The No. 1 overseas destination that Americans are searching is Puerto Rico — technically a U.S. territory but still a flight or cruise away for those on the mainland. ParkSleepFly tracked nearly 1.69 million searches for the island. Rounding out the top five spots were the Maldives, with 491,200 searches; Costa Rica, at 384,600; Aruba, at 379,600; and Mexico, at 361,300.

ParkSleepFly also looked at which countries are falling or rising and in popularity among U.S. travelers. Searches for China travel have plummeted 75% — perhaps not surprisingly, given media coverage of coronavirus, along with current geopolitical tensions. “Following the emergence of Covid-19, China imposed strict border policy and suspended all visas on arrival, so it’s not surprising to see a decline in popularity,” the site wrote in its blog.

In second place for less interest from Americans is Italy, with a 59% drop-off, which ParkSleepFly attributed to the country’s numerous Covid lockdowns this year. At No. 3, Hong Kong — with some of the world’s strictest pandemic border restrictions — saw a 54% fall.

 

On the bright side, searches increased significantly for overseas or foreign destinations such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, up 98%; the Maldives, up 72%; and Indonesia, with 61% growth. Overseas or foreign cities and regions seeing the highest growth in interest include Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, up 77%; Toronto, up 45%; and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, up 41%.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/31/where-americans-want-to-travel-abroad-and-where-theyve-lost-interest.html

 

Nothing really enticing or grabbing in that list , all well traveled places, i myself would bother go to most on the list, matter of taste i guess, as for Thailand, Thailand has very little to offer right now because of many factors, Cambodia and Vietnam would be better choices in my opinions, but again thees are MY choices...

1 minute ago, ezzra said:

Nothing really enticing or grabbing in that list , all well traveled places, i myself would bother go to most on the list, matter of taste i guess, as for Thailand, Thailand has very little to offer right now because of many factors, Cambodia and Vietnam would be better choices in my opinions, but again thees are MY choices...

I think Bora Bora would be quite nice being part of the French Polynesian islands,  but i suspect after three days it could appear fairly boring as not much to do there.

2 minutes ago, steven100 said:

I think Bora Bora would be quite nice being part of the French Polynesian islands,  but i suspect after three days it could appear fairly boring as not much to do there.

Yeah, will be more like Boring Boring after few days...

Even being from more culturally curious New York, Thailand has never rated high as a bucket list destination from people I talk to. Bali is mentioned over Thailand 20 to 1. Bali is seen as a luxury resort place, not a place to dip in culturally and enjoy a gamelan show. Bora Bora gets a lot of play on The Batchelor and would be the overwhelmingly preferred honeymoon option over Bali.

 

Cancun is well packaged with cheap airfare and hotel deals. It is the cheapest tropical beach available aside of The Dominican Republic, which is a much less attractive place to visit. Puerto Rico is medium priced for the Caribbean, and has a lot of English spoken and a lot variety of landscape and lodgings. Because I grew up on the Puerto Rican kind of Salsa music, I'd easily pick it as my preferred Caribbean island. Tremendous opportunities to see top of the line Latin Jazz players in a bar for free.

 

I still hang out with a lot of people who consider themselves Lonely Planet-istic and Belize is always top of the list for the ol' hippie beach vibe. The Corn Islands in Nicaragua used to be much endorsed, but extreme poverty means your room will be robbed down to the toothpaste while you're out eating a fish taco.

What does "sort after" mean?  Is this UK English for sorted out, or dies the writer mean sought after?  I dont really  understand  whats being talked about.  Are people looking on the internet  and sorting out preferences?

14 minutes ago, WEBBYB808 said:

What does "sort after" mean?  Is this UK English for sorted out, or dies the writer mean sought after?  I dont really  understand  whats being talked about.  Are people looking on the internet  and sorting out preferences?

sort after =    to look for .....  wanted ...  preferrered .

10 minutes ago, steven100 said:

sort after =    to look for .....  wanted ...  preferrered .

sort after means nothing

 

sought after, however, means desired

7 minutes ago, poskat said:

sort after means nothing

 

sought after, however, means desired

desired =  wanted ,  to look for ,  preferred

Hardly surprising Steven beings as Thailand has technically been a closed shop from the start and people know this. All the hassle with none of the fun. Tat should be honest and use that as their new slogan. 

