Virtuoso reveals where the wealthy are jetting to this summer

NEW YORK - Leading luxury travel network Virtuoso, recognized throughout the industry as an authoritative trend predictor, has tapped into the group's data warehouse of more than $35 billion in transactions to determine the top summer destinations for 2015. It turns out the well-heeled – those who use summer as a verb, rather than a noun – are still vacationing in Europe; however, not in droves as anticipated. Virtuoso also shows that many of its travelers are venturing to some more unique locales as it compares destinations with the most year-over-year demand.

The Virtuoso Top10: The most popular destinations for summer vacations based on future bookings

• United Kingdom
• Italy
• France
• Canada
• Spain
• Germany
• Netherlands
• South Africa
• Ireland
• Greece

The Top 10 analysis: While Europe continues to dominate the list of favored destinations, the network's overall sales to Europe are slightly down by four percent when compared to the same timeframe in 2014. That said, the United Kingdom maintains its stronghold as the number one spot for travelers.  Bookings for Spain are up four percent and Germany is seeing a seven percent increase, most likely driven by their relative value.  The average daily rate (ADR) for Virtuoso's partner hotels in Spain comes in almost 35 percent lower than the European average of $761 per night, while Germany's hotel ADRs are about half the European average at $419 per night. With a 20 percent increase in bookings, Canada is the fastest growing of the Top 10 Destinations and Vancouver is the big winner, accounting for almost half of the network's air bookings.

The Virtuoso Hot10: The countries that have seen the largest percentage of growth in year-over-year bookings

• Australia (+137%)
• China (+101%)
• Ecuador (+84%)
• Iceland (+49%)
• Greece (+41%)
• Japan (+35%)
• Turkey (+29%)
• United Arab Emirates (+22%)
• Canada (+20%)
• Croatia (+18%)

The Hot 10 analysis: Australia leads the chart with triple-digit growth, indicating that winter travel to Down Under is gaining in popularity. China trailed closely behind, largely thanks to Hong Kong which accounts for almost half of its air traffic. This year, Ecuador became the fastest growing destination – as well as the most popular – in South America. It is no surprise that summer is the time to visit Iceland, though the 49 percent jump shows that plenty of travelers are eager to explore it. And travel to Greece is back on the rise, with 58 percent of bookings occurring June through August as travelers head to their favorite isles: Santorini, Mykonos, Crete and Rhodes.

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