Accommodation site Agoda announced today the results of its most recent Travel Smart study, which shows the top growing European destinations for Asian travelers. Though Asian travelers still love Paris and London, bookings in smaller European cities are growing at a much faster rate.
The study compared millions of hotel bookings made by Agoda travelers in Asia in 2014 and 2015. Hallstatt, Austria, was the fastest growing European destination with more than twice as many bookings in 2015 as the year before, followed by Fussen, Germany and Glasgow, Scotland*.
Top 10 (2014 vs 2015 growth)
| 1 | Austria | Hallstatt | 101.4% |
| 2 | Germany | Fussen | 87.3% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | Glasgow | 85.1% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | Oxford | 78.3% |
| 5 | Czech Republic | Cesky Krumlov | 70.7% |
| 6 | Germany | Heidelberg | 66.9% |
| 7 | Austria | Salzburg | 63.9% |
| 8 | France | Avignon | 60.7% |
| 9 | Switzerland | Grindelwald | 59.5% |
| 10 | Switzerland | Interlaken | 56.5% |
Hallstatt, a beautiful ancient salt mine village and UNESCO world heritage site, has been a popular destination for Chinese tourists for the past few years, so much so that the Chinese built a replica of it in Guangdong in 2012. But it’s not just Chinese tourists anymore. Visitors from all over Asia contributed to its growing popularity.
“Our travelers from Asia are broadening their reach and we are seeing faster growth rates in the types of European destinations people visit after they’ve already been to the bigger cities,” said John Brown, Chief Operating Officer of Agoda.
Number two on the list, Fussen, Germany is home to a fairytale 19th century castle, Neuschwanstein. Castles in general seem to be a popular draw for Asian tourists, as destinations 5, 6 and 7 on the list — Cesky Krumlov, Heidelberg and Salzburg — are also know for theirs.
London and Paris didn’t make the top 10, but the UK and France are still well represented. Glasgow and Oxford took 3 and 4 on the list, while Avignon took the 8th spot.
*The study looked at destinations with more than 1,000 bookings in 2015.
