Travel trends
According to US-based travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth, more Americans are travelling out of the country than ever before.
Squaremouth analysed sales data for trips to its 10 most popular destinations to decipher key travel trends over the past three years, and found that the top three destinations for US travellers are: the US (with a three-year growth rate of 22 per cent); Mexico (+63 per cent); and Italy (+35 per cent). In fourth and fifth place are Canada (+117 per cent) and the UK (+35 per cent).
Further findings from Squaremouth were that: over the past three years, travel to popular international destinations has grown at a faster rate than domestic travel; the US was the top overall destination, but remains one of the slowest growing; and Canada was the only top destination to double its total number of visitors.
Squaremouth also discovered that average spending for US travellers has decreased over the past three years. The Bahamas and the US were found to have the largest increases in average trip cost (30 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively), while no other country on the list saw an increase above 10 per cent. Trips to Italy were found to be the most expensive of the destinations, with an average trip cost of US$4,654, while trips to Mexico were the least expensive, averaging $2,264.
According to Squaremouth’s findings, terrorist attacks and inclement weather have become two of the most common concerns for US travellers purchasing trip cancellation coverage. The number of travellers buying insurance with terrorism coverage for trips to the top 10 destinations was found to have quadrupled in the past three years, while interest in hurricane and weather coverage was found to have more than doubled in that span.