The New York Times - Croatia as the Hottest Destination for 2017.

For Summer, Five Hot Destinations

There’s no slump this summer when it comes to travel: Several indicators show that United States residents are traveling more than they did in summer 2016.

At American Express Travel, a network primarily for leisure travelers, overall travel this summer is up 19 percent based on airfare bookings, compared with last summer, while international travel is up 26 percent based on airfare bookings.

The travel network Virtuoso is seeing a 10 percent growth in travel this summer, compared with last summer, according to Mike McCown, the senior vice president for finance and analytics. Last summer, the network booked $5.57 billion in travel, he said, and this summer, that number is expected to be more than $6 billion.

Some experts say that more Americans are traveling this year than they did in 2016 because of pent-up demand from the heated presidential election, when many people cut back on traveling. “Based on our data from the last 15 years, we’ve seen travel sales soften in election years and then rebound post-inauguration,” said Mr. McCown of Virtuoso.

More Americans may be traveling come summer, but where exactly are they going?

Here, five popular vacation destinations for summer 2017.

Croatia

Indagare has a 30 percent increase in trip bookings to Croatia for travel this summer, compared with summer 2016, and Expedia.com has seen air ticket demand to the country double from last summer. Mr. Alexander of Protravel International said that he has planned several dozen private trips to Croatia for travel this summer — the most he has ever done. The country has a multifaceted appeal as a vacation destination, he said. “The beaches are fantastic, the food is delicious, and there’s culture and history,” he said.

In addition, Mr. Alexander said that many of his clients who are headed to Croatia in the coming months have told him that, at a time when terrorist attacks around the world seem to be increasingly commonplace, Croatia is perceived as being “safe.”

Grecce

South Africa

The Maldives

Italy

...

Source: The New York Times