USA: More Americans Will Visit Cancun And Orlando

Americans are headed to Orlando and Cancun this summer, according to a recent review of three million trips planned by Allianz Global Assistance customers.

Allianz reviewed nearly three million trips planned by its clients for travel between May 29 and Sept. 4, 2017, for travel between five and eight days in length.

They found that the largest percentage of bookings made for U.S. trips were to Orlando (8.6%) followed by Las Vegas (4.7%) and Honolulu (4.4%).

Rounding out the U.S. top 10 were Los Angeles (3.7%), Seattle (3.4%), San Francisco (3.2%), Maui (2.9%), Boston (2.9%), Denver (2.9%) and Fort Lauderdale (2.6%).

Internationally, 8 out of 10 of the top destinations are in Mexico and the Caribbean, with only London and Paris making the list for European destinations. Cancun, ranked highest (16.9%), is followed by

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (5.3%);

Los Cabos, Mexico (4.6%);

Montego Bay, Jamaica (4.2%);

San Juan, Puerto Rico (3.9%);

Aruba (3.9%);

London, (3.6%);

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (3.4%);

Nassau, Bahamas (3.2%);

Paris (2.6%).

Allianz said most of the planned trips to Orlando and Cancun are for groups of two or more travelers, “which could be a result of more families traveling or the increasing popularity of multi-generational travel.”

For instance, 90% of trips planned to Orlando have more than one traveler, and 26% have four travelers, while 92% of trips planned to Cancun have more than one traveler, and 34% have two travelers.

Allianz gathered the data by analyzing the number of travelers that went through the online booking process of airfare and package paths for partners offering Allianz Global Assistance travel to generate itineraries for roundtrip flights departing from U.S. airports 5/29/17–9/4/2017 for trips between five and eight days in length.

Sandals Resorts International "is exploring options to accelerate the company's long-term growth and development plans,” including selling the company to a new owner, it said in a statement on Thursday.

Caribbean resort operator has hired investment bank Deutsche Bank AG to explore several options, including a sale of a majority stake in the company.

Sandals was founded 36 years ago by Gordon "Butch" Stewart, who has owned it ever since. It is now the largest non-government employer in Jamaica and could be worth well over $1 billion, including debt, Reuters said.

Sandals Resorts now includes 15 all-inclusive, adults-only properties in seven Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, the Bahamas, Grenada and Barbados; three family-friendly Beaches resorts; one Grand Pineapple resort; Fowl Cay private island; and four villas in Jamaica.