.jpeg)
Visitors at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: VNA
“It's no surprise that travel-related searches picked up big time in 2022, as more destinations re-opened and dropped COVID-related regulations like mandatory testing,” said the CNN.
Within the data, released by Google, is a list of the top 10 trending destinations on its Google Flights online flight booking search service. This list provides information on the destinations where Americans want to visit this year and beyond.
However, according to the CNN, one important thing to know about this data is that there is a difference between "most searched" and "top trending" destinations.
Regarding this difference, a Google representative explained: “The 'trending' queries are the searches that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2022 as compared to 2021.”
Particularly, according to CNN, Asia has recovered after the COVID-19 pandemic. “Overall, countries in Asia were much slower to reopen than their European relatives. As a result, the Asia-Pacific region is set to lose its title as the world's largest travel region this year,” the CNN added.
Notably, in the list of the top 10 trending destinations on Google Flights, Ho Chi Minh City ranked high (the 2nd). The CNN said that Vietnam had reopened to tourism in early 2022, while other countries such as Japan and China remained closed.
In addition, “a spate of new hotels opening in popular destinations like Phu Quoc and Ke Ga Bay, both of which are in the southern part of the country and accessible via Ho Chi Minh City, doesn't hurt, either,” the source added.
In addition, two major centers of India, namely Mumbai and New Delhi, also made the list. India reopened its borders at the end of 2021, and US passport holders are able to apply for travel visa via online.
Meanwhile, the Europe has marked a significant return. Specifically, four of the top 10 destinations, which Google Flights users in the US searched for, are London, Paris, Rome and Lisbon. All of these destinations are in the Europe.
The top 10 trending destinations on Google Flights include: London (UK), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Paris (France), New Delhi (India), Toronto (Canada), Rome (Italy), Mumbai (India), Vancouver (Canada), Lisbon (Portugal), and New York (US).
Source: CNN