Strong exchange rates see Americans planning overseas travel
Holiday budgets have been boosted, allowing for trips to European cities
Allianz Partners USA have revealed the most popular European destinations for the upcoming winter season, after reviewing over 608,000 travel itineraries.
Major capital cities continue to attract travellers after a two-year break and many destinations will experience a significant rise in visitors this year, according to the Allianz Partners 2022 European Holiday Destination Index.
For round-trip flights departing from US airports between 23 November 2022 and 5 January 2023, the most popular European destination is London, followed by Paris. These two were also at the top of the list in 2019, but have both seen a 20 per cent and 13 per cent rise in bookings respectively since that time. Madrid takes third place, from fifth in the 2019 index.
Four cities in the top 20 have seen a triple-figure percentage increase: Lisbon, which has also made the top 10, Athens, Copenhagen and Stockholm.
Daniel Durazo, Director of External Communications at Allianz Partners USA, said: “While inflation has caused the prices of almost everything to soar, travellers have seen the value of the dollar also surge, gain parity with the Euro and the pound, and boost their holiday budgets.”
With nearly 40 per cent of Americans valuing travel more than sex, it is clear to see why they are taking advantage of the value of the currency.
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