(SitNews) - Alaska cruises jumped to the top spot from last year's fifth place to become the most booked domestic vacation for 2018, according to findings from Travel Leaders Group's authoritative 2018 Travel Trends Survey, released today. Orlando was bumped down a notch to second place. Las Vegas, Maui and New York City rounded out the Top 5.  Internationally, Caribbean cruises and Cancun, Mexico, respectively, maintained the top two spots, while European river cruises edged up one place to third. Mediterranean cruises and Punta Can, Dominican Republic, were fourth and fifth, respectively. 

"Alaska is a truly unique bucket-list destination and more and more people from around the world are discovering its awe-inspiring beauty," noted Chacko. "Our travel advisors frequently recommend it as a not-to-be-missed travel experience, especially for those interested in vivid scenery, wildlife or expedition travel." 

Alaska cruises have been among the top 10 domestic trips booked by Travel Leaders Group travel advisors over the last several years, but this is the first year Alaska cruises have reached the number one spot in the annual Travel Trends Survey. According to the Cruise Lines International Association, the world's largest cruise industry trade association, 1,089,700 passengers cruised in Alaska in 2017 and that number is projected to grow another seven percent to 1,165,500 passengers in 2018.

Chacko added, "Also, optimism among Travel Leaders Group agents with respect to their travel business is at the highest level we've seen this decade."

Top "up and coming" destinations include Iceland, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam and Croatia.  Additionally, of the respondents who book travel to the Caribbean, 45.6 percent said their 2018 bookings to the Caribbean are about even with last year, while 13.3 percent said their bookings to the Caribbean are higher. When it comes to Caribbean cruises, 71.7 percent said these bookings are either higher than or equal to last year's bookings.

"It is important to note that interest in the Caribbean, whether it is a cruise or land-based travel, remains high," said Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko. "Cruising overall, whether it's to the Caribbean, a European river cruise or a cruise in the Mediterranean, is a popular vacation pick for Americans due to the multiple destinations one can visit, along with the tremendous value and convenience cruises offer." 

Based on actual booking data, Travel Leaders Group’s survey was conducted over two months from December 20, 2017-February 19, 2018, with responses from 1,355 North American-based travel agency owners, managers and frontline travel agents from the flagship Travel Leaders brand and Travel Leaders Group’s All Aboard Travel, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, Travel Leaders Corporate, and Tzell Travel Group units.

Travel Leaders Group is one of North America’s largest travel companies and is a leader in both the retail travel agency space and corporate travel. Travel Leaders Group consistently ranks as one of the top travel companies nationwide.

Editing by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News:

Travel Leaders Group
www.travelleadersgroup.com

 

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