Mauritius has been the best seller for long-haul operator Hayes & Jarvis over the last three months, pushing past previous favourites New York and Thailand to top its list of most popular destinations worldwide.
New York has slipped from first to fourth place while Thailand, previously the second most popular long-haul destination, has slipped to sixth position.
However, the operator said New York remained its best-selling short-break destination by a long way, with a 30% year on year rise in bookings over the past four weeks. It said centrally-located mid-town hotels, which offer "exceptional value", were driving the growth.
Mexico rose from seventh to second place and Kenya was in third. Hayes & Jarvis said early summer sales to the East African country were up 77% on the back of Attenborough’s BBC wildlife blockbuster.
In its first long-haul report of 2013, the operator said sales to Egypt’s Red Sea resorts were also recovering, partly due to competitive pricing. Bookings for the destination were up 31%, it said. Head of commercial Sean Dowd said prices in Kenya and Egypt matched 2012.
A 50% increase in sales to Dubai had made it the top late availability destination, while neighbouring Abu Dhabi is showing a 73% increase in bookings.
Notably absent from the top 10 are most of the Caribbean islands – only the Dominican Republic managed to cling onto the bottom of the table. The Maldives is also conspicuous by its absence. Dowd suggested the islands had lost out to the Mauritius, which was benefiting from attractive fares from British Airways and better value accommodation.
Hayes & Jarvis Top Ten Destinations Worldwide 2013 (Sales: Oct 2012-Jan 2013)
Mauritius (6)
Mexico (7)
Kenya (-)
New York (1)
Hawaii (-)
Egypt (-)
Vietnam (-)
Tanzania (-)
Thailand (2)
Dominican Republic (-)
Figures in brackets relate to the destinations’ positions in October 2012
