USA TODAY International Edition
THESE ARE THE TOP DESTINATIONS FOR 2019
From Seattle to Miami or Jordan to Iceland, travelers look to new year
Which destinations do U.S. travelers want to explore in 2019?
Some are making a comeback after a tough 2018. The island of Hawaii, known as the Big Island, seemed to have gotten it all this year: a volcanic eruption, earthquake and hurricane.
The eruption of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii island caused the closure of a large swath of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Several parts re-opened in September.
Highly dependent on tourism, the Big Island is ready to welcome back visitors. And other islands within the chain want travelers to know that they have not experienced similar problems.
Maui was vacation rental website HomeAway’s top U.S. destination for 2019, based on future demand. Its beaches, waterfalls, farms and scenic 53-mile drive to Hana have enchanted travelers.
Rounding out the top five U.S. destinations on HomeAway are all warm weather destinations in the south: Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Gulf Shores, Alabama.; Panama City Beach, Florida; and Miramar and Rosemary Beach, Florida.
Airbnb also highlighted Tennessee. The lodging website has named the Great Smoky Mountains as one of 19 destinations to visit in 2019. Two of the national park's most iconic trails are re-opening after a wildfire two years ago. The park has the largest black bear population in the USA.
Nearby is Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, home to Dollywood. Using search, booking and wish list growth data, Airbnb found that there was a 191 percent year-over-year increase in bookings from October 2017 to October 2018 in the Great Smoky Mountains.
The Catskill Mountains and Hudson Valley of New York also have seen an uptick of interest on Airbnb, with a 100 percent year-over-year increase in bookings. It’s a year-round destination with ski resorts, vineyards, orchards and farms, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the famed Woodstock festival.
“The Catskills provide the perfect backdrop for a laid-back, season-agnostic re- treat,” Airbnb says.
Miami is the top U.S. city to visit on Lonely Planet’s list of places to travel to next year. Miami has always captivated travelers for its beaches and nightlife. But in recent years, it has turned into a center for the arts, food and urban design. Downtown Miami has welcomed a $305 million science museum. And the Design District has become a “cultural magnet,” Lonely Planet says.
Seattle home of Amazon headquarters, is another one of Lonely Planet’s top picks. The online retailer has transformed the Denny Triangle neighborhood. Nearby, the Space Needle has gotten its largest renovation in more than 50 years. Down on the waterfront, a concrete expressway has been transformed into a multi-billion-dollar tunnel.
American Express Travel’s top trending U.S. travel destinations for 2019, based on its booking data, are Savannah and Washington, D.C. Savannah this year had a 96 percent yearover-year increase in bookings among card members while the nation’s capital had a 21 percent spike.
New York City is slated to have an eventful year in 2019. Hudson Yards will debut in March. It’s a $20 million project with condos, parks, restaurants, hotels and public art in the West Side of Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty Museum will open in May 2019.
International destinations
In a recent Booking.com survey, 45 percent of 21,500 global travelers said they want to be more adventurous in their choice of destinations in 2019 than they were in 2018.
Some up-and-coming destinations designated by Booking.com include Wadi Rum, Jordan; Bacalar, Mexico; Ouarzazate, Morocco; and Palomino, Colombia.
The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) named its hot destinations for 2019, based on a recent survey conducted by Price WaterhouseCoopers. Its members named Italy the most popular destination for travelers in 2019. The top 10 hot destinations for the coming year also included Iceland, which ranked second. It was followed by Japan, Vietnam, Australia, France, Spain, Colombia, Cambodia and Portugal.
USTOA members also identified their top 10 off-the-beaten path or emerging destinations. Iceland again ranked first and Cambodia came in second. They were followed by Croatia, Colombia, Vietnam, Portugal, Bhutan, Bolivia, Myanmar and Ethiopia.
“It’s interesting to see five destinations – Iceland, Cambodia, Colombia, Vietnam and Portugal – appear on both the hot destinations and emerging destinations lists,” says Terry Dale, president of USTOA. “This tells us that off-the-beaten path travel experiences continue to grow in popularity.”
Jonny Bealby, founder of Wild Frontiers, which specializes in small tours to off-the-radar destinations, says Uzbekistan is captivating clients. Passenger numbers to the country were up 40 percent this year compared with last, and Wild Frontiers expects that upswing to continue.
A number of people are choosing Uzbekistan rather than the less stable Middle East to see its Islamic architecture. They also are attracted to the Silk Road which has seen a resurgence in interest because of China’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure project. This year Uzbekistan introduced a new e-visa scheme, reducing the costs and making it easier to obtain a visa to visit the country.
“Today Uzbekistan offers visitors stunning architecture, a fascinating culture and a whole host of remnants of the great trading route which helped shape the modern world,” Bealby says.
One part of the Middle East that is seeing an uptick of visitors is Jordan. Wild Frontiers saw passenger numbers there double this year compared to last. The country has good infrastructure, hotels and roads. It also has direct flights from New York, Chicago and Detroit.
American Express Travel’s top trending international destinations for 2019 are Barcelona, Doha, Hamburg, Marrakech, New Zealand, Nassau in the Bahamas, Singapore, and Tuscany.