Global Travel Report: Where to Go Right Now
Wondering where everyone is going and how they are traveling these days? On Wednesday, Sojern released its latest Global Travel Insights Report, analyzing more than 600 million traveler data points to show up-to-the-minute trends across the globe. Here are some of the highlights:
Top 10 Destinations
(Photo: Sojern)
The countries topping the most-searched list: the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, China, Russia, Germany, Italy, and Greece. Another winner is Japan, which saw a spike in flight searches from Chinese travelers.
Who is Going Where
(Photo: Sojern)
The numbers reveal that solo travel is on the rise, especially to the Asia-Pacific region, while couples are increasingly bound for Latin America. Families? They’re mostly headed to Europe.
North America Travel Trends
(Photo: Sojern)
No surprise to anyone who has been in Times Square lately and heard all the foreign accents: the most-searched destination for European travelers heading to the U.S. is New York City, which is also a hit with Latin American travelers (who loved Miami, too). Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific travelers have their sights set on Los Angeles and San Francisco. Sojern’s survey also revealed the top-searched domestic spots for Americans (Miami, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles) and how they’re traveling. Group travel is increasing, and this summer, Fourth of July and Labor Day (no surprise) were top times to travel.
Latin America Travel Trends
(Photo: Sojern)
Turns out Latin Americans are traveling in pairs: 20 percent of flight searches are made by couples, more than anywhere else. And where is everyone headed? Americans are enamored with Mexico (particularly vacation hotspots like Cancun), while up-and-coming markets like China go wild for Mexico and Brazil.
Europe Travel Trends
(Photo: Sojern)
The hottest European destinations? London, Paris, Barcelona, and Mallorca. But the runaway success story is Spain, which was tops the list with families, groups, and solo travelers. Meanwhile, Dublin is a top spot for British business travelers. Interestingly: short trips account for 39 percent of all European searches, while nearly a third of all trips are planned 101 days or more in advance, especially for travel to the U.K. and the Netherlands. Guess you want to make those reservations early, before prices spike and flights sell out.
Asia-Pacific Travel Trends
(Photo: Sojern)
If you’re going to make the long-haul trip to Asia, you’re going to stay awhile: Sojern found that 47 percent of all flight searches to the region are by foreigners looking to stay eight days. On the other hand, local tourists are going for five days or less. And who is headed to the Asia Pacific region? Solo travelers, with 81 percent of inbound travelers looking to fly by themselves. Most likely, these are business travelers or backpackers.
The Impact of World Events
(Photo: Sojern)
If you caught World Cup fever last summer, this one is a no brainer: big sports events and festivals had a major impact on travel. In Brazil, tourism spiked and flight searches more than doubled month over month. The Incheon Games registered, as well, with a 19-percent increase in interest in South Korea. And Germany’s Oktoberfest was a winner, too, especially with travelers from the U.S. and Italy. As they say in Munich: prost!
You can read the full Global Travel Insights Report here.
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