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Top Websites Ranking

Most Visited Travel and Tourism Websites

Last updated : May 1, 2024

* Some websites ranked in the list above may contain adult content, please use caution when visiting unknown sites.

Most Visited Travel and Tourism Websites Ranking Analysis for April 2024

booking.com is ranked number 1 as the most popular website in the Travel and Tourism category in April 2024. The average amount of time that users spend on the website is 00:08:31 minutes, and they see, on average, 8.44 pages per visit. Pages per visit is a popular engagement metric that is calculated by dividing the total number of website views by the total number of visitors. The bounce rate for booking.com is 35.75%, meaning that 35.75% of visitors leave the website after viewing just one page.

tripadvisor.com and airbnb.com are 2nd and 3rd on the list. In terms of user engagement, tripadvisor.com has an average visit duration of 00:02:50 minutes, an average pages per visit of 3.87, and a bounce rate of 59.62%. Similarly, airbnb.com’s average visit duration is 00:07:48 minutes, its average pages per visit is 18.07, and its bounce rate is 33.07%.

agoda.com is a top Travel and Tourism website that ranks in 4th place. On average, visitors remain on-site for 00:06:11 minutes and 33.59% of those visits bounce after viewing just one page. In addition, the average website pages viewed per visit is 5.85.

Number five on our list is expedia.com, a top Travel and Tourism website. Visitors see 7.75 pages per visit and spend 00:06:09 minutes on the website. The bounce rate for expedia.com is 36.41%.

Come again next month for the updated website ranking & traffic analysis of the most visited Travel and Tourism websites!

FAQs About The Top Travel and Tourism Websites

Question: Which is the most visited Travel and Tourism website? Answer: booking.com is the most visited Travel and Tourism website in April 2024.

Question: Which is the 2nd most visited Travel and Tourism website? Answer: tripadvisor.com is the 2nd most visited Travel and Tourism website in April 2024.

Question: What are the top 5 most popular Travel and Tourism websites in the world? Answer: The top 5 most popular Travel and Tourism websites in the world in April 2024 are: 1. booking.com 2. tripadvisor.com 3. airbnb.com 4. agoda.com 5. expedia.com.

Inside the Travel Lab

The 50 Best Travel Websites and Travel Resources 2024

March 28, 2024

The best travel websites for cheap flights and great deals. Find the best travel toolkits and guides for booking flights, finding cheap deals, hotels, car rental, honeymoons, rail journeys, health advice and more. My tried and tested travel resources.

Here’s my collection of the top 50 travel websites and travel resources for all stages of dreaming, planning, booking and remembering your trip based on decades of professional travel. 

Woman working at laptop with sunglasses

The Best Travel Resources for Booking and Planning Your Trip 2024

As a regular contributor to  The Independent’s 50 Best Travel Websites feature , I know my way around travel websites. As a frequent traveller myself, I practically live on the things.

From dreaming about a trip, planning a trip, writing up a trip and reviewing trips for work, these are the travel resources, online booking sites, search engines and route planners I use to help me get the job done. Booking travel without travel agents has never been easier – even if it doesn’t feel like it at times.

So here’s my list of the best travel websites for 2024. It’s the best time to uncover the best places.

If you book or buy through the links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. However, we only ever recommend things we believe in and use ourselves. We also don’t earn a commission from all of these travel websites. Alas ;-)

Al Bait Hotel interior in Herat of Sharjah

The Best Hotel Booking Sites for Special Occasions

To find the best hotels needs a little bit of legwork. If you’re looking for somewhere beautiful to stay with a real travel experience, then try these sites first. If you’re looking for something more practical, jump on down to the next section.

Here are the top travel websites when it comes to boutique hotels:

Design Hotels

Beautiful, stylish and with up to 40% off for members, the chic and sleek Design Hotels website is a firm favourite of mine. Membership is free, quick and easy on the eye.

Best Loved Hotels

Best Loved Hotels gathers together properties from the UK and Ireland that show a real passion for what they do. From countryside manors to city break boltholes, I’ve stayed in several of their properties and have loved each one.

Mr & Mrs Smith

You may be forgiven for thinking this gorgeous collection was all about romance, but beyond finding great places for anniversaries and honeymoons, Mr & Mrs Smith cover great child friendly places too. Not just a website for inspiration, you can book directly on the site.

Small Luxury Hotels

The name says it all. Small Luxury Hotels   collect together independently minded hotels on their website and promise – and deliver – an authentic travel experience.

Leading Hotels of the World

Another website that wears its heart on its sleeve, Leading Hotels of the World gather together more than 375 luxury properties (including resorts) around the world.

MyBoutiqueHotel.com

With a great eye for design, MyBoutiqueHotel.com , as the name suggests, sources boutique hotels from around the world available for direct booking. Properties are combined into an easy on the eye collection, with curated lists for main cities plus the ability to create your own shortlists as you narrow down your choice. Membership is free and the themed lists save hours of research. You’ll find budget and luxury boutique hotel choices and can drill down to those suitable for work, for the kids, for romantic getaways and more.

Best travel websites 2021 - bedroom interior

The Best Hotel Booking Sites for the Best Deals and Specifics

These are the best travel websites for 2024 for booking flight and hotel packages together or for searching for accommodation when you have very specific needs. These online travel agencies let you trawl through thousands of places to stay in the blink of an eye. Plus, several offer exceptional hotel deals for your next adventure.

cozycozy.com

Describing itself as a search engine for accommodation, CozyCozy.com is an exciting newcomer on the hotel booking block. It rounds up offers from hotels, rentals, hostels, treehouses and boats into one easy to use platform. You’ll find the giants, like Booking.com and AirBnB and VRBO, as well as smaller accommodation solutions too. By searching with Cozycozy.com, you can save yourself a lot of time. They won’t cover everything. But they come pretty close.

A few more things to note. They guarantee that the price you see is the price you pay. They have a range of filters that go further than the rest (think searching for a hairdryer or washing machine.) And, my favourite. They have an “unusual” tab that opens up possibilities you may never have known existed. Yurt for one anyone?

