Britons lap up the high life in New York
New York was the most popular destination for UK travellers in 2010 despite it being one of the most expensive cities in the world, according to the new Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.
Britons flocked to the Big Apple undeterred by a 12% rise in average room rates to £166 a night. The city was one of five US destinations in the top 20 along with Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orlando.
However, European locations closer to home were also popular with people looking for value on short-haul city breaks. Paris was the second-most popular overseas destination followed by Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome, Barcelona and Berlin.
Other cities on the HPI list included the Far East attractions of Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore.
David Roche, President of Hotels.com, said: “New York’s popularity with UK travellers continues undiminished even though the city is comparatively one of the most expensive in the world.
“Those travelling also seemed prepared to spend more on upscale accommodation. Occupancy in luxury properties in the US is running between 10-15 points higher than in the lower star categories.
“However, destinations closer to home were also popular as others looked for short-haul deals in city break hotspots. Ten of the cities featured in the top 20 were European and there was good value to be had in places like Dublin where prices fell 7% to just £68 against a worsening economic backdrop.”
London was the most popular destination for overseas travellers followed by Edinburgh, Manchester and Liverpool. Brighton was the favourite seaside location.
The capital was also the favourite destination for domestic travellers. Large cities dominated the list with Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool and Cardiff, Bristol and Leeds next.
The Hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room (rather than advertised rates) for 110,000 hotels across more than 18,000 locations around the world. The latest HPI looks at prices in 2010 compared to those in 2009.