I love getting articles on the newest destinations on the rise. Travel Counsellors have just revealed that Japan and Sri Lanka are new entrants on their top 10 long haul bookings list for 2019. The list, released by Travel Counsellors annually, revealed that bookings in January 2019 were up 100% for Japan and 40% for Sri Lanka.
Long haul destinations included in Travel Counsellors’ top 10 list for January 2019 has USA in first position, with Mexico in second place, followed by Australia, Mauritius, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Canada, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Japan. Other destinations that saw a significant increase in bookings included Mauritius up 27%, Indonesia (25%), Dominican Republic (18%), Peru (120%) and Croatia (28%). On the top European destinations list, Spain took pole position once again, followed by Italy, Portugal, France and Greece. Travel Counsellors has also seen the demand in cruise holidays rise, with an increase of 39% in bookings last month, when compared to the same period in 2018.
Top 10 Long Haul
- USA
- Mexico
- Australia
- Mauritius
- UAE
- South Africa
- Canada
- Sri Lanka
- Vietnam
- Japan
Top 5 Europe
- Spain
- Italy
- Portugal
- France
- Greece
General Manager of Travel Counsellors Ireland, Cathy Burke said: “While Japan didn’t feature in our top 10 list in 2018, it ranks in tenth place this year. With the 2019 Rugby World Cup being held in Japan, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to Tokyo in 2020, there has been a surge in bookings. However, it’s not just sports fans enquiring, as there’s a significant number of bookings not related to these events. It’s because Japan is front of mind at the moment, everyone is talking about what a beautiful and wonderfully diverse country it is. She also added that “With Sri Lanka, there has been a definite increase in popularity after Lonely Planet ranked it the top country for travel in 2019. It really does have it all — history, culture, beaches, wildlife, weather and lovely people.”