Lastminute.com

I’ve grown old with Lastminute.com , originally because I fell in love with the name. But over the years, I still find them useful for last minute city break or resort based holidays (vacation packages if you’re from the US.) They’re an online travel agency with easy to navigate interface and lots of last-minute deals!

Expedia is SO big and all-encompassing that it’s sometimes easy to get lost within the website. But that’s also its strength for when your travel plans don’t fit into the travel sites I’ve mentioned above.

TripAdvisor

The great green travel website can really give you an inside look at a hotel. Yes, some of the reviews are fake but even the bad reviews can be helpful. One person’s “bad review” because there was no nightlife is another’s blissful discovery if they want a quiet, relaxing stay.

Plus, you get the benefit of booking through a trusted source with backup. AND the TripAdvisor community is really helpful if you have specific niggly questions about tourist destinations or are looking for great ideas.

Booking.com

Booking.com offers more search filters for hotels than anything else I’ve come across in the travel industry. When the specifics really matter (rather than the sense of atmosphere or design) then I turn to Booking.com It’s a powerful hotel search engine, with guest houses and self-catering options as well.

Top tips for finding the best travel deals

  • Look for off peak options whenever you can.
  • Don’t just stick to the big booking websites. Check out the smaller, unique travel websites as well.
  • Consider flying from regional airports.
  • Have a system! Our handy Travel Toolbox © will help with this.

Finding Great Flight Deals

There is, quite simply, an art to finding a good flight. Not just in terms of cost but also in terms of comfort and connection. It really is a useful life skill to be able to skip the travel agent and find what you want yourself.

With that in mind, check out our guide to the  best flight booking hacks for savvy travellers here.  

Then, get acquainted with the following flight search engines, for both domestic and international flights.

Skyscanner is the travel agent boyfriend or girlfriend with special deals you never had. Skyscanner listens, remembers your birthday, cleans your windscreen and empties the bin even when it isn’t its turn.

Well, OK, it doesn’t do any of that but  it DOES make it very, very easy to look for flights. Instead of forcing you to enter the same details in, or tie you to a date, Skyscanner uses filters and choices that simplify the flight-finding process. You can also search by price and switch currencies between dollars, euros, sterling and more. For both domestic and international travel.

If you have any flexibility in your planning, Skyscanner can let you search through the whole month for the best fare, slide filters for time of day, number of connections, just about anything. The only weak spot is searching for flights with infants, where the system is a little glitchy. Other than that, it’s one of the best airfare sites.

Don’t be put off by the watery name. Kayak is a meta search engine that crawls the web for flights and lets you sift through the results with ease. If you’re committed to finding the cheapest flights, then make sure you check everywhere you can.

Google Flights

Fellow travel professionals swear by Google Flights, although it’s never quite become one of my favourites. The strength of using Google’s software is that it responds quickly to real time changes. Perfect if your flight has just been cancelled because of weather or some other external event and you need to find your way home quickly.

You can even use Siri. “Hey google, give me search results for flights to New York!”

Travel experiences await.

Feynan Ecolodge in Dana Nature Reserve Jordan

The Best Travel Websites for Driving Holidays

You’re in road trip heaven here. We love road trips and have everything for them. Check out these great resources for planning a road trip.

Your Road Trip Toolkit

  • The road trip essentials you need to know about
  • The Ultimate Road Trip Planner  with printables and handbook
  • 101 fun road trip questions for your next drive
  • I nspiring road trip quotes for your instagram caption ideas.

AA Route Planner

This is another travel website that I love for its simplicity. Want to know how to get from A to B? Enter it in the AA Route Planner. It shows you a map and clear journey times in a split second. You can just leave it at that or add in stop off points and adjust for traffic and so on. The only problem is that it only covers driving in Europe.

MapQuest offers fantastic coverage of the United States and is free and easy to use to help plot our road trips.

Google Maps

Google Maps , on the other hand, cover the world. But it’s slightly more fiddly to use. It’s a lifesaver while actually on the road but it’s also useful in planning.

You can save destinations, plot itineraries and tweak public maps for your own trips. And – did you know that you can download maps and directions offline? Indeed, you can. It’s not only an online travel site.

Car Rental Travel Resources

I’ve driven cars all around the world and used all kinds of car rental companies and rental cars. Sometimes needs must but these days, wherever possible, I book through a reputable, international company. Then I look for car rental deals.

Hertz is one of my favourites. It’s so widespread and well-organised. Plus, as an inside tip, if you sign up to their Gold members programme (for free) you can quickly get lots of benefits.

However, for more of a search comparison site, I use Holiday Autos and then open RentalCars.Com in a new tab.

  • Don’t forget to download your free copy of our car rental checklist here.

Healthy Tray of Treats at the One Aldwych Luxury Hotel in London Near Covent Garden

Healthy Tray of Treats Room Service at One Aldwych, Covent Garden

The Best Travel Resources for Health

Centers for disease control and prevention.

Clearly, you should consult your own doctor before you travel. But, the CDC Travel Website is the one my medical friends recommend. So, don’t rely on it entirely. You do need an appointment with a real person. But it’s helpful to get an idea of what vaccinations and medication you are likely to need for certain countries before you decide to book. This applies all the more if your situation has changed due to a recent illness or pregnancy.

The Best Travel Websites for Saving Money

Money saving expert.

Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website firmly focuses its attention on a UK audience. It provides regularly updated and researched guides on essentials from currency exchange to travel insurance and finding cheap flights.

They also crunch the numbers with credit cards, publishing spreadsheets and tables to help you navigate the world of credit card rewards and the best way to save money.

Travel Insurance

I’d always recommend checking out the guide above before you book. But one of my favourite places to go for travel insurance is Heymondo.

Roaming Costs: Airalo

Unless you have roaming fees included in your usual phone package, remember to switch off mobile data when you travel.

Instead, embrace the brilliance of an eSIM. That means, you switch SIM cards without having to physically pop the plastic cover out of your phone using the back of an earring, hoping you don’t lose it before you head home again.

I’ve tested Airalo all across the world, including North America, Europe and the Middle East. It’s fantastic. So quick. So much money saved.

