Holiday Hotspots – the destinations most in demand among Brits  

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New research has revealed where Brits dream of going on holiday throughout the year, with Rome, Amsterdam, Santorini and Paris topping the list as the most Googled European destinations by the UK public.   The study by personal finance experts Forbes Advisor analysed millions of holiday-related searches over the past four years to discover which European locations people in the UK were most attracted to.

The results revealed the UK’s four most Googled destinations as the French, Italian and Dutch capitals and the Greek Island, each of which received an average of more than 40,000 searches each month between November 2019 and October 2023. In total, the four most popular destinations have been Googled more than eight million times over the period.

The top ten is made up of other classic beach holiday destinations, including Spanish favourites Majorca, Ibiza, Malaga, Benidorm, and Greek Islands Zante and Crete. The study revealed how the nation’s holiday preferences change with the seasons, as Amsterdam emerged as the most popular search in both autumn (September, October, November) and winter (December, January and February).

Rome was the most searched holiday location in springtime (March, April, May). Meanwhile Majorca topped the summer searches (June, July, August) despite only being the fifth most searched location overall. The latest statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reveal that in September 2023, more than 1.4 million people flew from UK airports to the top four most Googled destinations of Rome, Amsterdam, Santorini and Paris combined. This makes up almost 8% of the total 17.6 million passengers who flew to Europe.

What’s going up and going down?

When looking at year-on-year trends among the top 100 most Googled places, Marseille in France has seen the biggest increase in average monthly searches between October 2022 and 2023, going up 62% from 5,470 searches to 8,850. The Polish city of Gdansk has seen a 58% increase in average monthly searches year-on-year, from 2,940 in October 2022, to 4,640 in October 2023.

Conversely, Antalya in Turkey has seen the biggest decrease in interest, dropping 19% over 12 months. In October 2022 it received 23,000 searches, compared to 18,680 in October 2023. Popular city-break destinations, Paris and Amsterdam, also saw 18% year-on-year drops in monthly average searches.

Over the past 48 months, the largest number of holiday searches was made in January 2023, when the 100 locations in the study received more than 2.3 million searches, with Paris, Amsterdam and Rome being the top three most Googled destinations. July 2023 was the second biggest month for holiday searches, while May 2023 saw the third highest number.

Laura Howard, travel insurance expert at Forbes Advisor, commented: “Of course, Google searches are not proof that people are actually travelling to these destinations – but the sheer volume of data still presents a pretty accurate picture of what type of holidays the UK public has an appetite for. “It’s interesting to see how this breaks down according to season, too – with top city breaks of Rome, Amsterdam and Paris generating most search interest outside the summer months when temperatures over recent years have become unbearable for many.

“Wherever 2024 takes you around the world – if you’re lucky enough to get away – it’s important take out travel insurance to cover your trip. A good policy will cover you for a range of issues while abroad, from becoming sick and requiring medical treatment to lost or stolen luggage.

“Make sure you buy a policy at the time of booking as this means you are also covered if you are forced to cancel the trip entirely, due to an unexpected illness or a bereavement, for example.”

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