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Most Googled 2014: Iceland, Croatia and Benidorm among the most popular rising holiday destinations

The search engine's top 10 in 2014 revealed

Travel Desk
Tuesday 16 December 2014 01:01 GMT
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Google has revealed its "Year in Search" for 2014, including most searched-for holiday destinations.

Surprisingly, headline events such as the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the Fifa World Cup in Brazil and the Scottish independence referendum failed to make an impact on a list that is for the most part the domain of holiday mainstays.

Paris claimed the top spot, in a year that saw the opening of the Frank Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton in the Bois de Boulogne, while the US came in at second and third (the nation as a whole, then the perennially popular New York City). Spain, the number one destination among British holiday-makers, marked the halfway point, followed by the only domestic destination on the list, Cornwall. Amsterdam rounded off the list, possibly assisted by the reopening of the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum in 2013.

Marginally more interesting was Google's list of "rising holidays" - destinations that have seen a biggest increase in searches this year.

Several are duplicates from the top 10 list, but interesting additions include Iceland, Portugal, Benidorm and Greece. Iceland is making a play as a stopover destination for North America, with several flights launching next year. Wow Air is taking off for Boston and Washington DC while Icelandair is launching flights to Portland and Orlando - all flights are via the capital, Reyjkavik. Portugal has topped several "best value" destination lists this year, while Benidorm may have had a boost from the eponymous TV series.

GOOGLE'S TOP 10 HOLIDAY SEARCHES

Paris

USA

New York

Australia

Spain

Cornwall

Italy

Turkey

Dubai

Amsterdam

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