London and Paris are the top two European destinations this winter season, according to the Allianz Partners 2022 European Holiday Destination Index. To figure out the top 20 European destinations, Allianz reviewed more than 608,000 travel itineraries departing from U.S. airports between Nov. 23, 2022, and Jan. 5, 2023.
Rounding out the top 10 list of the most popular European destinations this winter are Madrid, Spain; Rome; Amsterdam; Frankfurt, Germany; Barcelona; Dublin; Lisbon, Portugal; and Munich.
Following the top 10 destinations are Milan; Zurich, Switzerland; Athens, Greece; Copenhagen, Denmark; Edinburgh, Scotland; Brussels; Manchester, Great Britain; Stockholm; Vienna; and Venice, Italy.
Destinations that jumped the most in bookings since 2019 include Lisbon (173%), Stockholm (160%), Athens (154%) and Copenhagen (144%).
Allianz credits the strength of Europe’s holiday travel season to “the strong exchange rate of U.S. currency, [which] has spurred a renaissance for overseas holiday travel.”
“While inflation has caused the prices of almost everything to soar, travelers have seen the value of the dollar also surge, gain parity with the euro and the pound and boost their holiday budgets,” said Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA.
