A shift in traveller preferences is pushing American vacationers to explore Europe like locals, as they increasingly choose destinations that Europeans love rather than popular places among American tourists.
Popular travel platform HomeToGo, which offers more than 20 million vacation suggestions worldwide, has identified the top international destinations gaining popularity among US travellers in 2025 based on online searches.
Spain and Greece lead the rankings, though American tourists are increasingly favouring lesser-known spots over iconic destinations like Ibiza, Santorini, or Mykonos.
Americans are looking for holidays in Europe as locals
European destinations remain the top choice for American travellers, making up all of the top ten most-searched countries and 80 per cent of the most-searched destinations for summer 2025.
Alicante in Spain (up 552 per cent year-on-year), Crete in Greece (up 390 per cent), and Lanzarote in Spain (up 384 per cent) are leading the trend, reflecting a growing appetite among travellers for scenic coastal and island getaways across Europe.
This year, Americans are increasingly keen to explore Europe like locals, with rising interest in destinations traditionally favoured by Europeans.
Mallorca in Spain and Menorca in Spain ( up 333 per cent year-over-year) – now ranked as the fourth most-searched and trending summer destinations respectively – have long been favourites among Europeans, but are often overshadowed in the US by their famous neighbour, Ibiza.
Similarly, Lake Garda, Italy, ranked ninth, is now emerging as an alternative to the ever-popular Lake Como.
Lesser-known Greek islands are rising in popularity among travellers. Naxos (up 327 per cent year-on-year), Lefkada (189 per cent), and Zakynthos (175 per cent) are fast becoming must-visit destinations for those seeking the charm of the Greek islands without the crowds typically found in Santorini or Mykonos.
Meanwhile, interest in Brittany, France, is also growing (up 272 per cent year-on-year) as more American travellers are drawn to its rugged coastline and authentic appeal, offering an alternative to the glitz of the French Riviera.
Using AI to choose a travel destination
Holidaymakers in the US are also increasingly adopting AI tools to simplify and improve their summer travel planning and booking experiences.
In HomeToGo’s 2025 Travel Survey, more than half of US respondents (53 per cent) said they will definitely (29.6 per cent) or likely (23.4 per cent) use AI for travel planning in 2025.
Naxos has become an ‘international attraction’
“In recent years, Naxos has been an international attraction not only for Europeans, but also for travellers from more distant markets, such as the USA and Australia,” says Deputy Mayor of Tourism of the Municipality of Naxos and Small Cyclades, Vangelis Katsaras, commenting on the results of the survey.
“Our visitors are satisfied with the price-quality ratio and are impressed by the range of options for holidaying on dozens of exotic beaches, touring beautiful picturesque villages, enjoying Naxian cuisine, initiation to culture and age-old traditions, exploring a multitude of ancient monuments and medieval or Byzantine towers and sports in nature and our turquoise waters through activities such as hiking, cycling, windsurfing and diving.”
Efforts are underway to promote the municipality abroad through a multi-faceted narrative that is well-received by international media. This year, Naxos was included in Forbes’ recommendations for destinations to visit with special experiences combined with Athens and was ranked first in a list of the five best authentic Greek islands by the American travel website Islands.com and MSN.com.
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