Top destinations for 2023 revealed: Flight prices to Madeira and Melbourne drop 20% – while vacation searches in Jacksonville are up 570% and Minneapolis 409%

Some of the most popular destinations for Britons for 2023 have been announced, with Madeira, Melbourne, Jacksonville and Minneapolis on the shortlist.

According to a study by a flight comparison website, Madeira and Melbourne are the two “top destinations” next year as return flights from the UK have fallen by 22 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, with the former costing £130 and the latter £1,334 on average.

Florida’s Jacksonville is No. 1 for “best family vacation” with a 570 percent increase in searches for the city, while the city of Minneapolis is No. 1 for “best vacation for couples” with a 409 percent increase in searches.

Melbourne is number 2 in the “best travel destinations” list, with airfares down 19 per cent from pre-pandemic levels

All the maps in Skyscanner’s study are top 10, with the top 5 the ‘best value’ Listed with Sofia in third place with an average price drop of 18 percent since the pandemic (an average return flight in 2022 was £112); Brussels fourth (down 13 per cent, £83) and Dublin fifth. Prices for the Irish capital have fallen eight per cent and are now at £61.

The rest of the ranking consists of Tirana, the capital of Albania, in sixth place (down eight percent, £201); Sydney in seventh place (seven per cent, £1,455); Belfast in eighth place (six per cent, £110); Paris in ninth place (five per cent, £126) and Manila, the capital of the Philippines, rounds off the list in tenth place (three per cent, £878).

data for the ‘Top destination for familiesThe ranking comes from the analysis of searches between 2019 and 2022, with the rest of the table consisting of Izmir, Turkey (second, with a 168 percent increase in searches); Madeira, Portugal (third, 123 percent); Menorca (fourth, 115 percent); Verona (fifth, 115 percent); Podgorica, Montenegro (sixth, 81 percent); Bari in Italy (seventh, 76 percent); Santorini (eighth, 68 percent); Palermo in Sicily (9th, 61 percent); and Antalya in Turkey (10th place, 48 percent).

data for the ‘best travel destination for couples’ The ranking also comes from the analysis of searches between 2019 and 2022. The rest of the top 10 consists of Preveza, Greece (runner-up, searches 316 percent); Santiago de Compostela, Spain (third, 289 percent); Amman, Jordan (fourth, 195 percent); Mykonos (fifth, 146 percent); Pittsburgh (sixth, 131 percent); Zadar, Croatia (seventh, 127 percent); cork (eighth, 97 percent); Alexandria, Egypt (ninth, 95 percent); and Tirana (10th, 82 percent).

The study, which is part of Sky Scanner’s Travel Trends 2023 report, also found that three in four UK travelers now use a mobile device to plan or book their next trip, with the most popular during working hours or lunch breaks.

According to Skyscanner, celebrities are the number one source of travel inspiration in the UK, with Instagram the number one ‘fomo’ (fear of missing out) inducing factor – 48 per cent of travelers said they would be more likely to find a booking a trip if they were indeed seen on the platform.

Florida’s Jacksonville is No. 1 on the “Top Family Destinations” list, with searches for the city up 570 percent

The city of Minneapolis is #1 for “Best Destination for Couples”, with searches up 409 percent on Skyscanner

Skyscanner says: “For those looking to stay ahead of the Insta trend, [we] can reveal that their top position for 2023 is Amman, Jordan – based on the lowest number of Instagram hashtags referenced, with a 195 percent increase in Skyscanner searches.

Skyscanner also indicates that in 2053 it will be 150 years since the Wright brothers first flew an airplane.

The flight comparison page says: “Much has changed since then and travelers expect major developments to become mainstream as they reach this milestone 30 years from now.” One in four people (25 percent) expect to spend a lifetime vacationing under the stars, aboard a spacecraft for day trips across Earth to the edge of space and extended journeys beyond.”