Havana, Reykjavik and Cartagena are the top destinations in terms of traveler interest, according to Kayak’s new 2017 Travel Hacker Guide.
With travel to Cuba recently opening back up, searches to Havana skyrocketed with a 191 percent increase, Kayak said. Colombia saw a surge in interest, with both Cartagena and Medellín making the Top Trending list, while St. Croix and St. Thomas both saw a decrease in interest since last year.
Greater accessibility to the South Pacific is making the region more attractive. Auckland and Sydney made appearances on two lists: Trending Destinations and Trending Beach Destinations, likely from the addition of new flight routes in the last year.
Kayak’s Trending Beach list reveals that five Asian cities – all newcomers to the Travel Hacker Guide – made this year's list: Phuket, Bali, Colombo, Maldives and Okinawa.
Long flights do not seem to be deterring family travelers, as Honolulu, London and Cancun all returned to this year's list, along with New Delhi, which took spot #9.
Six European cities made the Wallet-Friendly Flight list, and with the low Euro, deal seekers can score a more affordable trip to Dublin or Milan. While the remaining cities may be a deal to fly to, they aren't so affordable once you arrive (Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen).
"News headlines, new flight routes and favorable exchange rates are key influences to this year's Travel Hacker Guide," said David Solomito, VP North America marketing at Kayak. "As a result of these trends, South America, Asia and the South Pacific have a stronger presence on the Guide compared to previous years."
The top 10 Trending Destinations from the guide are as follows:
- Havana, Cuba
- Reykjavik, Iceland
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Bali, Indonesia
- Tokyo, Japan
- Cartagena, Colombia
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Medellín, Colombia
- Calgary, Canada
- Sydney, Australia
Kayak considered searches conducted on the U.S. and Canada Kayak sites between 10/25/2015 -10/24/2016 for travel from the U.S. and Canada occurring between 10/25/2015 - 10/24/2016. All flight searches are round-trip, excluding price outliers based on certain criteria. All hotel searches include properties with at least 4 stars and a certain minimum click threshold. Excludes airport properties and outliers based on certain price criteria. All weather data sourced from public sources on the Internet.