According to the latest data released by Allianz Partners, the strong exchange rate of U.S. currency has spurred a demand for overseas holiday travel. The “2022 European Holiday Destination Index” shows that major capital cities continue to attract travelers following a two-year pause, and several locations will experience a significant rise in holiday visitation this year.
Allianz Partners USA reviewed over 608,000 travel itineraries across the peak holiday travel period to highlight the season’s most popular European destinations for 2022. Roundtrip flights departing from United States airports between November 23, 2022, and January 5, 2023, were considered.
London continues to dominate the travel scene, being the most popular city to visit this holiday season, and capturing the hearts of nearly double those headed to Paris, which holds steady in second this year. Madrid moves up to round out the top three, jumping two spots from the last index, and with other minor shifts in the Top 10 positions.
The remainder of the Top 10 were:
- Rome, Italy
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Barcelona, Spain
- Dublin, Ireland
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Munich, Germany
Most notably, four European cities in the Top 20 are seeing triple-digit increases in travelers expected for this holiday season. Lisbon, Portugal cracked the Top 10 while Athens, Greece; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Stockholm, Sweden moved up as many as nine positions from their previous spots. Of the cities in the Top 10, only Barcelona and Munich were down compared to 2019 numbers.
“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. “Even so, most of us can’t afford to lose what we’ve invested for these big holiday trips, making a travel insurance policy the best gift to add to your holiday shopping list. It can provide peace of mind by safeguarding pre-paid travel investments from covered unexpected events like trip cancelations or interruptions, travel delays, baggage issues or even medical emergencies.”
For more information, visit www.allianztravelinsurance.com.
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