Taking into consideration the period stretching between December 20, 2014 and January 10, 2015, the booking portal Hotelsclick.com decided to analyse where users spent their Christmas holidays.
According to the bookings, the collected data confirm a common trend in Europe, that is: most of Europeans celebrate Santa Claus arrival and the New Year beginning at home.
In particular, Hotelsclick analyzed where these inhabitants passed their holidays:
1. Britons
2. Spanish
3. French
4. Germans
5. Swedes
6. Norwegians
7. Finn
8. Danes
Presumably because of the economic crisis or following the desire to spend Christmas with their family, the number of those who decided to stay in their country is much larger than the number of those who decided to go abroad.
At the end of the article we also take into consideration where non-european people enjoyed their Christmas holidays:
1. Americans
2. Australians
3. Russians
Let’s have an in-depth look at the data we obtained.
1. Britons’ Christmas Holidays 2014: where did the British go?
Over 66% of British people that booked their holidays on our portal decided to spend the Christmas period within national borders.
London was the most popular destination in the UK, followed by Edinburgh, the Scottish capital and, then, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Concerning the main European destinations, the people of Her Majesty chose Tenerife (that was selected by one person out of three), Amsterdam (in 2014, the Netherlands recorded an exponential growth in bookings), then Italy (Venice and Rome are the most popular cities) and the romantic Prague in the Czech Republic.
The British who decided to spend their holidays overseas and booked their hotel on Hotelsclick.com chose the United States (especially Florida and the cities of San Francisco and Las Vegas), but also Thailand and Cuba.
2. Spanish Christmas Holidays 2014: where did the Spanish go?
63% of Spanish people preferred not to cross the national border during the Christmas season, deciding to spend their holidays in Barcelona, Granada and Madrid.
According to the data analysed by Hotelsclick.com, the top three destinations chosen by the Spanish outside Spain are Rome, Brussels (whose bookings are increased if compared to 2013) and London, indeed some of the most coveted European capitals.
Talking about long-haul destinations, the survey found out no relevant numbers.
3. French Christmas Holidays 2014: where did the French go?
According to our survey, the great majority of the French booked a hotel near Disneyland Paris, the famous theme park (presumably, they are mainly families travelling with their children), and the city of Paris itself, the enchanting country’s capital.
Those who went abroad opted for some European cities like London, Barcelona, Rome and Venice in Italy.
Amid the long-range destinations, we find Tunisia, where French people seem to appreciate particularly Hammamet, the popular seaside resort, and Cuba with Havana. Cuba, in particular, got a significant number of bookings.
4. Germans’ Christmas Holidays: where did the Germans go during the Xmas break?
Germany confirms the trend of other European countries: 43% of the Germans stayed at home for the Christmas break, choosing cities like Berlin, Cologne and Monaco.
Outside Germany, they seem to have opted for Spain, which is on top of the podium. Apart from the popular Madrid, Germans chose places that enjoy a favourable climate such as the Costa del Sol, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Costa Blanca.
In second position, we find Vienna in Austria followed by Italy, with the enchanting Venice.
Amid the top five overseas destinations, there are Cuba (with the cities of Havana and Varadero), and the United States, where Florida is particularly appreciated by German travellers.
5. Swedes’ Christmas Holidays: where did the Swedish people go at Christmas?
About 20% of the Swedes who used Hotelsclick.com to book a hotel between December 20 2014 and January 10 2015 went to Miami and New York. Over 15% flew to Cuba, while a smaller percentage decided to stay in Europe, above all in Denmark (Copenhagen), Spain (especially Tenerife and Gran Canaria ) and London.
6. Norwegians’ Christmas Holidays: where did Norwegians go?
Over 31% of Norwegians spent their Christmas holidays in their mother country, mainly in Oslo.
However, about 13% of them booked a hotel in London.
Those who went overseas mainly chose Cuba and Havana, but also Bangkok in Thailand, Buenos Aires in Argentina and Los Angeles, Miami and New York City in the United States of America.
7. Finns’ Christmas Holidays: where did Finns go?
Finnish people using Hotelsclick.com mainly spent their vacations in Berlin, but also in Helsinki and London.
Among the non-European countries, they opted for Cuba, Thailand and the United States, where reservations are concentrated mainly in the cities of Chicago and Orlando.
8. Danes’ Christmas Holiday: where did the Danes go between Christmas and the New Year?
Danish people preferred to go to Copenhagen over Christmas (more than 30%). At a lower rate, they opted for a trip to London, Cuba, the US and Germany.
Let’s now take into consideration where Americans, Australians and Russians enjoyed their Christmas holidays.
1. Americans’ Christmas Holidays: where did Americans go over Xmas 2014?
About 60% of North-Americans who made a booking on Hotelsclick.com chose a city in the US: the most coveted destinations were Orlando, Las Vegas, Miami and Chicago.
A much lower percentage of them headed to Havana (about 7%), 5% stayed in London and only 4% went to Italy (with a clear preference for Rome); others (very small percentages) travelled to Mexico, particularly Cancun, on the Yucatan Peninsula, Bangkok in Thailand and Japan, mainly to Osaka and Tokyo.
2. Australians’ Christmas Holidays 2014: where did Australians go?
About 22% of Australians booked a hotel room in the United States during the Christmas season, particularly in the cities of Los Angeles and New York, but also on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.
18% of them stayed at home, preferring the city of Melbourne, Gold Coast and Sydney, while 9% went to Thailand (Bangkok), and 7% chose Indonesia, with a predilection for Bali.
Concerning Italy, Florence is by far the most booked city for the period between Christmas and New Years’ Eve.
3. Russians’ Christmas Holidays: where did Russian people go over Christmas?
According to the data we collected the majority of Russian who went abroad over Christmas chose European countries for their holidays.
The top five destinations in Europe were Germany (especially, Berlin and Monaco, the capital city of the German state of Bavaria worldwide famous for its bier) and Spain (Tenerife); in third position we find Italy (Milan), Austria (Vienna) and Portugal, where the most appreciated cities were Lisbon and Oporto.