Train Travel Resources

Db rail planner for train travel in europe.

I love the DB site. It covers almost all of Europe and has an English version online travel website that is so easy to use.

National Rail Journey Planner

National Rail itself may be long gone but as a travel website, the National Rail Journey Planner is the best I’ve found to negotiate the different rail networks of the UK.

Eurail (Formerly InterRail)

Forget the sweaty backpacker image. The Eurail network includes First Class rail travel through glossy transport hubs. You can buy a range of rail passes or simply use their maps, itineraries and suggestions to help you plan your rail trip through Europe.

Heathrow Express

This remains the fastest way to reach the city centre of London from London’s Heathrow Airport, as well as Paddington Station, the gateway to the west, southwest and Wales. Using the Heathrow Express website in advance, you can book tickets for as little as  £5.50. Plus, children 15 and under travel for free.

The Elizabeth Line in London

A sneaky little bit of inside info. To save money on the Heathrow Express, take the slightly slower “normal” train from Paddington to Heathrow instead. Costs a fraction of the price and is generally more comfortable.

If you’re looking to travel through Japan, then you can’t miss their high speed shinkansen trains. They’re part of what Japan is famous for. Buy your Japan Rail pass before you go to get the best deals as a tourist.

The Best Travel Websites for Honeymoons and Anniversaries

While you can build your own honeymoon through the travel resources above, niche travel website 101 Honeymoons takes the hard work out of the equation for you. It filters honeymoons by month, interest and family situation, with trusted input from some of the top travel writers in the trade.

My Favourite Cruise Travel Resources

Everyone has different tastes. I prefer smaller cruises with plenty of cultural and adventurous options and excursions. Look for cruise lines which aim to introduce people to the destination and respect local customs rather than just keep people on the ship.

I would highly recommend Avalon Waterways for cruises in Europe and beyond and Uncruise Adventures for small ship cruising in Alaska.

In 2022, I took my first giant cruise with Princess Cruises – and you can read what that was like here.

The Best Tour Companies

It took me years to believe it but sometimes joining a tour, just for half a day, is a great way of connecting with locals and learning new skills.

These days, it’s easier than ever to find just the tour you need as one of the latest trends has become a permanent fixture. In popular destinations, it’s also useful to use these sites to skip the queues and buy your tickets in advance.

You can search for recommendations on travel blogs (ahem) or head straight to the big search sites.

I’ve tested both of these across the world and would highly recommend them:

  • Get Your Guide has great cancellation policies and an easy booking process.
  • Viator has a huge collection of local guides, transfers from the airport, cooking classes and more.

Treehouse glamping in Wales at Redwood Valley

The Best UK Travel Websites

Self catered cottages.

For ease of use, the app that comes with Sykes Cottages makes it easy to plan a trip away in snippets of down time in a busy life. Quality Cottages sweeps some gorgeous luxury cottages into view in Wales.

Glampingly remains my favourite site for finding quirky yet comfortable glamping spots in Europe. Want to know why? Check out this collection of the best treehouse holidays in the UK.

With a mix of glamping and alternative places to sleep, C anopy and Stars fills in the gaps.

A special, self-catered foodie twist

To add a sense of luxe to your self-catered holiday, order in a gourmet meal from One Fine Dine. This private jet catering company now packages up incredible meals with full instructions on how to finish them off and plate them up. Adds a lovely sense of occasion to a self-catered trip away.

In Conclusion

And one last note. Are you American and wondering why I’m not talking about dream vacation packages? I am, we just call them holidays in the UK. And car rentals are hire cars. And travel guides are, well, travel guides. I guess some things stay the same after all ;-)

Did you enjoy this collection of the best travel websites and travel resources for 2024? Bookmark this list of travel websites on Pinterest for later.

The best travel websites for cheap flights and great deals. Find the best travel toolkits and guides for booking flights, finding cheap deals, hotels, car rental, honeymoons, rail journeys, health advice and more. My tried and tested travel resources.

For more travel tips, check out our travel resources on how to plan your next trip here.

Our Favourite Travel Resources for 2024

  • Download your FREE pre-trip checklist
  • Download your copy of the Ultimate Travel Packing Checklist

Some of the best travel resources can be those you create yourself. Here are some creative travel journal ideas to get you started. Future you will be grateful!

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The 50 best travel websites

Whether you want to know where to go, how to get there, the finest places to stay or what to avoid at all costs, this list is a treasure trove of information for the trip of a lifetime, article bookmarked.

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Far-off destinations like Rio are easier to fly to and get around with the websites below

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The experts:

Mark Hodson founded 101holidays.co.uk , and 101honeymoons.co.uk

Abigail King is a travel writer and blogger, insidethetravellab.com

Srin Madipalli is CEO of Accomable

Julia Buckley is acting head of travel at The Independent

Mathura Premaruban is PR director at Hills Balfour's HB Luxe

Cynthia Drescher is a freelance travel journalist and digital editor

John Walton is an aviation journalist and deputy editor of Runway Girl Network

“If, like me, the idea of queuing for a restaurant while on holiday turns your stomach, this is your website,” says Srin. “With more than 40,000 restaurants to choose from, it’s still the biggest and best – and lets you search for places to eat by district, cuisine and review score, before booking your table for free. It’s particularly handy if you’re travelling through busy cities like London, New York or Sydney, where bagging a table at a peak time in a popular spot can be impossible without a reservation. For European cities including Paris and Madrid, French website, the Fork, is a little fiddlier to use, but does the same job.”

opentable.com

Sky Park Secure

“While no one’s going to get excited about airport parking, the fact remains that the costs – and inconveniences involved – can quickly mount up,” says Abigail. “This site compares more than 300 airport car parks at over 28 airports to help find you the best deal, but the algorithm goes beyond budget alone. Car parks are monitored for quality and the deals include official airport parking and meet & greet options as well as the more economical park and ride end of the scale.”

skyparksecure.com

“So you’ve landed at your destination and you’re overwhelmed with options of what to see, eat, and do, but there are some challenges to accomplishing it all,” says Cynthia Drescher. “Viator offers activities that help travellers get to the heart of the local experience while removing some of the roadblocks. For example, I was in Tallinn and wanted to a see more of Estonia without having to rent a car on my own. Through a Viator experience, I joined a small group daytrip to nearby beaches and hiked through a quarry known for its otherworldly scenery. On my first night in Hoi An, Vietnam, I left all my dinner decisions to a translator and a Viator tasting tour of the best banh mi sandwiches. Greatest idea ever.”

