The number of Americans heading to Europe for the holidays is up significantly compared to last year, according to new data from the Allianz Partners’ "2023 European Holiday Destination Index." The travel insurance and assistance company found that American travel to Europe this holiday season is up by 21 percent compared to 2022, and destinations such as Barcelona are seeing increases up to 61 percent.
American travel to Europe, overall, continues to grow at a furious pace. Allianz Partners’ summer travel survey found trips to Europe increased by 55 percent in 2023 over the previous year. Europe continues to benefit from pent-up travel demand as “revenge” travelers book bucket list trips to the continent.
Allianz Partners USA reviewed more than 1.3 million travel itineraries across the peak holiday travel period to highlight the season’s most popular European destinations for 2023. Roundtrip flights departing from United States airports between Wednesday, November 22, 2023, and Thursday, January 4, 2024, were considered.
As far as the most popular European destinations for Americans are concerned, London is holding onto its number-one spot since the survey’s inception in 2016, with Paris anticipated to see a high number of U.S. travelers as well in its consistent number-two position. Some destinations will experience a significant increase in travelers this year, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula, with a notable rise in American travel to Madrid (+37 percent), Barcelona (+61 percent) and Lisbon (+47 percent).
Other notable increases this year include Prague in the Czech Republic (+51 percent), which made its way back into the Top 20 for the first time since pre-pandemic levels in 2019, as well as Geneva, Switzerland (+12 percent), cracking the top list of destinations since its last appearance in 2017.
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