Skift Take
Flight booking data reveals Americans' top worldwide and domestic destinations so far this year. Tourism marketers take note, especially of changes from the 2019 rankings.
Americans went abroad in large numbers in 2023, and data on flight bookings has revealed their top destinations internationally and domestically — along with their most common departure cities.
Cancún led in popularity. About 17.5% of all flight bookings made from U.S. cities to international destinations were for the Mexican resort town in the prime leisure travel span of January through August 2023. The U.S.-to-Cancún bookings were at 91% of 2019's pre-pandemic level.
Fun fact: Cancún is an invention of the Mexican government, which in 1969 took an undeveloped stretch of beach and began to create a tourism mecca. It has been a remarkable success to become the top U.S. tourism spot of 2023.
London was the second-most popular destination from U.S. airports.
Destinations that have risen in the rankings of share of total bookings since pre-pandemic times include San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Jose del Cabo, Mexico; and Tel Aviv, Israel (before the conflict broke out in October).
Destination cityShare of bookings 20232023 Ranking 2019 AchievementShare of bookings 20192019 RankingCancun, Mexico17.5%191%16.34%1London, UK8.5%274%9.8%2Punta Cana, Dominican Republic8.1%3117%5