Also doesn’t help that the country continues to be held at gun point. 

23 minutes ago, steven100 said:

desired =  wanted ,  to look for ,  preferred

I think you're missing the point. The heading says 'sort' but the word should be 'sought'.

 

And I agree with the above. Difficult and risky (potentially very expensive) entry requirements, plus taking away all the fun things has killed Thai tourism for the time being. 

1 hour ago, WEBBYB808 said:

What does "sort after" mean?  Is this UK English for sorted out, or dies the writer mean sought after?  I dont really  understand  whats being talked about.  Are people looking on the internet  and sorting out preferences?

I guess, it was meant to read "sought after". Really sad that writers at CNBC cannot spell simple English words anymore. Unfortunately, such spelling (but also grammar errors) seem to be more common in online articles these days.

1 hour ago, WEBBYB808 said:

What does "sort after" mean?  Is this UK English for sorted out, or dies the writer mean sought after?  I dont really  understand  whats being talked about.  Are people looking on the internet  and sorting out preferences?

"...or dies the writer"......????

9 minutes ago, CG1 Blue said:

I think you're missing the point. The heading says 'sort' but the word should be 'sought'.

 

And I agree with the above. Difficult and risky (potentially very expensive) entry requirements, plus taking away all the fun things has killed Thai tourism for the time being. 

"Sought" is for posh blokes.....????

5 minutes ago, transam said:

"Sought" is for posh blokes.....????

oh, I thought it must have been American spelling ????

Sought is correct.

I think they probably meant San Jose Costa Rica not Dominican Republic.

Bora Bora is popular for honeymoons.

I suspect if Americans realised Bali was part of Indonesia, a shock horror Muslim country, it wouldn't be much sought after.

 

.

50 minutes ago, steven100 said:

desired =  wanted ,  to look for ,  preferred

none of which mean "sort after".

the term is sought after

3 minutes ago, Stocky said:

I suspect if Americans realised Bali was part of Indonesia, a shock horror Muslim country, it wouldn't be much sought after.

 

.

Bull. Bali is different and not all Americans are as stupid as you imply.

5 minutes ago, Stocky said:

I suspect if Americans realised Bali was part of Indonesia, a shock horror Muslim country, it wouldn't be much sought after.

 

.

Bali is majority Hindu.

1 hour ago, WEBBYB808 said:

What does "sort after" mean?  Is this UK English for sorted out, or dies the writer mean sought after?  I dont really  understand  whats being talked about.  Are people looking on the internet  and sorting out preferences?

WHATS up this thread SORT of DIES now.

43 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

I guess, it was meant to read "sought after". Really sad that writers at CNBC cannot spell simple English words anymore. Unfortunately, such spelling (but also grammar errors) seem to be more common in online articles these days.

CNBC wrote the word sought correctly !

The spelling mistake “ sort/sought “ was made closer to home, from our resident government sympathiser . 

3 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

CNBC wrote the word sought correctly !

The spelling mistake “ sort/sought “ was made closer to home, from our resident government sympathiser . 

Good to know. Thanks.

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

Nothing really enticing or grabbing in that list , all well traveled places (...)

Actually, there are one or two places on the list which could also be on my list for 2022, as I haven't been there yet. And yes, one is in Mexico, which for my compatriots is a really 'exotic' place, unlike Thailand, where 'everyone and their dog' has already been to.

41 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Bali is majority Hindu.

Golly gosh I never knew! ????

4 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Golly gosh I never knew! ????

Then what relevance is Muslim?

1 minute ago, ozimoron said:

Then what relevance is Muslim?

5am................????

It is hard to imagine anyone coming to Thailand for holiday these days with all the difficult paperwork, tests, and insurance. Then they they stand a very good chance of spending 2 weeks in captivity for a false positive or Covid with no symptoms, paying for the privilege of jail as well as losing the money they spent on their hotel. Too big a risk

19 minutes ago, bang saen guy said:

It is hard to imagine anyone coming to Thailand for holiday these days with all the difficult paperwork, tests, and insurance. Then they they stand a very good chance of spending 2 weeks in captivity for a false positive or Covid with no symptoms, paying for the privilege of jail as well as losing the money they spent on their hotel. Too big a risk

Yes.

It's for people that MUST come here and masochists.