The US is the top long-haul destination for UK travellers this summer with more than 320,000 advance flight bookings – far outstripping other countries.
India is the second most popular country with almost 87,000 bookings through all global distribution systems followed by the UAE with almost 79,000.
The data is based on analysis conducted by Travelport covering return flights between June 28 and September 8.
China, in seventh place, is the fastest growing top ten long-haul destination for UK travellers compared to the same period last year, with flight bookings up by 13% to 3,402.
South Africa bookings are up 7% year-on-year to 1,881 for the peak summer period.
The top ten:
US
India
UAE
Canada
Pakistan
Thailand
China
South Africa
Australia
Bangladesh
Travelport Northern Europe vice president and managing director Paul Broughton said: “Sunny skies, family attractions, natural landmarks and affordable flights make the United States an ever-popular choice for UK travellers over the summer holidays.
“To put just how popular the country is into perspective, to-date we’ve seen more advanced flight bookings made from the UK to the States over the summer than to the rest of the top five most popular long-haul destinations combined.”
He added: “It was interesting to see China become a top ten long-haul summer destination for UK travellers this year, having sat just outside in 11th place last year.
“A study in 2018 claimed it to be the top bucket list travel destination for one in four people in the UK, so interest in the country does seem to be rising.
“We are starting to see this translate into increased booking volume and I expect this trend to continue in the years to come as more people recognise just how much the country has to offer tourists.”