Google Maps

“It might sound obvious, but with its local information, handy satnav directions and downloadable map options, Google Maps is a godsend for the modern traveller,” says John Walton. “There are so many options – walking, driving, transport and more – that you should make sure you have a handle on all of them before travelling.”

maps.google.com

“The last few years have seen a growth in the number of websites and apps that promise to act as a personal travel assistant, but in my experience, this non-travel focused site wins hands down,” says Abigail. “For a monthly or yearly fee, you can submit 20-minute requests by email, phone, text or direct to a 24-hour cyber-team who will spring straight to work. Savour your travel time by allowing someone else to zip through your to-do list: confirm the hotel booking has a cot, find three suggestions for dinner, call to explain flight is delayed, find quickest way to the art museum, and so on. These days, I wonder how I got things done without it.”

fancyhands.com

“Want to figure out how to travel in comfort as well as style? Routehappy (where I used to be Director of Data back in 2014) will help you pick a flight based on whether there’s good legroom, wider seats, new planes, faster wifi, fewer neighbours and a lot more,” says John Walton.

routehappy.com

“This is a flight search engine for people who are flexible on when they fly,” says Mark. “So you can type in a request such as, ‘London to Los Angeles leaving next week under £800’ and see what comes up. If the fares are too high, you can set an email alert that will let you know when the price reaches your budget. It’s intuitive, fun to use and nicely designed.”

“Can't remember the name of your hotel? Simply forward all your email booking confirmations to this nifty planning tool and it will pop them into in one sleek, shareable itinerary, covering everything from flights to restaurants,” says Srin. “It's particularly useful if, like me, you're a bit of a planning nut, or if you have a complex itinerary and plan to venture from place to place.”

“Perhaps one of the best things about travelling to a new place is trying new food and drink when you’re there,” says Cynthia. “Eater is a site that reports on everything from the latest trends in ingredients (and where to try them) to which chefs are opening new restaurants and where. Eater’s fantastic and exhaustive airport dining guides even aid you in deciding what to eat when you’re in between places.”

​Euan’s Guide

“Looking for accessible places to visit? Euan MacDonald, the man behind this eponymous guide, and a fellow power chair user, has dedicated the past four years to digging out the best accessible attractions with unfailingly honest and detailed reviews,” says Srin. “It’s particularly useful for the UK, though more than 30 countries are covered. I particularly like that it goes beyond the usual well known tourist attractions to include more esoteric stuff like pop up festivals, farmers’ markets and little community theatres.”

euansguide.com

“Yes, Hipmunk is a travel search engine for the likes of airfare, hotel rates, and rental cars, but it’s also an innovator in that space,” says Cynthia. "Instead of simply organising results by what’s cheapest, Hipmunk applies an ‘agony‘ filter to show which flights, ranked by length of travel time combined with layovers and price, will be best for your money. They are then displayed on a grid that better represents what part of your day the plans will occupy, in order to help you plan around it instead of giving over an entire day to travel.”

hipmunk.com

“Skyscanner faithfully pulls in airfares into an easy-to-search, easy-to-use flight finder and fare comparison website,” says Abigail. “What sets it apart is the number of ways you can filter your search results. You can narrow it right down to a preferred airline, flight duration and departure time or go wild and search for ‘anywhere in the UK’ to ‘anywhere in France’. It’s an essential part of my travel armoury.”

skyscanner.net

Owners Direct

“There’s a lot to dislike about Owners Direct, starting with the buggy 1990s-style website,” says Julia. “But it’s also a brilliant resource for self-catering accommodation that bypasses the middle man – you’re communicating direct with the owners. Where Airbnb is great for short city breaks, Owners Direct is unbeatable for longer stays – especially in the UK, where most cottages in places like Cornwall rent by the week. It’s part of the HomeAway behemoth (including VRBO) which means that you can also find great places in Europe and the US as well – two of my all-time favourite stays in Greece and California I found on here. Just remember to make sure the person you’re communicating with is the real owner of the property, and bypass the ‘reserve’ button and make an ‘enquiry’ instead – that way, you don’t pay the site the commission fee (about 10%) for putting you in touch.”

ownersdirect.co.uk

Accuweather

“Like a true Brit, I like to keep a keen eye on the weather,” says Srin. “This site is one of the best for travellers, as it lets you home in on off the beaten track destinations, from lesser known Greek islands to villages in northern Thailand. You can see an hour-by hour forecast for on-the-day planning, as well as an extended forecast for the entire month ahead, though the accuracy of this is somewhat doubtful.”

accuweather.com

Canopy and Stars

“Sawday’s was one of the first companies to jump on the glamping bandwagon, and it really shows,” says Julia. “This website is always my go-to if I want something slightly different. Glamping can be grim, but I know that these have all been vetted, and the reviews, though brief, give a great impression of what you’re in for. There’s a huge worldwide selection.”

canopyandstars.co.uk

Google Flights

“There’s nothing better than Google Flights for figuring out your flight options,” says John. “Top tip: if you know your airport codes, you can search to or from up to five airports at a time, which is ideal if you’re within striking distance of several airports or want to hit a region but don’t care which airport you fly into.”

google.com/flights

Time Out London

“I grew up in London, but still feel like I haven’t scratched the surface when it comes to the capital’s myriad attractions,” says Srin. “This regularly updated guide is here to help you out, with comprehensive listings that cover everything from the biggest exhibitions and musicals to roof top bars, new street food hangouts and intimate gigs. I love the regular weekend guides, which always include free things to do.”

