Colombia has been ranked as the hottest destination for Brits this autumn, according to Tripadvisor.
To be more precise, the small town of Nemocon on the outskirts of Bogotá, the capital of the South American country. They are followed by the Greek island of Mykonos (second), Pigianos Kampos on Crete (third) and Istanbul (fourth) and Alanya (fifth) in Turkey.
They are the top five destinations in a top 10 ranking compiled by Tripadvisor for its 2022 Fall Travel Index. The results come from analyzing the places that saw the largest annual increase in travel searches by Britons on Tripadvisor this autumn.
Colombia has been ranked as the hottest destination for Brits this autumn. This is according to a ranking compiled by Tripadvisor, which looked at destinations that saw the largest increases in searches compared to the previous year
Mykonos (pictured) is number two in the ranking. Wine tasting is one of the top rated activities on the island
First up is Nemocon, home to Colombia’s second largest salt mine — a “very Instagrammable attraction” according to Tripadvisor.
The top-rated Tripadvisor attraction in the city is a private tour of the salt mines, with the website stating, “This private tour, bookable on Tripadvisor, allows visitors to the city to explore the salt mines 80 meters (262 feet) underground and… marvel at the largest salt crystal in the world, known as the ‘Colombian Heart’.’
On second-place Mykonos, wine tasting is one of the top-rated activities, and in Pigianos Kampos, it’s a cooking class popular with tourists.
A street food tour with a local guide is a hit in Istanbul, and in Alanya, a tour of the ancient city of Hierapolis and a visit to the Pamukkale hot springs are popular with travelers.
In Pigianos Kampos, in the picture that is third, it is a cooking class popular with tourists
A street food tour with a local guide is a hit in Istanbul, which ranks fourth
Two more Turkish hotspots make the top 10 – Guvercinlik and Antalya rank as the 6th and 7th fastest growing destinations respectively.
The remaining top 10 trending destinations include Milan (8th), Cairo in Egypt (9th) and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (10th).
The study, based on a combination of first-party searches and consumer data from Tripadvisor, also shows that Britons believe the top five ingredients for an exciting trip are the scenery (53 percent), the food (52 percent ), the weather (42 percent), culture (40 percent) and activities (38 percent).
More than one in five (21 percent) said the purpose of their trip is to experience something new and unique, and just as many booked an on-trip activity before their trip to help them do that. Thirty percent said activities are the most memorable part of a trip.
The pictured Turkish resort of Alanya ranks fifth in the Tripadvisor ranking
The study found that millennials are the most likely to take a trip this fall, with nearly three-quarters (73 percent) saying they plan to do so, according to the study. At the other end of the spectrum, Boomers travel the least, at 60 percent.
Tripadvisor says the study shows that “domestic travel is still the top choice worldwide, with nearly two-thirds (60 percent) of global travelers choosing to travel this fall.”
It adds: “However, Britons are going against the tide this season as international travel is just ahead of domestic travel, with more than half of Britons (51 per cent) saying they plan to travel abroad, while 49 per cent choose to remain in the UK.’
The resort of Guvercinlik (pictured) in Turkey secured sixth place in the ranking
A waterfall tour is one of the top rated activities in 7th place in Antalya, Turkey (above)
The Italian city of Milan plummets to eighth place overall
Whether they go abroad or not, most Brits (75 per cent) say they plan to travel between one and six hours from home, while almost a quarter (23 per cent) plan to travel seven or more hours away is. A majority (58%) of Britons are planning a trip of at least four nights this autumn.
Tripadvisor notes that the first and second weeks of September are the most popular travel dates for UK travelers this autumn.
While interest rates in the UK have just risen to 1.75 per cent – the highest level since 2008 – over two thirds of respondents (68 per cent) said they plan to take an autumn break this year.
However, three in five respondents (60 percent) said inflation is affecting the way they travel. Thirty percent said they are likely to travel shorter and the same number said they are likely to travel closer to where they live than previously planned. Gen Z travelers appear to be hit hardest by price increases, as 69 percent said the rising cost of living will change the way they travel. Boomers appear to be the least affected, with just 31 percent saying the same.
Cairo — where a private tour of the pyramids is a highly rated activity — comes in ninth on the list
The pictured Egyptian coastal city of Sharm El-Sheikh is ranked tenth in the Tripadvisor ranking
Tripadvisor says that “unsurprisingly, for the majority of Britons, continued rising costs are prompting consumers to change their spending habits, including adjusting their travel plans”.
However, it notes that despite rising costs, the survey found that two in five (37%) Britons still intend to travel as planned this autumn – “inflation is a thorn in their side”.
Tripadvisor notes: “For many it seems that a holiday is too precious to give up and Britons are choosing to cut spending elsewhere to keep this all-important time at bay.”
43% of UK respondents said they plan to travel more this autumn than in the same period last year, rising to 69% for Gen Z travelers when broken down by generation. More than one in two (53%) Brits plan to spend more, with two-thirds (66%) of Gen Z travelers claiming they will do the same.”
This is also being reflected in travel behaviour, says Tripadvisor, noting that the average value of a trip booked by UK travelers this autumn is 83 per cent higher than for the same period in 2021.
The study also compared the spending habits of travelers in the US, UK, Australia, Italy, Singapore and Japan and found that Britons are the biggest spenders after Americans.
