Palma is top holiday spot for the Spanish

Around 60 percent of people searching for summer holidays on the internet decided to go abroad with the remainder choosing national destinations. “Vuelos Baratos” researched the information from amongst more than 2.5 million internet users this season.

The study revealed that amongst the ten most popular destinations, six were in Spain. Palma, it said, was the most sought-after holiday spot. In general it was the Balearics, along with other coastal regions of the country which were the most researched online spots in Europe.

Of the top 10 choices in Spain, 8 were in the Balearic Islands, the Canaries and the Andalucian coast. These three accounted for 62 percent of online holiday research, said “Vuelos Baratos.” Only two places inland were popular for national holidays: Madrid and Seville.
Meanwhile, for Spanish holiday-makers venturing overseas, the five most popular destinations were London, Bucharest, Paris, New York and Rome. London, the most sought-after, accounted for 12 percent of internet research, followed by Bucharest (8%); Paris (7.7%), and Rome (5.2%).

Because summer holidays are the longest of the year, foreigners living in Spain took advantage of the break to return to their country of origin, a feature also revealed in the research.

Apart from Bucharest (Romania) being a top destination from Madrid airports, cities in South American countries were also favoured, such as Lima in Peru, Buenos Aires in Argentina, La Habana, Quito and Guayaquil. Of the ten most popular long distance destinations outside Europe, eight were in South America and online research undertaken by travellers for this part of the world accounted for a third of all searches registered by the website.

The study undertaken by “Vuelos Baratos” showed that final destinations for holidays depended on the region of Spain from which travellers were flying. People departing from Madrid flew mostly to Bucharest and London, followed by Tenerife, Palma and Ibiza.

People in Catalonia flying from Barcelona preferred Minorca, Ibiza and Palma above any other destination, whether national or international.
For travellers from Seville and Malaga, the most popular destination was Barcelona followed by London, the Balearic Islands and the Canaries. Residents in the Basque Country sought sunshine in Ibiza, Malaga and Palma, whilst Galicians, Cantabrians and Asturians remained faithfuly to tradition by visiting Madrid and Barcelona.

Outside Europe, New York was the principal long distance destination for those researching on line holidays in Malaga, Catalonia and Madrid. People in the Canaries meanwhile chose La Habana in Cuba. “Vuelos Baratos” confirmed that analysing internet research people make for travel at other times of the year other than summer, no more than 10 percent using the internet look at overseas destinations.