While European hot spots such as London, Paris and Rome remain popular, this year's favorite international destination is Cancun, Mexico, where the average roundtrip airfare costs $127 less than last year, according to Fly.com Top 50 International Summer Destinations for 2014 list.
NEW YORK – As people across America gear up for summer vacation, new research from Fly.com reveals that low airfares are propelling many travelers to choose destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. Airfare searches to these three regions represent nearly half of the Fly.com Top 50 International Summer Destinations for 2014 list.
While European hot spots such as London, Paris and Rome remain popular, this year’s favorite international destination is Cancun, Mexico, where the average roundtrip airfare costs $127 less than last year. Cancun is joined in Fly.com’s Top 50 by four other Mexican cities: San Jose del Cabo (No. 7), Puerto Vallarta (No. 10), Guadalajara (No. 33) and Mexico City (No. 35). Roundtrip airfares to these cities dropped 8% on average, compared with 2013 prices.
2014 Top Summer Destinations
1. Cancun, Mexico
2. London, United Kingdom
3. Paris, France
4. Rome, Italy
5. Dublin, Ireland
6. Montego Bay, Jamaica
7. San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico
8. Oranjestad, Aruba
9. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
10. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Caribbean destinations represent nearly a quarter of the Fly.com Top 50. Average roundtrip airfares to the Caribbean are 4% less than the same period last year and some fares have decreased by as much as $359 roundtrip. Popular countries include Jamaica, Aruba and the Dominican Republic. Central American destinations also piqued travelers’ interest, where average fares to Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador are down 7%.
In contrast, the overall cost of a roundtrip flight to Europe is 6% higher than last summer. Flights to Athens (Greece) and Dublin (Ireland) are the best bets for travelers looking to fly across the pond on a budget.
“It’s clear that the cost of airfare is playing a major role in vacation planning this summer,” said Warren Chang, vice president and general manager, Fly.com. “Purchase price and the appeal of shorter flights are making travelers think twice about Europe. Moving forward we expect this trend to continue, especially in light of recent service expansions into Mexico and the Caribbean from carriers such as Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines.”
Fly.com used data collected from more than 5 million user searches conducted between Jan. 1 and March 19, 2014, and extracted international flights with travel dates between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2014.
Photo caption: Cancun, Mexico.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
