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New research has found the most popular holiday destinations according to Google.
In the newly released Global Travel Search Index produced by luxury travel company True Luxury Travel, we can see the holiday destinations that are growing and falling in popularity.
The company have utilised Google Trends to analyse how search interest for every country has changed since 2004. The company conducted the research by charting the interest for holiday specific phrases for every country from 2004-2016.
The research has found Cape Verde to be the country showing the greatest increase in search interest. The phrase ‘Cape Verde holidays’ has increased by 3000% since 2004.
The increased interest in Cape Verde may be due to the island becoming more accessible from the UK thanks to greater availability of direct flights. The findings are certainly substantiated by tourism figures which state the country experienced a 13.6% rise in foreign visitors in 2016 compared to the previous year.
Also showing a dramatic increase in search interest is the UAE. Given the rise in expats living in the UAE – the country is the tenth most popular country for expats – it is not surprising that the UAE is becoming a more appealing choice for holidaymakers. The country showed a 681% rise for the search term ‘UAE holidays’ from 2004-2016.
Also ranking near the top of the Global Travel Search Index are the Philippines, Pakistan and Nigeria – all of which have shown an increase in search interest since 2004.
The results suggest that holidaymakers are becoming more adventurous in their holiday choices, with more traditional choices such as Spain, Italy and Greece ranking lower on the index.
At the bottom end of the scale, Libya has shown the greatest decrease in search interest with an 89% decline in the search phrase ‘Libya holidays’ since 2004.
The decline is likely due to political tension and safety concerns for travellers.
Also showing a drastic decline is Tunisia, which has dropped 88% in search interest since 2004. Again, this decline is likely due to safety concerns following the tragic terror attack in the country in 2015.
Other countries which have declined in search interest include Egypt and France.
The full results of the research can be viewed on the infographic below and also on the True Luxury Travel website, which includes a full breakdown of the data and methodology.
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