timeout.com/london

“A door-to-door travel search engine that shows times, prices and even carbon emissions, whether you plan to fly, drive, take the train, bus or ferry,” says Mark. “For example, it’s a two-hour flight from Gatwick to Venice, but from my front door to Piazza San Marco will take six hours 24 minutes, apparently, including a 41-minute ferry ride to Ospedale, followed by an 18-minute walk. Getting to the Falkland Islands would take me 31 hours 40 minutes. It’s a fun and addictive site, but it can be beaten: it couldn’t find a way from my house to the South Pole.”

rome2rio.com

Google Translate

“I remember when Google first offered its translation service, just over 10 years ago, the results were either dodgy or indecipherable (generally both),” says Srin. “These days it’s pretty slick. I use it for translating websites into English, but it comes into its own when you’re travelling, and are struggling for a word or need to ask a question.”

translate.google.co.uk

Vital Vegas

“There’s nothing like local blogs for finding out the newest openings and trends in a place, but make sure you’re getting a blog that’s free from PR influence,” says Julia. “Vital Vegas is loathed by many Sin City PRs because it consistently breaks the stories they don’t want you to hear about, whether that’s charging for ice in drinks or decreasing the shot size in gamblers’ free drinks. But it also has its finger on the pulse of what’s going on.”

vitalvegas.com

TripAdvisor

“Love it or hate it, TripAdvisor is the daddy of hotel review websites,” says Mark. “Yes, it can be manipulated by unscrupulous hoteliers, but it has such a large bank of hotel reviews that the occasional bad one rarely influences the overall score. And it’s not just hotels – reviews of restaurants and tourist attractions are generally reliable, too. Its smartphone app is particularly good too.”

tripadvisor.co.uk

“If you’re heading to a country that speaks one of the languages Duolingo covers (including, most recently, Japanese) you could do a lot worse to learn the language than this fun language learning app,” says John. “Some of the phrases are delightfully weird, and its AI gets hung up on grammar points occasionally when you might really be preferring to learn vocab, but it’s free, easy and includes oral and listening options.”

duolingo.com

“This is the perfect site for the eco-luxury traveller, ” says Mathura Premaruban. “Founded by Juliet Kinsman, she has travelled the world to bring together the finest luxury and boutique hotels that positively contribute to and change their local communities and ultimately the wider world. It is ideal for those that don’t want to compromise on luxury but still want to be environmentally and socially aware.”

“The world is so huge, and there are just so many places to go that organising your ‘must visit’ list can be a daunting task,” says Cynthia Drescher. “Well, Hitlist is here to help. Not only does it organise your ever-expanding destinations and allows you to share your picks with friends, but it constantly scrapes for updated airfare data to let you know when ticket prices are a steal. Technically it’s an app, but Hitlist has also rolled out a Google Chrome extension named the ‘Wandertab’ that draws from the company’s wealth of destination and airfare deals to inspire you with destination images and information every time you open a new tab in the browser.”

hitlistapp.com

Holiday Pirates

“Amid all the cheap deals sites, there’s nothing like Holiday Pirates,” says Julia. "It combs the internet to find the very best deals on package holidays, city breaks and flights – even super-cheap ‘mistake’ fares. You can regularly get a week in the sun for about £100 and longhaul flights from around £200. What’s even better is that it often packages up things for you to suggest the best deal, so it’ll tell you to book this flight, that hotel and that hire car individually.”

holidaypirates.com

Weather2Travel

“Some travel brochures and tour operator websites have selected climate information, but it can be misleading,” says Mark. “For detailed climate information about any destination, Weather2Travel is the place to go. It shows everything from humidity levels to sea temperatures, for any month of the year, as well as current conditions and there’s an interactive tool to find your chances of getting caught in a tropical storm.”

weather2travel.com

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

“The leader in the world of special escapes, Small Luxury Hotels of the World is exactly as the name suggests,” says Abigail. “In addition to vetting boutique hotels for you, its membership scheme provides extra perks such as free upgrades, late check-ins and sometimes wine on arrival.”

Flight Aware

“You could use Flight Aware to check if a flight is due to land on time but that would kind of miss the point,” says Srin. “More than anything else, this is a really cool piece of tech. It tracks thousands of aircraft in real time as they cross countries and oceans to reach airports around the globe. On a map it’s mindboggling to look at, and a must for tech and travel geeks alike.”

uk.flightaware.com

“There’s a lot of ski information on the web, much of it badly written or out-of-date,” says Mark. “WeLove2Ski is put together by specialist travel writers and is packed with balanced resort reviews, snow reports and advice on everything from technique to clothing. It’s the best all-round ski website.”

welove2ski.com

“Easy Taxi has changed my life,” says Julia. “I’m not a fan of Uber or other ridesharing apps, but this works by hooking you up with real, licensed cab drivers in 170 cities in the world – and you can pay by credit card or cash. It’s not just about not needing to queue anymore (the taxi comes to you). It has changed the way I travel in South America – in places like Buenos Aires or Rio, where you’re warned to be wary of flagging certain cabs, this provides extra security, and it also helps with language barriers, because you’ve already input your destination into the system.

easytaxi.com

“If I want to know what’s going on in Europe, I go straight to The Local,” says Julia. “It’s a great curated feed of news with nine editions from around the continent, and it also has more fun content – like a recent piece on Italian hand gestures. I love it.”

thelocal.com

Matrix Airfare Search

“This one is definitely for travel nerds,” says Mathura. “This no-nonsense site allows you to plan complex multi-route journeys and find the lowest fare. The only snag is that you can’t purchase directly from ITA Software but if you find a fare you like, you can give the information from this site to your travel agent or airline when making a booking. I spend hours on it planning far-flung trips.”

matrix.itasoftware.com

AA Route Planner

“Available to members and non-members alike, the AA website includes a free route planner that goes beyond the UK into the rest of Europe,” says Abigail. “It’s perfect for checking driving times, distances, and other useful tools include lists on what you’ll need for driving in different countries, from snow chains to fluorescent jackets.”

theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp

Rentalcars.com

“I rent a lot of cars in the US and have never found a cheaper deal than what Rentalcars.com offers,” says Julia. “They’re unbeatable in America (and add on extras, such as free one-way rentals in California and Nevada which is great for road-tripping) and they’re also very strong on UK and Europe rentals. They have excellent customer service too, if anything ever goes wrong. Always my first port of call.”

