RICHMOND, Va.—With summer around the corner, travel insurance provider Allianz Global Assistance analyzed U.S. travelers’ impending summer plans to reveal what destinations are trending around the country. The company found that San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital, is starting to regain its stride as a popular travel destination after last year’s Hurricane Maria, coming in at number eight on Allianz’s list of most popular international destinations, ranking ahead of Paris as a global destination for U.S. travelers.
Allianz reviewed data from U.S. customers who planned five- to eight-day trips between May 28 and September 3, 2018, and booked online through their travel partners, including major U.S. airlines, OTAs, travel suppliers, and more. The most popular domestic destination was Orlando (8.80 percent) followed by New York City (5.51 percent), Las Vegas (5.36 percent), Los Angeles (4.02 percent), Honolulu (3.12 percent), Miami (3.10 percent), Seattle (3.04 percent), Boston (2.93 percent), Fort Lauderdale (2.92 percent), and San Francisco (2.62 percent).
Apart from London and Paris, the survey found that most U.S. travelers are booking international summer travel destinations in the Caribbean or Mexico. Cancun, Mexico (15.72 percent) topped the list for the second year in a row, followed by Higüey, Dominican Republic (7.77 percent), Montego Bay, Jamaica (5.78 percent), Nassau, Bahamas (4.31 percent), San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (4.28 percent), Aruba Island, Aruba (3.99 percent), London, England (3.52 percent), San Juan, Puerto Rico (2.87 percent), Paris, France (2.75 percent) and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (2.53 percent).
“This year’s results yielded some interesting findings: New York is a newcomer to the list, revealing that travelers are not only interested in beach destinations this summer,” says Daniel Durazo, director of communications for Allianz Global Assistance USA. “And despite recent travel warnings [for parts of Mexico*] and last year’s Hurricane Maria, Americans are still choosing to travel to Cancun and Puerto Rico.”
Top 10 U.S. Travel Destinations for Summer 2018
- Orlando (no change from 2017)
- New York (moved into the top 10 in 2018)
- Las Vegas (down from second in 2017)
- Los Angeles (no change from 2017)
- Honolulu (down from third in 2017)
- Miami (moved into the top 10 in 2018)
- Seattle (down from fifth in 2017)
- Boston (no change from 2017)
- Fort Lauderdale (up from 10th in 2017)
- San Francisco (down from sixth in 2017)
Last year’s other top 10 summer travel destinations included Maui and Denver.
Top International Travel Destinations for Summer 2018
- Cancun, Mexico (no change from 2017)
- Higüey, Dominican Republic (moved into the top 10 in 2018)
- Montego Bay, Jamaica (up from fourth in 2017)
- Nassau, Bahamas (up from ninth in 2017)
- San José del Cabo, Mexico (down from third in 2017)
- Aruba Island, Aruba (no change from last year)
- London, United Kingdom (no change from last year)
- San Juan, Puerto Rico (down from fifth in 2017)
- Paris, France (up from 10th in 2017)
- Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (moved into the top 10 in 2018)
Other top 10 summer travel destinations from 2017 that did not remain in the top 10 are Punta Cana in Dominican Republic and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
*The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning for Mexico’s Quintana Roo state, which encompasses Cancun.
