Florida Travel Bookings Not Hindered by Zika Virus, According to Travel Leaders Group's New Survey

New survey also shows London strengthens from positive Brexit effect on U.S. Dollar value, along with "up and coming" countries for leisure travel, travel spending, and overall bookings.

News provided by

Travel Leaders Group

Dec 14, 2016, 11:27 ET

PLYMOUTH, Minn., Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on the findings from Travel Leaders Group's authoritative 2017 Travel Trends Survey released today, the Zika virus is having little effect on overall bookings to Florida with Orlando maintaining its #1 ranking domestically and Miami continuing to hold a place in the Top 10. Internationally, the "Brexit-effect" is still positively impacting travel to London, which moves up in the standings to #3 just behind Caribbean cruises and Cancun, Mexico, respectively. "Movers and Shakers" making noteworthy climbs among the top international destinations include: Dublin, Ireland; Havana, Cuba; Jerusalem, Israel; Mexico City, Mexico; Reykjavik, Iceland; Sydney, Australia; and Paris, France, which reclaims a spot in the Top 10. The survey results also reveal that 94.5% of travel agents surveyed state client spending will be the same or higher in the coming year.

Based on actual booking data, Travel Leaders Group's survey was conducted November 17-December 9, 2016, with responses from 1,689 U.S.-based travel agency owners, managers and frontline travel agents from the flagship Travel Leaders brand and Travel Leaders Group's All Aboard Travel, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, Results! Travel, Travel Leaders Corporate, Tzell Travel Group and Vacation.com units.

"Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control announced that Florida is Zika-free, which is good news for many people, including leisure and business travelers. Our travel agents have worked with their clients to educate them and since our survey results are based on actual bookings, travelers are clearly comfortable booking popular Florida destinations such as Orlando – which wasn't impacted at all – and Miami," stated Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko. "What our survey also highlights is that the strength of the U.S. dollar is still a driving factor in consumer decisions, and London is a perfect example. So, too, is Paris – buoyed by the exchange rate and travelers' desires to return to one of the world's most iconic cities."

Chacko added, "Our travel agent experts have also been telling us that there's pent up demand for travel. Many individuals waited to see what would happen with the U.S. presidential elections and the stock market immediately following the elections. With the New Year on the horizon, our agents and their clients have been extremely busy planning trips throughout the country and to destinations around the globe."

Key findings from Travel Leaders Group's 2017 Travel Trends Survey include top international and domestic destinations, Florida travel, "Movers and Shakers," travel spending data, and more.

Top 2017 U.S. and International Destinations:

For the top domestic and international destinations for 2017, agents were asked to name up to five top destinations they're already booking:

Rank	2017 Top U.S. Destinations		Rank '16
1	Orlando, FL	37.2%	1
2	Maui, HI	36.2%	2
3	New York City, NY	34.1%	4
4	Las Vegas, NV	32.0%	5
5	Cruise – Alaska	29.4%	3
6	Honolulu, HI	20.0%	6
7	Los Angeles, CA	18.6%	7
8	Washington, D.C.	14.9%	11
9	San Francisco, CA	14.2%	8
10	Miami/Miami Beach, FL	12.9%	10

Florida Travel:

On December 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) stated that Florida is Zika-free after "no new cases of local Zika virus transmission identified in South Miami Beach for more than 45 days."

Because of previous travel alerts due to the Zika virus, Travel Leaders Group asked travel agents about their overall bookings to Florida compare to this time last year; nearly 81% of agents reported that their bookings to Florida are on par with or higher than one year ago (22.4% stated "higher" and 58.4% said bookings are "even").

Rank	2017 Top International Destinations		Rank '16
1	CRUISE – Caribbean	37.6%	1
2	Cancun, Mexico	31.2%	2
3	London, England	26.9%	4
4	CRUISE – Europe (River)	21.8%	3
5	Rome, Italy	20.5%	6
6	Punta Cana, Dominican Republic	17.3%	5
7	Paris, France	15.4%	11
8	CRUISE – Europe (Mediterranean)	15.1%	7
9	Montego Bay, Jamaica	14.4%	9
10	Playa del Carmen/Riviera Maya, Mexico	12.5%	10

Noteworthy Movers and Shakers:

Dublin, Ireland, has moved up four spots in one year and 19 spots over the past five years to rank #12.
Havana, Cuba, jumped 12 places to #49 overall, and among luxury travel agents it is ranked #24.
Jerusalem, Israel, soars past 54 other destinations to lay claim to #39 (in a tie with Turks & Caicos).
Mexico City, Mexico, moves up 16 places to #43.
Paris regains a place in the Top 10 (at #7) after falling to #11 last year to due terrorist incidents.
Reykjavik, Iceland, climbs to #33; it was ranked #70 one year ago.
Sydney, Australia, moves up six spots to #22.

Go here for the full news release, which also includes the top "up and coming" international destinations, details on 2017 travel spending, plus 2017 bookings levels and outlook.

Travel Leaders Group is one of North America's largest travel companies – encompassing nearly one-third of all travel agents – and generated gross travel sales of approximately $21 billion in 2015.