rentalcars.com

Context Travel

“An afternoon with Context will change your impression of guided tours forever,” says Abigail. “Context recruits academics who are passionate about their subject and who live in the area they’re working in. Thus, you’ll find experts on the Cold War in Berlin and architectural experts tracking down Roman remains in central London. In-depth, informed and interesting, these walking tours are simply outstanding.”

contexttravel.com

CDC Travel Health

“This is THE website my doctor friends swear by when it comes to getting trustworthy travel health advice,” says Abigail. “Of course, you should always consult your own healthcare professional, but this website can give you a crucial heads-up when it comes to working out what vaccines you’ll need. It also provides the latest news on travel health updates country by country and region by region. Essential reading.”

cdc.gov/travel

“Instagram gets a bad rap,” says Julia. “And for good reason – the rampage of tourists visiting sites that have become famous on the ‘Gram and spending more time on their filters than on looking at a destination really grinds my gears. And yet Instagram is still a great place to get inspiration of where to go and what to see. I tend to skip over professional travel Instagrammers for more authentic feeds – I love @jetsetcd , run by a travel journalist who takes amazing photos (fellow panellist Cynthia Drescher), @lisajanemurray who highlights climate change through her photography and @megancstarr , a solo traveller who specialises in Eastern Europe.”

instagram.com

Green Traveller

“If you’d rather not fly – whether you hate the experience or worry about your carbon footprint – Green Traveller is packed with holiday ideas,” says Mark. “There’s everything from yurt camps in the south of France to ski touring in Scotland, all of which you can reach by train, coach or ferry. The site is well-designed and written by expert journalists.”

greentraveller.co.uk

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice Guide

“While it may not be the most exciting recommendation, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website still earns a place on my essential travel checklist,” says Abigail. “Problems abroad change fast and it’s always good to have reliable advice on what you’re dealing with. In addition to the latest security alerts and some travel health advice, you’ll find useful tips on what you can pack in your hand luggage plus the necessary emergency information should the worst occur while you’re away.”

gov.uk/foreign-traveladvice-guide

Spotted By Locals

“Rather than rely on an outdated guidebook, Spotted By Locals allows you to get tips from insiders,” says Mark. “Locals in 40 European cities blog about their favourite restaurants, bars, shops and festivals – it’s like having a friend show you the best spots. You can buy a PDF guide to each city or download the free smartphone app.”

spottedbylocals.com

“A travel currency service is never going to be the most inspiring thing on the web,” admits Srin. “But a few clicks on this site gets you free next day delivery and more bang for your buck than the high street. They’re a young company, and keen to please, so I got a friendly follow up call from their team too. If you travel a lot, I find their prepaid currency cards are handy. You just transfer money from your bank onto the card, and can spend or withdraw it anywhere that accepts Mastercard worldwide.”

“Specialist wheelchair accessible taxis can be ruinously expensive, so this new service is a bit of lifesaver,” says Srin Madipalli. “It costs the same as a regular Uber but wait times are generally longer due to fewer vehicles. It’s not available everywhere but I’ve found good coverage in London, and you can also use it in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto.”

Runway Girl Network

“Runway Girl Network is run by the kind of aviation experts who know when you’ve used a photo of the wrong plane type in a story,” says Julia Buckley. “But it’s different from other aviation websites because it focuses on the passenger experience, rather than intricate geekery – right down to inflight film reviews. Their knowledge is second to none. Also, it’s run by a woman, Mary Kirby, and makes a concerted effort to increase diversity in its coverage, writers and sources – which is the icing on the cake.”

runwaygirlnetwork.com

Travellers Point

“One of the world’s largest travel community sites, Travellers Point features 30,000 blogs and more than 1.4m photos,” says Mark. “It has active forums where you can ask just about anything, plus a neat travel planning widget. Starting up your own blog takes seconds.”

travellerspoint.com

Design Hotels

“As the name suggests, this website relishes good design when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep on the road,” says Abigail. “Design Hotels presents a collection of more than 300 independent hotels in over 50 countries, with benefits for members ranging from discounts on car hire to deals on the hotels themselves. But the real joy lies in uncovering hotels that please the eye, as chrome bedsteads compete with bare brick and thick velvet curtains for the most surprisingly stylish place to sleep.”

designhotels.com

“The idea behind Airbnb is simple: rather than stay at a hotel, you can rent somebody’s spare room,” says Mark. “Since it launched in 2008, it has become a global phenomenon, with more than 300,000 listings in 192 countries. Not just spare rooms, but apartments, family houses, villas, treehouses, you name it. The site is simple and easy to use, with lots of photographs, user reviews and star ratings.”

airbnb.co.uk

The Man in Seat 61

“If you’re planning a rail trip anywhere in the world, Mark Smith should be your first port of call,” says John. “With suggestions for trips as well as clear explanations of what you get in each class or for each railpass, this is an invaluable resource for figuring out how the trains work and how to buy tickets.”

“I came across this cool mapping tool at an accessibility event in Toronto, and was immediately hooked,” says Srin. “Set up by Maayan Ziv, a bit of a rockstar in the disabled community, it uses crowdsourced data to pinpoint accessible locations on an online map. Perfect for when you’re on the go, and want to pop into an accessible café or bar without the faff of having to do tonnes of research or planning in advance.”

accessnow.me

Furthermore

“This blog from posh US gym chain Equinox goes beyond the ‘what to eat’ and ‘where to stay’-style articles to dispense real advice from sport and nutrition professionals for active travellers,” says Cynthia. “Their guide to holistic eateries and traveller-friendly workout studios in Berlin as well as articles that detail healthy ways to spend a layover offer real, creative solutions and insight you don’t typically find on travel sites.”

furthermore.equinox.com

In Your Pocket

“On a trip to Johannesburg last year, this was the only guide I could find that was up-to-date and informative about the city,” says Julia. “Everything else I saw skirted around what there was to offer and treated it as a hub for Kruger National Park, but this really got under the skin. I’ve been a fan of In Your Pocket since then. Whatever the city, they really know their stuff.”

inyourpocket.com

“Hotel websites can be impossible to sift through, and sometimes they can feel like little more than targeted ads,” says Julia. “But that’s where i-escape comes in. It’s genuinely curated, offers a fantastic selection of mainly independent hotels, and has proper, genuine reviews that tell you who this is and isn’t for, rather than pretend everyone’s going to love it. It’s one of the first places I check if I’m going somewhere.”

i-escape.com

Additional research by Sarah Barrell

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Best online travel sites 2022

Use the best online travel sites to plan your trip ahead of time so you can enjoy your time away.

