Where do luxury travelers prefer to vacation?

While luxury travelers still tend towards European trips, the two destinations where they spent the most time were in Asian and the Middle East.

In Switchfly’s 2015 Luxury Travel Index, Seoul, South Korea, topped the list for length of stay, with consumers vacationing for an average of 13 days. While travel destinations ebb and rise in popularity with political, economic and social shifts, it can help luxury hotel brands to know what are the current hot travel spots.

For its research, Switchfly used data from its global bookings engine, looking at those consumers who traveled first class and stayed in five-star hotels. It then ranked the destinations in order of length of stay.

Extended stay
Luxury travelers spend at least twice as long on vacation as the average American. The average vacation is more than a week long.

Following Seoul is Dubai, UAE, with 12.7 days. The rest of the top 10, in order are Milan; Athens, Greece; Singapore; Frankfurt, Germany; Sao Paolo; Hong Kong, China; Bali, Indonesia; and Lisbon, Portugal.

Asia and Europe dominate the entire top 15, with the United States only securing one spot for Miami, which came in 15th with 8.3 days.

Likely due to its economic problems, Greece was popular, with three of its cities—Athens, Crete and Mykonos—placing in the top 15.

Switchfly's Luxury Travel Index

Brazil, on the other hand, saw a boost from the FIFA World Cup last year.

This year will yield strong luxury travel bookings and there will be an increased preference for European excursions as the United States dollar strengthens, according to Travel Leaders Group’s latest survey.

Results indicate that travel will remain robust in 2015 as Americans look to explore new destinations and revisit old favorites. The survey also shows that Cuba is a popular “up and coming” destination for travelers looking for a new experience, now that the political situation between the U.S. and the island nation has improved (see story).