Much as the past year was full of travel restrictions and thus less travel, this didn’t stop people from searching for ideas online and looking out for the next anticipated travel location.
Luxury travel operator Unforgettable Travel wanted to know which travel experiences people searched the most during the past year. With the help of digital marketing agency SEO Travel, the company compiled a list of 135 of the world’s most popular “bucket list” destinations and used software to determine how many people were making plans to visit each site.
THE 10 MOST-SEARCHED ‘BUCKET LIST’ TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
| TRAVEL EXPERIENCE | GLOBAL MONTHLY SEARCHES |
|---|---|
| VISITING THE BURJ KHALIFA IN DUBAI | 10,000 |
| SAILING AROUND THE STATUE OF LIBERTY | 9,300 |
| HIKING TO THE MOUNT EVEREST BASE CAMP IN NEPAL | 9,000 |
| CRUISING THE NILE IN EGYPT | 7,900 |
| GOING TO THE TOP OF THE EIFFEL TOWER | 7,900 |
| SEEING THE LAS VEGAS STRIP | 7,400 |
| CROSSING SAN FRANCISCO’S GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE | 7,400 |
| SEEING NEW YORK CITY FROM THE TOP OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING | 6,500 |
| TOURING THE LOUVRE IN PARIS | 6,400 |
| EXPLORING THE COLOSSEUM IN ROME | 6,400 |
According to the research, which analyzed searches from May 2020 to May 2021, the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, with more than 160 stories and 2,716 feet of height was the most-searched travel experience.
“There were a few experiences in the top 10 alone that we thought would feature lower down despite being great experiences … this includes the No. 1 Burj Khalifa in Dubai,” said Luke Harvey, a marketing manager at the Un Forgettable Travel company. “But the fact Dubai has remained open to visitors for the vast majority of time during the pandemic will have aided its position.”
“Trekking to Mount Everest base camp is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, yet not something we thought would beat the likes of the Rome Colosseum,” he added.
Mount Everest’s place on the list may reflect growing preferences for outdoor travel activities. Six hikes appeared in the top 50 list, including Mount Everest, Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, Arizona’s Havasu Falls, South Africa’s Table Mountain and Peru’s Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
Africa’s ‘Bucket list’ travel experience
History, wildlife and natural wonders top Africa’s most-searched sites, including some that were tied in terms of global search activity. Below are the most searched activities in Africa:
1. Cruising down the Nile
2. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
2. Hiking to the top of Cape Town’s Table Mountain
4. Seeing Chefchaouen, the “Blue City” of Morocco
5. Hiking Mount Kenya
6. Bungee jumping off Victoria Falls Bridge
6. Trekking to see gorillas in Uganda
8. Seeing the Sahara desert
9. Going on safari in the Ngorongoro Crater
10. Visiting the medina (old city) of Marrakesh
“These are all great activities in some of Africa’s top destinations,” said Kent Redding, president and co-founder of luxury safari company, Africa Adventure Consultants.
He added that while those locations are open, travelers should expect some restrictions due to the pandemic. For example, visitors must stay 10 meters away from the gorillas in Uganda, and the cable car at Table Mountain is closed until at least July 11, he said.
The 2022 travel season is filling fast because of postponements from this year and “a ton of new bookings” for next year, Redding said. That means opportunities abound for travelers willing to travel this year, he said.
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