According to Thomas Cook, summer 2017 has been "far from simple" with many factors playing on holidaymakers’ minds when deciding where to go.
With the pound being weak and "likely to stay volatile for the next 12 months at least" and security fears continuing to affect certain destinations such as Egypt and Tunisia, tourists are choosing to go long-haul instead.
Despite some fearing a ’Trump slump’, bookings to the US are "good", claims Thomas Cook and even compared to a particularly strong 2016, it is currently the fourth most popular destination with bookings up by 10% for 2017.
Flight-only bookings to Boston have seen a whopping 116% increase year-on-year, while LA has seen a 33% rise in numbers and Mexico is also up 18% year-on-year.
Parents are also doing their bit to boost long-haul destinations and "they’re taking the kids to destinations you might not expect".
This is reflected in Thomas Cook’s report, with family package holidays up 24% year-on-year to Cuba, up 39% to Cancun and up 17% to the Dominican Republic.
Looking closer to home, other destinations showing a growth in demand from families on the hunt for a package holiday include Almeria in Spain and Bourgas in Bulgaria.
Despite its troubles, Turkey is still proving to be a popular destination for a summer holiday - with it ranking at number three for British customers this summer, although more popular with later bookers.
Those booking six months to a year ahead are reportedly choosing destinations such as Spain and Greece.
According to the report, January is still the peak month for holiday bookings, with almost one in five of Thomas Cook’s package holidays being booked during the first month of the year.
Elsewhere, Thomas Cook also revealed that on average, holidaymakers booking online will visit thomascook.com 11 times before completing their booking.
The report also makes mention to the most significant shift in the last three years being the rise in people using their mobiles to search for holidays, up 113% between May 2014 and April 2017.
However, this is not to say high street travel agencies aren’t still favoured by the public, as according to Thomas Cook, “43% of customers said they use shops for research and 60% said they are one of their preferred means of booking”.
