Summer travelers plan to soak up Florida sun and London fog this year, according to the American Automobile Association’s annual summer travel survey.
Nearly 100 million Americans — or four in 10 U.S. adults — are planning to take a family vacation in 2019, per AAA data, which is slightly more than last year. The auto club and travel service organization analyzed its members’ booking data, and found that two-thirds of AAA leisure travelers (64%) plan to take vacations this summer, with Orlando’s theme parks and several historic European cities topping the list of most popular destinations.
Orlando, the home of Disney’s DIS, -0.23% Walt Disney World and Comcast’s CMCSA, -0.12% Universal Orlando Resort, was No. 1 on most vacationers’ lists for the second year in a row. Indeed, Florida welcomed a record 126 million tourists last year, Visit Florida reported, a 6% increase from the previous record set in 2017.
And the theme park hub has plenty of new attractions to draw guests in this summer. They include the new “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” set to open in Walt Disney World in August (and in California’s Disneyland Resort in May), as well as a new Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure ride in Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter launching in June. SeaWorld Orlando SEAS, -1.41% has a new “Sesame Street”-themed land, while Merlin Entertainments’ MERL, -0.76% LEGOLAND Florida Resort is debuting its Lego Movie World.
See: Disney’s new ‘Star Wars’ attractions will open earlier than planned — but there’s a catch
Harry Potter’s London hometown jumped four spots from last year to take second place on the list, part of the 2019 trend of European cities luring Americans across the pond. Indeed, Rome took third place, Dublin is in fifth place, and Paris is in sixth. Spring flights to Europe have been 15% cheaper so far this year, and looking forward, JetBlue Airways JBLU, +2.01% announced on Thursday that it’s adding low-cost flights from New York to London beginning 2021.
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
Goblins in the original Gringotts Wizarding Bank set at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.
London is calling to Americans, with the U.K. seeing a pre-Brexit tourism boom of nearly 70 million visitors over the last year. Visitors at Britain’s museums, galleries, zoos and castles increased 9% last year, with London’s Tate Modern ranking as the most-visited tourist spot with 5.86 million visitors. The Harry Potter tour just outside London is expanding with the goblin-run Gringotts Wizarding Bank attraction, which includes Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault. The U.K has also become a gin tourism hot spot, with The Ginstitute (a famous distillery on Portobello Road in Notting Hill) seeing their bookings jump 2,000% since 2015, the Telegraph reported.
See: The best ways to save your family money on Disneyland tickets
Otherwise, American cities such as Seattle, Anchorage, and Honolulu rounded out the top 10. “Millions of Americans are making plans for summer vacations, visiting famous landmarks in Europe, family attractions stateside and anything in between,” said Paula Twidale, vice president, AAA Travel, in a statement. “AAA recommends travelers plan ahead and book early with the expertise of a knowledgeable travel agent to maximize your vacation experience, saving time and money so you can focus on making vacation memories that will last well after summer fades away.”
Here’s the full list, with the number in parentheses marking each city’s summer 2018 ranking.
Top Summer Travel Destinations
These are the top summer travel destinations, based on AAA Travel bookings for trips between June 1 and Aug. 15, 2019:
. Orlando, Florida (1) . London, England (5) . Rome, Italy (2) . Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (3) . Dublin, Ireland (4) . Paris, France (7) . Seattle, Washington (9) . Anchorage, Alaska (8) . Honolulu, Hawaii (6) . Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (12)Have this weekly roundup sent to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Weekly Roundup newsletter. Sign up here.
