Allianz Global Assistance has found that the top 20 European holiday travel destinations saw total ticket purchases increase by 22.5 percent from the same time last year. Three of these destinations – Barcelona, Zurich and Lisbon – saw sales growth greater than 50 percent.
While the top five European destinations remained the same, but each experienced significant growth. London, the most popular city on the list, saw tickets to Heathrow increase by 32 percent compared to 2017. The number of tickets sold to Americans traveling to Paris, the second most popular destination, increased even more, by 43 percent. Rome, Amsterdam and Madrid were the next most popular destinations, with Amsterdam experiencing the most growth among them at 22.5 percent.
The title for most growth belongs to Lisbon, which saw an increase of 103.2 percent. Sitting just outside of the top 20 last year, Lisbon rose nine spots, becoming the 12th most popular destination among American holiday travelers.
Allianz Global Assistance based its data on Americans’ travel plans for the peak holiday travel season, Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. The group looked purchases made between June 1 and October 15 for travel to Europe between November 21 and January 6, 2019. These numbers were compared to purchases made during the same period last year for travel from November 22, 2017 through January 8, 2018.
Related Stories
Stats: Gen Z Travelers Take 2.8 Leisure Trips Per Year
Stats: Thanksgiving Air Travel to Hit All-Time High
Stats: Sunday After Thanksgiving the Worst Day to Fly
Stats: NYC, Cancun Remain Top Thanksgiving Travel Destinations