In order to find the most sought-after destination in the continent, CV Villas has conducted a study looking at the search volume in 185 countries for 106 European cities and regions. The results show that Greece is the biggest tourist magnet in Europe, with the picturesque island of Santorini being the most popular destination in the world, with it being the top search in 47 countries. Greece is also home to five more locations in the top 15 ranking: Corfu, Kos, Mykonos, Crete and Zakynthos.

This number of locations included is only rivalled by Spain, whose island of Ibiza stands in second on the podium, the favourite spot of 29 different countries. Following it is another Spanish island, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, and is the favourite of 18 countries, including Thailand, the UK and Iceland.

In fourth comes the Italian island of Sicily with its Mediterranean climate and Roman history, then it’s Corfu, in Greece, an island close to Albania.

The top 10 are filled by Kos, again in Greece, the Turkish city of Antalya, the country’s only inclusion in the top 15, the Italian island of Sardinia, and the Greek islands of Mykonos and Crete.

The Algarve

The Algarve came in 17th place overall, just missing out on the top 15 positions. The Southern tip of Portugal, known for its stunning beaches, inland hills and history spanning governance of Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and finally the modern state of Portugal after its conquest in the 14th century, was the favourite holiday destination of Luxembourg, who has a significant Portuguese diaspora.

Portugal themselves’ favourite vacation spot is Ibiza, a sentiment shared by the rest of the Lusophone countries, along with the likes of the Netherlands and Morocco.

Other destinations with strong support from a particular country are Zakynthos, Greece, who counts with interest from Slovakia, the Canary Island of Lanzarote, preferred by Ireland, and the Turkish town of Bodrum, especially liked by Azerbaijanis.

CV Villas’ report also included a study into the preferences of US states, which reveals more states to prefer Sicily while more people end up preferring Santorini nationwide. In the meantime, 4 states like the Tuscany region of Italy best, Louisiana and South Dakota, the only states to pick differently than for those three options, also went for Italian destinations: the island of Capri and Lake Como, respectively.

The report with all the information on the results can be viewed here: https://www.cvvillas.com/blog/archive/worlds-most-popular-eu-destinations/.

Author

Star in the 2015 music video for the hit single “Headlights” by German musician, DJ and record producer Robin Schulz featuring American singer-songwriter Ilsey. Also a journalist.

Jay Bodsworth