Americans Are Choosing Sunny Beaches and City Lights for This Year’s Holiday Celebrations

Allianz Partners USA has announced its annual Top 10 Holiday Destinations survey, which found Americans are planning holiday trips to New York City and Cancun, Mexico, as their top domestic and international locations.

New York City headlines for the third year in a row as the number one domestic destination on American travelers' wish lists this holiday season, followed by sunny Orlando (#2), dazzling Las Vegas (#3), Los Angeles (#4) and Atlanta (#5). This year, Las Vegas notably jumps four spots compared to 2022, making an appearance in the domestic top three for the first time since the survey's inception in 2016.

Travelers planning an overseas holiday should be prepared for busier airport gates at warm-weather destinations. For the sixth time in a row, Cancun stays on top with travelers opting to escape the cold to relax on Mexico's sunny beaches. Not far behind, London, England (#2), continues to be a top contender while sunnier destinations like San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (#3), Montego Bay, Jamaica (#4) and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (#5) continue to attract U.S. travelers.

“If you have a frequent traveler in the family, a great gift this holiday season is an annual travel insurance policy,” says Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA. “Whether they are traveling stateside shouting 'Viva Las Vegas,' or hitting the beach internationally, a travel insurance policy can offer peace of mind in case of an unexpected covered travel delay, trip cancellation or trip interruption, and an annual policy can provide protection all year 'round for those covered pre-paid, non-refundable expenses.”

*Methodology: The data of U.S. travelers' 2023 holiday plans was gathered by analyzing the number of customers that went through the online booking process of airfare and package paths for partners offering Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance to generate itineraries for roundtrip flights departing from U.S. airports from 12/16/2023 –12/29/2023, returning 12/17/2023 – 12/29/2023. In total, just over 3.1 million itineraries were analyzed using this methodology.