New York was the most sought after city and Spain the most searched for country between May and July, market intelligence firm Experian Hitwise has revealed in its first UK quarterly report.
The analysis of search terms used by UK web browsers for the quarter found ‘flights to new york’ and ‘cheap flights to new york’ were the second and third most popular search terms in the travel sector.
The Big Apple accounted for 3.89% of all flight searches compared to 3.16% in the same period last year.
The US fared well generally, with Florida and Orlando also in the top 10 searched for destinations, but UK favourite Spain topped the charts with Tenerife, Malaga and Alicante all remaining popular.
Spain took 16.59% of searches and flights within the Eurozone accounted for under half (43.32%) of the total searches in the three months.
The UK, Turkey, Greece and Canada all moved up the chart compared to last quarter, while Australia and Italy both slipped two places.
Robin Goad, Experian Hitwise’s director of research, said: “The US is clearly still a big attraction for UK holidaymakers.
“The fact that only six destinations in the top 50 kept the same place as they had last quarter shows just how changeable search behaviour is online in the travel sector.
“The increased interest in the UK point to a recurring trend in ‘staycation’ holidays this year. Newquay has emerged as one of the most up and coming UK holiday destinations jumping from 49th place to 31st place in the top 50 destinations list.”
Greece climbed two places in the quarter to seventh, boosted by surging interest in resorts in Zante, Rhodes, Crete and Corfu. Hitwise said the attraction of cheaper holidays and reduced prices in Greece since last year is paying dividends.
Destination rankings
| Rank | Destination | Market share of UK flight searches, May – July 2010 | Rank Feb – April 2010 | Rank May – July 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 3.89% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Tenerife | 2.47% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida | 2.46% | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Malaga | 2.41% | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Dalaman | 1.82% | 7 | 5 |
| 6 | Orlando | 1.58% | 13 | 10 |
| 7 | Alicante | 1.41% | 8 | 6 |
| 8 | Amsterdam | 1.41% | 5 | 7 |
| 9 | Barcelona | 1.38% | 6 | 11 |
| 10 | Majorca | 1.28% | 15 | 9 |
Country rankings
| Rank | Destination | Market share of UK flight searches, May – July 2010 | Rank Feb – April 2010 | Rank May – July 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 16.59% | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | USA | 13.36% | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | UK | 6.68% | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | Turkey | 6.27% | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Australia | 6.25% | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | France | 4.84% | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | Greece | 4.33% | 9 | 6 |
| 8 | Cyprus | 4.01% | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Italy | 3.96% | 7 | 9 |
| 10 | Canada | 2.60% | 12 | 11 |