally affected with much of the recent policy focus — particularly tariffs — having largely targeted the goods sector. This means the services sector, including travel, may feel less direct impact.
We could also see shifts in the decision of where and when to travel in response to political uncertainty. Indeed, there are signs that travel decisions may have already shifted, as can be observed from travel bookings and cross-border spending data.
To explore these evolving trends, the Mastercard Economics Institute (MEI) drilled into unique, real-time data that paints a complete picture of the travel economy.
Our fresh insights uncover what’s shaping travel choices today — from top-trending summer destinations and key motivators like wellness, adventure and unique sporting events, to the effects of currency fluctuations and fraud, and the evolving landscape of commercial travel. These unique perspectives will help chart a way forward through challenging and uncertain economic terrain.
From London to Buenos Aires, championship games are turning stadiums into global spending hubs — with fans following their teams across continents.
Japanese spending in Los Angeles surged 91% during the 10 days around Shohei Ohtani’s World Series debut — six times the broader cross-border boost near Dodger Stadium over that same 10 day period.
Once-in-a-lifetime experiences will always rank high on bucket lists, regardless of the state of the economy. That includes major sporting events, which are becoming global phenomena. Cross-border spending consistently surges when tourists come from abroad to attend games and support their favorite athletes and teams.
The Mastercard Economics Institute’s (MEI’s) analysis of aggregated and anonymized transaction data shows that foreign cardholders spent significantly at major sporting events in 2024. MEI examined spending at merchants within five miles of the venue in the five days before and after three of those events: the Champions League final in London, the Copa Libertadores Final in Buenos Aires, and the baseball World Series in Los Angeles and New York.
The cross-border share of that spending was notably higher in the days surrounding each game than it had been a year prior, when the stadium or park was not hosting a major championship. The events appear to have drawn international tourists to the area who probably wouldn’t have visited stores and restaurants near, for example, Wembley Stadium if not for the Champions League final.
Sport fans come from all over, with their numbers and origins depending on the nationalities of the athletes and teams. For example, Japanese tourists congregated in Los Angeles in 2024 to watch their countryman Shohei Ohtani play in his first World Series. The almost 91% YOY growth in Japanese spending surrounding the stadium during the first two games of the series was more than six times the concurrent increase in overall cross-border spending.
However, fandom has its limits; MEI didn’t see a jump in Japanese spending during the New York leg just days later, potentially reflecting the longer travel time. On the other hand, spending from the Dominican Republic did rise in New York at that time, perhaps because then-Yankee Juan Soto, a native of the Dominican Republic, drew fans.
Top themes of the 2025 travel economy
