We are traveling more than ever for the holidays, whether that travel is to go home to be with family, or to get away with or without family. So where are we going:?
New York City, Cancun and Orlando are the top three destinations, according to a survey by travel insurance company Alliance Global Assistance, which also discovered a 24 percent increase over last year, and a 42 percent increase from 2017.
New York City has been the #1 top domestic holiday destination for four years in a row, and Cancun has been the #1 top international holiday destination also for three years in a row.
The Top 10 Holiday Destinations list featured two newcomers this year:
Las Vegas, Nevada appears at #8 in the domestic rankings and Toronto, Canada debuts at #10 for international.
Aruba, which has appeared the last two years at #10 for international destinations, jumps three places to #7 while Nassau, Bahamas rose to #2 from fourth place last year, the first year it appeared in the Top 10 International Holiday Destinations list.
The popularity of the Bahamas for the Christmas-Hanukkah-New Year’s holiday is especialy noteworthy, since the Caribbean destination suffered devastating damage by Hurricane Dorian this past summer.
According to Allianz Global Assistance’s Top 10 Holiday Destinations survey, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (#9) reappears on Allianz’s Top 10 International Holiday Destinations list for the first time since 2016, with a 28 percent increase in American travelers from last year.
This is also significant, since tourism dropped sharply this past summer around the sad headlines of several nexplained deaths by guests in hotels and condos in the DR.
The Dominican Republic also was one of the top international destinations in the Allianz Global Assistance’s 2019 Top 10 Thanksgiving Destination Index.
The statistics are from analyzing 3.3 million flight itineraries.
Almost half of the top 10 international destinations are in Mexico, proving once again that American travelers prefer beaches and breezes over ice and snow for their holiday getaways.
Aso new to the list are Toronto, Canada which debuts at #10 for international.
Aruba, which has appeared the last two years at #10 for international destinations, jumps three places to #7 while Nassau, Bahama rose to #2 from fourth place last year, the first year it appeared in the Top 10 International Holiday Destinations list.
The official Top 10 international destinations in order of popularity are Cancun, Nassau, San Jose Del Cabo, London, Montego Bay, Mexico City, Aruba, Puerto Vallarta, Santo Domingo, and Toronto.
For the fourth consecutive year, New York City is the number one domestic destination, followed by Orlando, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Seattle, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, where ski resorts incuding Alta, Snowbird, Park City and Deer Valey are just 30 minutes from the airport, and Minneapolis.
Las Vegas appeared on the top 10 domestic list for the first time this year, with travel to the destination increasing 44 percent, knocking San Francisco out of the ranking.
“The holiday season can be the most wonderful time of the year but harsh weather, illness and delays can make traveling a stressful experience especially, as our survey unwrapped, when 24 percent more Americans are flying,” said Daniel Durazo, director of marketing and communications for Allianz Global Assistance USA.
“Whether you’re jumping in a sleigh ride or soaking up the sun, give yourself the gift of peace of mind and buy trip protection when you book your travel.”
| Domestic Destination (YOY Increase) | 2019 Rank | 2018 Rank | 2017 Rank | International Destination (YOY Increase) | 2019 Rank | 2018 Rank | 2017 Rank |
| New York (22%) | 1 | 1 | 1 | Cancun, Mexico (18%) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Orlando (32%) | 2 | 3 | 2 | Nassau, Bahamas (35%) | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Los Angeles (25%) | 3 | 2 | 3 | San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (13%) | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Boston (29%) | 4 | 4 | 10 | London, United Kingdom (12%) | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Atlanta (28%) | 5 | 6 | 4 | Montego Bay, Jamaica (9%) | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Seattle (14%) | 6 | 5 | 6 | Mexico City, Mexico (33%) | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Fort Lauderdale (18%) | 7 | 7 | 5 | Aruba, Aruba (35%) | 7 | 10 | 10 |
| Las Vegas (44%) | 8 | 16 | 15 | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (11%) | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| Salt Lake City (31%) | 9 | 10 | 8 | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (28%) | 9 | 11 | 11 |
| Minneapolis (28%) | 10 | 9 | 8 | Toronto, Canada (34%) | 10 | 14 | 15 |
Methodology:
The data of U.S. travelers’ 2019 holiday travel plans was gathered by analyzing the number of travelers who went through the online booking process of airfare and package paths for partners offering Allianz Global Assistance travel to generate itineraries for flights departing from US airports during 12/19/2019 -12/26/2019 and returning 12/20/2019-12/27/2019, compared to the total ticket counts of travelers in 2017 and 2018 departing from the same U.S. airports during the peak holiday travel season. In total, 3.3 million itineraries were analyzed using this methodology.
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