by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:57 AM ET, Mon December 7, 2020
More people than ever this year have begun to travel for the holidays, but the destinations that were the most popular in the past few years no longer take the highest rankings.
According to Trivago's new data from November, interest in travel between December 20-25 grew with trends towards vacations closer to home and in less populated areas.
Germany, France and the U.K. have been under new lockdown measures, which led to a dip in travel in those countries. In the U.S., however, searches for vacations closer to home are growing, with last-minute trips becoming more popular because of uncertainty and changing protocols.
Trivago's CEO, Axel Hefer, stated, "Unlike those who plan a trip a few weeks out, last-minute travelers usually don't have to worry about changes in the location they're heading (i.e., weather or COVID-19 restrictions), allowing for greater peace of mind."
Top destinations for the holiday season are Las Vegas, Orlando and New York, as well as more scenic and less populated destinations, such as seaside destinations.
"Given current travel restrictions, the trends we have seen on our platform over the last few months and the uncertainty that lies ahead, last-minute coastal and domestic travel (inter-state) getaways are likely to continue through the upcoming holiday season," said Hefer. "We've seen throughout the pandemic that domestic travel, coastal destinations as well as mountain locations/nature trips are most popular among travelers looking to stay away from the larger crowds commonly associated with big cities. For example, Playa Bavaro, Miami Beach, Pigeon Forge and San Antonio earned spots on the top ten destinations for Christmas searches."
According to Hefer, the number of searches made for Christmas vacations nearly doubled from the beginning of November to the end of the month, signaling that most travelers this holiday season will decide to travel on a last-minute basis, in keeping with this year's trend.
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