Long-haul specialist names top destinations
Research conducted by long-haul travel company Southall Travel has revealed Dubai as the most popular long-haul beach holiday destination this year, with Bali named the fastest growing.
Mauritius was the second most popular destination in January followed by Phuket in Thailand, with the Maldives and Sri Lanka completing the top five.
Bangkok was the most popular city break destination booked in January, followed by Abu Dhabi.
Mumbai, the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the most populous city in India is the third most popular city break destination followed by Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Las Vegas.
Bookings to Bali, the fastest growing destination, were up 60% in January compared to January 2016.
Kuala Lumpur bookings were up 43%, whilst Koh Samui, Thailand’s second largest island, was up 36%. Sri Lanka and Langkawi (Malaysia), complete the list of the top five fastest growing destinations, with bookings up 32% and 27% respectively.
Jaymin Borkhatria, Southall Travel sales director, said: "It has been an incredibly busy month with bookings up around 10% this January compared to last. Dubai is proving more popular than ever and we expect it to welcome many more British holidaymakers to its beaches this year.
"Bali is becoming increasingly popular amongst British travellers and with more flights available and many fantastic hotels and resorts offering great value, we expect this trend to continue throughout 2017."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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