As 2018 comes to a close, Broadway Travel has released its findings on some of the top travel trends for 2019. Using Google Trends to look back at the past few years, the online travel retailer used the data to put together what we can expect to see next year.

The findings imply that we have never been in a more privileged position when it comes to exploring the wonders of the world. With the rise of technology, along with the influx of new low budget airlines, travel has become a lot more accessible.

Looking into past travel trends and comparing data from the last few years has uncovered some interesting statistics around both past and future trends:

• Tourists are slowly starting to return to Egypt following a 7-year dip in numbers – this is set to continue into 2019
• City breaks are likely to become even more popular in the new year, as phycologists suggest that these shorter holidays make people happier
• Searches for ‘Romantic holidays for two’ have seen a decrease of 16.6% in the last 4 years
• Romania is expected to be the next Berlin in 2020 – meaning there will be a significant rise in people holidaying there throughout 2019

One trend that really stood out is what is now known as ‘set-jetting’. With the popularity of TV shows such as Game of Thrones (GoT) at an all-time high, the desire to visit prominent film locations has seen a significant increase.

One particular destination that reaped the benefits of the GoT set-jetter trend is Croatia, with an influx of holidaymakers making their way to Dubrovnik. The data shows that there has been a 51.4% increase in the number of searches for this location following the release of Season 5, back in 2015. This trend is set to soar in 2019 with the upcoming release of the 8th and final season.

Also last year, Greece welcomed 30 million tourists, with around 2 million of those heading to Santorini. Known for its romantic air, Santorini looks to continue luring holidaymakers to the island in 2019 with a 56.7% rise in searches since 2014 -2018.

Furthermore, the research revealed that the top travel trends for 2019 are seeing people in the UK staying a little bit closer to home — visiting places such as France, Romania and Prague.

“2019 looks to be a big year for European cities”

Tom Davies, head of marketing at Broadway Travel, commented: “2019 looks to be a big year for European cities, and it is great to see people in the UK making the most of all the beautiful destinations we have so close to home.

“One trend that particularly resonated with us was the continued increase in UK holidaymakers visiting Croatia, following its starring role in Game of Thrones. This year we celebrated Broadway Travels 70th anniversary at our annual conference in Dubrovnik, and everyone who attended was blown away by the natural beauty of the city and surrounding areas.”