Best Online Travel Sites

  • Buying advice
  • Testing process

The best online travel sites are wonderful not only plan your next trip for peace of mind, they're also a fun way to get excited ahead of your next adventure. You can simply go to one site and plan most of your trip's main parts from flights and hotels to rental cars and excursions. If what you're after is just hotel bookings, check out our list of the best hotel booking sites .

While what many of these sites offer is similar, it's the way in which they do it which is important. The last thing you need is a stress-inducing website when planning to go away to relax and unwind. So we've reviewed the best sites based on their price, of course, but also on the way they work, with the ease of use and clarity as important features. We also checked to make sure you won't suffer any extra charges added on top at the last minute. Plus, we took rewards schemes into account, which could help you save money upfront or in the longer term if you use some sites more than once.

With all that in mind, these are the very best online travel sites out there right now.

The best online travel sites

1. expedia.com: best online travel site overall .

Why you can trust Top Ten Reviews Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Best Online Travel Sites: Expedia

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

Expedia is a big name in online travel sites and hotel booking services and owns many popular sites like Hotels.com and Hotwire.com. We're fans of the original, though, thanks to its clean and straightforward to use interface. Hit the packages section of the site, and you can add up to five connecting flights, choose to add accommodation for all of or only part of your trip, and tag on car rentals too. 

It's all suitably well laid out, and it only takes a few seconds to start putting together your itinerary. However, we do wish there were a few more options for filtering out accessibility issues. Still, for most people, Expedia.com has everything they'll need, and there's even the option of a cruise too if you fancy it. It's as aspirational to look at as it is useful to, well, use and there are extra discounts for booking multiple parts of your vacation with the site. A Things To Do section rounds off the site's bid to help you plan your entire trip in one place.

2. Booking.com: Best for ease of use

Booking.com

Booking.com

Booking.com is a giant in the world of holiday bookings and not only offers over half a million properties in more than 207 countries but also offers flights and car rental services too. As such you can do it all from this one spot which makes it a very easy-to-use option. That said, there is a lot going on, and the user interface can be a little overwhelming at times. 

But with a superb rewards program, it is a great option that encourages you to keep coming back, making it easier to use as you become accustomed. You can even sort your taxi hire from this site meaning there is very little to think about when you get traveling as it's all been planned ahead of time. You also don't have to pay a booking fee on lots of hotels, allowing you to remain flexible – ideal if you're traveling about a lot on your journey.

3. CheapTickets.com: Best for finding things to do 

Best Online Travel Sites: CheapTickets

CheapTickets.com

CheapTickets is another site acquired by Expedia, but it does things a little differently. You can easily add on flight, hotel, and car or any combination of the three for package deals, although multiple flights are under a different option. So far, so Expedia (if less intuitive), but you can also clearly purchase event tickets from the site, which is far more useful if you want a one-stop-shop place to buy your trip. It's something other sites provide, but CheapTickets is that bit keener to entice you into the process, even if the site itself is a little cheesier looking than others. 

There's also the site's Vacation Value Finder, which lets you tweak how much you're willing to spend and what you're looking for from a vacation before making some fun suggestions. It's perfect for finding a last-minute deal if you don't have your heart set on one place. Students will also appreciate a section dedicated to them with extra discounts once you verify you're a student. All in all, it's a great varied site for numerous different needs. 

4. Priceline.com: Best for user reviews 

Best Online Travel Sites: PriceLine

Priceline.com

Priceline is a big deal in the online travel site world for a good reason. It's effortless to use with options available for flights, cars, hotels, or any combination of the three. It's mildly annoying that Priceline's super cheap Pricebreaker deals don't extend to bundles, so you won't get an incredible bargain like you would if you booked separately. However, combining the set is still a worthwhile deal with discounts offered for the more you bundle together. 

One thing we really appreciated is that every hotel we looked at had dozens of reviews, and they're all from verified customers. It takes seconds to gain a reasonably accurate picture of what to expect from wherever you're considering booking. That's the perfect peace of mind when you're booking online, and you can't be sure of what you're getting without user reviews backing hotel statements up. Clearly laid out, you can focus on enjoying rather than worrying. Finally, Priceline is keen to make its VIP scheme easily accessible with straightforward discounts offered to you over time -- something that not all sites so clearly highlight. 

5. Kayak.com: Best for aggregated results 

Best Online Travel Sites: Kayak

If you're short on time, Kayak is pretty useful. That's because you simply enter where you want to go, and it aggregates results from multiple different sources. While it means you never book directly with Kayak, it does mean you get results quickly and without having to search around yourself, even if you will feel a bit overwhelmed with adverts while you search. 

The site itself looks a little basic, but under the hood is a surprising number of different filters (although no accessibility ones to speak of) and all the critical information you could require, although obviously you'll be sent to another site for the full details. The site also has a deals section, which has some great bargains for things you can do once you reach your destination, along with cheap car rental deals. It might not be pretty, but if you simply don't want to do the groundwork yourself, Kayak has you covered. It can be a real time-saver, and we reckon it's particularly useful if you're mostly researching possible trips in the future and want rough price estimates. Just watch out for the fact you can’t bundle in car rental deals. 

6. Hotwire.com: Best for renting properties 

Best Online Travel Sites: Hotwire

Hotwire keeps things straightforward. All you need to do is enter what you're looking for, and a somewhat dated interface tells you what's available. It's not as pretty as some sites, but we really liked the extensive property type filters available. Want to stay on a houseboat or in a chalet at your destination? Hit the relevant filter, and you can find out if that's an option in the locale. That might not matter if your heart is set on a hotel, but it's a nice bonus even amongst the awkward site layout. 

