The special relationship between the UK and the US seems to be stronger than ever as America takes the number one spot for long-haul destinations this summer.
Already, more than 300,000 British holidaymakers have booked their flights across the pond due to cheaper airfares and in their search for sun, sea and scenery.
The US beat India, which sits in second place with 86,978 flights booked, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 78,761 tickets already purchased, according to an analysis by travel commerce platform Travelport.
Canada, Pakistan and Thailand rank in the top ten list of long haul destinations, which is based on advanced sales up to June 14, 2019.
China jumps into the top ten for the first time ? taking the seventh spot up from the same period the previous year where it stood in eleventh place. Flight bookings are up by 3,402 (13%) year-on-year. The study suggests that the Far East country will continue to be a big seller in the years ahead as it topped a ?bucket list? poll in 2018.
The flight data reflects return travel scheduled between June 28 and September 8, 2019. It does not include bookings made directly with airlines which may not appear on the worldwide reservation network known as Global Distribution Systems (GDS).
Paul Broughton, Travelport?s vice president and managing director for Northern Europe, said: ?Sunny skies, family attractions, natural landmarks and affordable flights make the United States an ever popular choice for the UK travellers over the summer holidays. To put just how popular the country is into perspective, to-date we?ve seen more advanced flight bookings made from the UK to the States over the summer than to the rest of the top five most popular long-haul destinations combined.
?It was interesting to see China become a top ten longhaul summer destination for UK travellers this year, having sat just outside in 11th place last year. A study in 2018 claimed it to be the top bucket list travel destination for one in four people in the UK, so interest in the country does seem to be rising.?
