Sojern's Q2 Global Travel Insights Report Uncovers New Globally Trending Destinations and Offers Fall Travel Forecast

SAN FRANCISCO, July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sojern, the world's leading performance marketing platform for travel brands, today released its Q2 Global Travel Insights Report based on the rigorous analysis of more than a billion traveler intent data points across the globe.

Q2 2015 Global Travel Trends: The Bird's Eye View

Compared with the previous two quarters, travelers across studied regions searched for destinations closer to home, eschewing long-haul trips in favor of domestic and regional trips. Globally, the most searched destinations during the second quarter of the year were: the United States, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Portugal, Turkey, Greece and Russia. The latter re-entered the list after a quarter's hiatus, replacing Thailand.

Destinations with the Most Dramatic Rise in Traveler Interest Year on Year

Beyond the top 10, here are the destinations that captured the most traveler interest by region since summer 2014:

In North America, Haiti moved up 34 ranks since summer 2014, after experiencing a dramatic decline in tourism in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, followed by Iceland, up 11 spots. 

In Western Europe, Cuba pushed up 12 places to position 41, thanks to a lot of media attention and the detente with the US. Czech Republic, Iceland and Romania each moved seven places up in the ranking.

For travelers from Latin America, Aruba's appeal increased over last year, pushing it up 11 spots, followed, by Hungary, up 10 spots. The latter is one of the more affordable European destinations, as a non-Eurozone country.

In Southeast Asia, Bangladesh moved up eight spots and Qatar seven since summer 2014.

For travelers from the Middle East, Sudan gained the most popularity (up 24 spots), followed closely by Bosnia and Herzegovina (21 spots), a country which the World Tourism Organization estimates will have the third highest tourism growth rate in the world by 2020.

Cuba Continues To Gain Interest from Travelers Globally

Cuba continued its upward trajectory this past quarter, moving up another spot since Q1, to position 14 on the list of top 20 most popular Caribbean destinations for Americans. That is a five-place jump up from number 19 back in December 2014, which means that now Cuba ranks higher than Antigua and Barbuda, Curacao, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the British Virgin Islands. The Caribbean island state also moved up on West Europeans' radars, climbing 12 places since summer 2014.

Greece Remains Tourist Magnet, In Spite of Financial Troubles

Source: Sojern's Q2 Global Travel Insights Report Uncovers New Globally Trending Destinations and Offers Fall Travel Forecast