Lesser-known competitively priced destinations are attracting interest from British travellers in 2011, a new poll shows.
The beachside resort of Buzios in Brazil and Lebanese capital of Beirut are top of the wish list, according to research by Hotels.com.
South America is one of the top places being considered for 2011 with searches for Buzios soaring by 330% compared to the same period in 2009 and accommodation in Cusco, Peru seeing a 191% increase in hits.
The hotel provider also saw a surge in interest in India’s southern state of Kerala with searches up by 300%, while searches for hotels in the Mayan Rivera in Mexico increased by 191%.
Interest in new and emerging city break destinations is also on the rise with Beirut experiencing a 115% increase in searches, fuelled by an influx of new boutique hotels and the launch of a second daily Bmi flight from London.
Marrakech and Cape Town are also riding high on their 2010 popularity, helped by the Sex and the City 2 filming in the Moroccan city and the global focus on South Africa during the World Cup, with searches up by 165% and 161% respectively.
The research was based on hotel searches made on the company’s UK site between December 1 and 22.
A Hotels.com spokeswoman said: “Our research reveals a more independent explorative streak from British travellers for 2011, with some lesser known destinations clearly on the wish list of Hotels.com customers.
“We have seen a surge of interest in Mexico, confirming predictions that it could be a real hotspot next year, along with South America, India and Lebanon.
“A World Cup factor could also still be at play with holidaymakers also looking at Cape Town in South Africa.
“Value is clearly still a key concern with many of the most widely searched destinations offering some very competitive hotel rates.”
