The 5 top travel trends for February 2015

February may be a short month, but it seems people utilise it well when it comes to planning their next holiday! In the past year, London has seen a significant rise in popularity, according to the search engines, with Edinburgh Rome and Paris not far behind.

It seems that while, understandably for February, many people are searching for winter sun destinations, staycations, city breaks and trips to the capital are also big news.

The perfect city break hotel.

Collectively, the biggest increase in searches from last year goes to hotels in these city break destinations:

1. Rome – the Italian capital, with its wealth of architectural and historic gems, has seen its search engine popularity rise by 5% in the past year.
   

2. New York – the city that never sleeps has always been a popular tourist destination, but this year it’s 4% more popular than last year.
   

3. Paris – what can be more romantic than a winter stroll along the river Seine? Paris has seen a 3% rise in people looking for the perfect hotel.
   

5. Barcelona – this Spanish city is famous for its quirky beauty, and so it is perhaps no surprise that 3% more people want to check out the hotels there.
   

6. Dublin – just in time for St Patrick’s Day, hotels in the Irish capital are 2% more popular this year.
   

City breaks are just as great at home.

Not to be outdone by the rest of the world, the UK’s top cities are fighting for the British public’s affections, and winning. With bags of history and quaint charm, as well as a lively night life, the top 5 most increasingly popular British towns, according to the search data, can certainly hold their own against any of their European counterparts.

1. Edinburgh
   

2. York
   

3. Manchester
   

4. Bath
   

5. Birmingham
   

Oh Sun, sun, wherefore art thou, Sun?

February in the UK is cold, and this year has been the worse we’ve had in a while, so it’s no surprise Brits are looking for hotels in some sunnier locales. The destinations are varied, but all have a common theme – sun, sea and lots of fun:

1. The exotic Sharm El Sheikh
   

2. The sleek and trendy Dubai
   

3. The sunny and vibrant Albufeira
   

4. The ever popular Benidorm
   

5. The party central Lanzarote
   

London is the best city in the world. Fact.

Ok, so we know not everyone agrees with this, but it appears the English capital is captivating the hearts and minds of an ever growing number of people. The search term 'London Hotels' has seen an increase of 9% in the last year, while 'Time Out London' and 'London Restaurants' have increased by 4% each.

As we move away from winter and into spring, it will be interesting to see how the travel trends change with the seasons. But, for now, we are quite happy with a leisurely stroll by the river Thames.