MIAMI—European online travel agency eDreams ODIGEO released the trending destinations for 2018, revealing that the United States has jumped to the second most popular country for European travelers, up from ninth place in 2016. Four U.S. cities make the Top 25 Most Trending Travel Destinations for Europeans in 2018: San Francisco in second place with 158 percent growth in flight passenger arrivals; Miami in 13th with 93 percent growth; Los Angeles in 14th with 99 percent growth; and New York in 22nd place with 76 percent growth.
The increasing popularity of U.S. cities as travel destinations for European travelers is a trend largely driven by shifts in travel costs, according to the report. Flight prices between Europe and San Francisco are down by 19 percent, Los Angeles down 17 percent, Miami down 12 percent, and New York down 11 percent. Since 2012, 15 long-haul, low-cost airlines have launched around the world, providing stiff price competition to more established long-haul carriers and driving prices down across the board, according to the report.
French, German, British, Spanish, and Italian travelers are the most likely to visit the United States in 2018. Meanwhile, for U.S. travelers choosing to fly to U.S. cities, Las Vegas tops list as most popular destination for 2017—the most popular destination for U.S. travelers for a second year in a row based on flight passenger volume. Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Los Angeles come next in the list with London—the only European city in the top 10 destinations for U.S. travelers—securing spot number five. Next year’s booking patterns for American travelers so far reveal that the U.S. tops the list as the most popular country, followed by Mexico, the United Kingdom, and France.
The report is based on the company’s flight passenger data from travel booking websites including edreams.net and the metasearch engine liligo.com.
