US and Italy top Travelzoo's 'most-wanted' survey

LONG-HAUL travel and the #US are set for a big 2016, according to a study by travel deals firm Travelzoo. 

A survey of 5,000 active travellers in the UK, Germany, US, Canada, France, Spain, China, and Australia claims to have found ‘unprecedented’ interest in long-haul travel.

Travelzoo's Travel Trends survey put the US top for the first time on British travellers' wish list, with almost a third of respondents (32%) nominating it as the destination they most want to visit in 2016, narrowly beating #Italy (31%) into second place.

With 30% indicating they plan to stay in the UK next year, old favourite Spain was pushed into fourth place with 25%.

Despite November’s terrorist murders in Paris, France (18%) retained its top five place in the list of countries British holidaymakers most want to visit.

The Caribbean (15%), Australia (15%) and Canada (12%) also made the top 10, showing an on-going trend among Brits for longer-haul #travel destinations.

The high level of interest in the US and Western Europe is offset by dip in consumer confidence regarding holidays to some North African destinations. Some 80% of those surveyed said the events of 2015 had changed their travel plans next year, and a fifth (20%) said they will spend more time considering airline and travel routes due to concerns about safety and terrorism.

Louise Hodges, Travelzoo head of communications, said: ‘British travel habits are changing. For the first time, America has overtaken European favourites such as Italy, France, and Spain as the most desired holiday destination. We are also hearing from UK travel agents and airlines that Eilat in Israel is tipped for a resurgence of interest next year. New airlines routes are opening up and we’ve seen some incredible deals to this winter sun destination which looks set to gain UK interest as Sharm el-Sheikh continues to remain closed for business.’

According to booking trends seen by Travelzoo, US destinations attracting high interest for 2016 include Boston, New York, and other East Coast regions, while in Italy, hot spots include Ischia, Sardinia, Sicily, Sorrento, and Brindisi. 

Top 10 holiday choices for British tourists in 2016:

US
Italy
UK
Spain
France
Greece
Caribbean
Australia
Portugal
Canada

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