Dera among the least likely places to visit

Skyscanner reveals the top 10 most searched for 2009 destinations to see where people are heading on holiday this year.

Spain remains a favourite with Brits due to its close proximity, hot weather and good value
1. London (UK)
2. Malaga (Spain)
3. Alicante (Spain)
4. Tenerife (Spain)
5. Dalaman (Turkey)
6. Faro (Portugal)
7. Palma (Spain)
8. Geneva (Switzerland)
9. Paphos (Cyprus)
10. Murcia (Spain)

Top 10 most searched for destinations by UK visitors using Skyscanner.net for travel in 2009 (as of Dec 08). London took the top spot and a total of five UK cities made the top 50, highlighting the fact that domestic air travel remains strong. However, Spain dominated the top 10, with 5 Spanish destinations featuring, all of which are beach holiday spots. Turkey, Portugal and Cyprus also placed in the top 10, as did Switzerland, due to its popularity as a ski hub.

Barry Smith, Skyscanner co-founder commented:“It’s still early days for 2009 bookings, but already we can see that British people don’t want to give up their beach holidays, even when times are tough. This year, it’s all about making your money go as far as possible, which is why Spain remains an extremely popular destination for British travellers. It’s close, warm and still very good value. Turkey is another value destination, jumping up five places compared to last year’s top 10, partly because it’s outside the Euro-zone.”Of the top 50 destinations, only eight were outside of Europe, suggesting that short haul travel will be the winner for 2009. Despite a fall in UK-USA search traffic in the run up to Christmas due to the strengthening US dollar, New York (USA) and Orlando (USA) made the top 20, as did Rome (Italy), Barcelona (Spain), Paris (France) and Amsterdam (Netherlands).

Places least likely to see many UK travellers in 2009 included Dali City (China), Dera Ismail Khan (Pakistan) and Iron Mountain (Michigan, USA).

Source: http://news.skyscanner.net/articles/2009/01/000847-where-are-we-going-in-2009-top-10-travel-destinations.html