American travelers who are hoping to stay close to home for the holidays are booking trips to New York, Seattle and Orlando this year, while international travelers are heading to Mexico, England and Jamaica, according to recently released data from Allianz Partners USA.
Searches for winter holiday travel destinations are up 17% this year over 2021, illustrating Americans’ stronger intent to travel as the pandemic retreats into the rearview mirror. After reviewing nearly 3 million flight itineraries from U.S. airports, domestic travel comprised 89% of bookings over the holiday booking period (Saturday, Dec. 17 to Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022).
Top Domestic Destinations
Perhaps unsurprisingly, New York City took the No. 1 spot for domestic travel for 2022, as it has for the past five years (exempting 2020, when Seattle took No. 1 and pandemic-era travel restrictions pushed New York out of the top 10), and as it did during this year's Thanksgiving travel season.
Rounding out this year’s top 10 destinations were Seattle (No. 2); Orlando (No. 3); and Phoenix (No. 4), followed by Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Boston, Dallas and Minneapolis.
Top International Destinations
Sun-and-sand spots are popular choices for holiday travel this year, with Cancun and San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, taking the top two spots on the international leaderboard. London rose in the ranks from last year, jumping to the No. 3 spot this year (last year, it came in at No. 6). In fact, booking searches for the United Kingdom capital city rose 44% this year over last year.
“This past spring, our data reported a staggering 600% increase in summer travel to Europe as countries re-opened for visitation, and it’s wonderful to see that trend endure with the resurgence of travel to London for the holiday season,” said Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA.
The list also included Montego Bay, Jamaica (No. 4); Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (No. 5); and Nassau in the Bahamas (No. 6), followed by Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic; Oranjestad, Aruba; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos; and Paris, France.
