ForwardKey has released its list of the 100 most sought-after destinations for the upcoming summer season between 1 July and 31 August.

The rankings were determined based on comprehensive online search data. Among the vast dataset of over 1.1 billion searches, Bangkok emerged as the top destination, surpassing all others by a significant margin.

Here are the top 20 destinations, ranked in order, along with their respective index values:

1. Bangkok (100)
2. Paris (73)
3. London (72)
4. Denpasar (69)
5. Barcelona (68)
6. New York (61)
7. Lisbon (54)
8. Istanbul (52)
9. Madrid (52)
10. Athens (51)
11. Palma Mallorca (48)
12. Singapore (46)
13. Tokyo (45)
14. Kuala Lumpur (45)
15. Amsterdam (44)
16. Copenhagen (42)
17. Los Angeles (42)
18. Rome (39)
19. Manila (34)
20. Frankfurt (34)

The complete list, featuring positions 21 to 100, includes notable destinations such as Antalya, Berlin, Cancun, Cairo, Delhi, Dubai, Dublin, Ho Chi Minh City, Malaga, Marrakech, Miami, Milan, Punta Cana, San Francisco, Seoul, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Warsaw, Valetta, and Vienna.

Comparing this year's rankings with the previous year, Bangkok rose three places to claim the top spot, surpassing Paris, which now holds the second position. London retained its strong presence in third place. Other noteworthy changes include Denpasar's impressive ascent of six places, securing the fourth position, and Tokyo's remarkable surge of 53 places, propelling it to the 13th spot. Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Manila also experienced significant advancements in the rankings.

From the beach to the city

Delving deeper into ForwardKeys' air ticketing database, additional trends have emerged. While beach destinations initially dominated leisure travel during the pandemic, there has been a notable shift in preferences. Urban, nature, and shopping destinations are now outpacing beach destinations, with respective increases of 42%, 45%, and 53% compared to the previous year.

Globally, summer bookings currently stand at 13% below pre-pandemic levels (2019). However, the recovery varies significantly across regions. The USA leads the way, with outbound flight bookings surpassing 2019 levels by 11%. Canada closely follows with a 4% increase, while the UK and EU show slight deficits of 3% and 11% respectively. Latin America, India, South Korea, GCC countries, and China also demonstrate differing levels of recovery.

Olivier Ponti, VP Insights at ForwardKeys cautioned about potential challenges, including high inflation impacting consumer spending and the importance of preparedness to handle a potential surge in demand. He recommends destinations and operators to remain adaptable and vigilant to leverage the ongoing recovery and cater to evolving traveller preferences.