The trips may also have been paused during this unprecedented period, but the pandemic did not stop Italians from fantasizing about their future travel possibilities. Over the past two months Booking.com has analyzed millions of "wish lists" of confident travelers in over 100,000 different destinations since the beginning of March.
Bali, Andalusia, London, Florida and Paris continue to be at the top of the dreams of travelers from all over the world, but it is domestic tourism that occupies more than half (51%) of "wish lists" globally, with a 18% difference compared to 2019 data in the same period (33%). The figure increases if you look at Italy, where travel at national level represents 61% of the Italians' wishes, while in 2019 they were at 53%.
Since the beginning of March, the national destinations that have been repeatedly selected in the Italian wish lists are Rome, Florence, Naples, Milan and Venice. At an international level, the scenario does not change, Great Britain and some large European cities (perhaps most loved after all these weeks of isolation) are at the center of Italian desires. London tops the list, followed by Paris (France), Barcelona (Spain), Amsterdam (Holland) and New York (United States), while Lisbon (Portugal), Marrakech (Morocco) and Prague (Czech Republic). In general, in the imagination of Italians the most desired countries are Italy, Spain, Greece, France and the United States of America.
The types of accommodation most sought after by Italians are hotels, apartments, Bed & Breakfasts and guest houses. The B & Bs are in third place of the type of accommodation preferred by the Italians (10%) with a significant difference compared to the overall figure (3%).
"These - explains Arjan Dijk, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Booking.com - are unprecedented times, in which safety remains the top priority. We also know that in such moments, even just dreaming of exploring the world again has the immense power to detonate our imagination and keep our spirits high. It's amazing to see the range of different travel experiences that our customers have been busy dreaming about while waiting for us to be able to travel again. "