Elsewhere, it's mostly business as usual, but that's no bad thing. Well laid out discounts are available to compare reasonably quickly, and most locations have plenty of reviews. If you feel like tracking down specific deals, you can do that too, with the site keen to offer up discounts to central locations if you're not quite sure where you'd like to visit next. It feels like the site needs updating when you compare it to its rivals, but it works well and speedily enough.

7. Agoda: Best for private home rental in Asia 

Agoda

Agoda is a great option if you want to look for accommodation that isn't a hotel as this specializes in offering apartments and private rentals. In fact, there are dedicated market managers that work on finding properties, especially in Asia. As such you can find unique destination rentals at decent rates and should you change your mind there is a helpful 24-hour free cancellation policy in place. 

Everything is very easy to use and if you want to make more than one booking you can make great savings. Customer support is also a plus, as there is a 24-hour multilingual customer support service available when booking. With millions of reviews, Agoda makes finding a property very easy with a feeling of trust that can offer great peace of mind.

What to look for in an online travel site

Booking Travel Packages Travel packages can let you combine flights, hotel reservations and car rentals together for a better deal than booking separately. Some companies, like Priceline, pick hotels and flights for you, to get you to your destination for the lowest price. Other companies let you mix and match flights, hotels and car rentals to fit your schedule.

Booking Airfare One of the biggest reasons for searching on a travel site is to find cheap airfare. While there are dozens of airfare-specific websites, travel sites also give you the option to add hotel stays and car rentals. The best travel sites combine flight information from over nine different airlines and let you sort flights by price, number of stops, duration and flight class.

Booking International Travel Finding airfare for international travel is the easiest part of booking an overseas trip. AirGorilla helps you find accommodations and rent GPS units with your rental car, so you can find your way around. Often, sites will recommend hotels that are far from your actual destination or event. Searching for reservations on a site that gives accommodation recommendations will help you schedule an international trip with less stress.

How we tested the best online travel sites

We looked at how easy each site is to use during our testing, such as how quickly the site loaded and how easy it was to find what we were looking for. We considered whether the site felt cluttered with adverts or seemed like a dated interface. We also looked at how easy it was to find Contact Us pages, price guarantee information, and any kind of special deals section. 

We also considered how easily bundle deals could be arranged and how extensive they were and any potential discounts tied to them. We checked filter options to see how flexible and easy it was to look up different needs along the way.

We looked at trips between Los Angeles and Miami, Paris to Lisbon, and New York City to Los Angeles during testing. We also looked at lesser-known routes to see if they were also catered for appropriately.

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Jennifer Allen

Jennifer has been freelancing for over 10 years. In the past, she's written about all things tech and gaming wise for outlets as varied as The Independent, Playboy, Eurogamer, and TechRadar. In her spare time, she spends far too much time watching films, attempting to train her pet guinea pigs, and mastering making the perfect burrito.  She's a full time freelancer, but a regular tech news contributor to Top Ten Reviews.

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world's biggest travel websites

world's biggest travel websites

The 10 Best Designed Tourism Websites in the World 2022

Mary Ann Ha , Skift

June 15th, 2022 at 2:30 AM EDT

In a frantic attempt to avoid being left behind, official tourism organization websites are doing their best to catch up to the high expectations of the new traveler — tourists of the post-pandemic digital age.

Mary Ann Ha

Almost every tourist these days is making decisions about their travels based on what they see online. From themed trips to budgeted food tours, travelers crave previews of potential destinations and surf the internet to learn anything they can about a new and exciting spot.

Due to intense levels of pent-up travel demand followed by impulsive and impatient post-pandemic travelers, tourism website design is more important now than ever before. The competitive space for well-designed websites is more ambitious, and reliance on digital platforms as a dependable resource for travel inspiration is at an all-time high. Looking at the Gen Z traveler, it’s easy to notice that attention spans have shortened immensely, and tourists are treating trip planning like a shopping experience, picking and choosing elements of their vacations after engaging in a few seconds of appeal.

With that being said, tourism organizations are slowly learning that the old ways simply don’t work anymore — paragraphs of information on the screen, redirection that continues tab after tab, slow and clunky navigational experiences, depressing color palettes, and promotional descriptions of sites that don’t answer any of the truly important questions, especially for a more conscious traveler worried about climate change, and other threats.

After two years of rapidly-evolving digital growth, several websites have succeeded in breaking out of that dull and repetitive cycle. Here is Skift’s 2022 list of best designed tourism websites — ones that hit the spot both visually and navigationally, and are taking note of what the modern traveler wants, how they think, and most importantly, how they behave.

1. Visit Iceland

world's biggest travel websites

The clean-cut and minimalistic nature of Nordic graphic design works well to communicate visual appeal, send concise messages with clarity (or humor), and entice further curiosity with minimal effort, especially in the website world. Visit Iceland leads our list with a transitional homepage display, decorated with background images that hover along the page as they overlap and interact with the text on the screen, making the website feel inviting and alive.

As users scroll further down, the website displays excellent examples of utilizing the organized nature of drop-down menus and vertically moving lists. With a clean white background and bold capitalized black font, readers are able to quickly catch sight of what they want to read, without feeling overwhelmed by options. Blog articles of potential itineraries and Iceland travel tips are also organized in a format reminiscent of Youtube, integrated with carousel elements that are easy to view via mobile phone. 

Accessibility to greener travel options within the website is always a plus — Visit Iceland has an entire page dedicated to helping travelers join in on Iceland’s commitment to preserving their nature, including a list of environmentally certified businesses, a carbon footprint calculator, and an easy-to-follow list of tips for sustainable travel in Iceland.

2. Visit California

world's biggest travel websites

While the homepage might look typical at first glance, Visit California’s “Experience California” layout is one of the best designs we’ve seen in the tourism website game. Swipe left as soon as you get onto the landing page (a surprising, but not too complicated way to navigate the site, which keeps visitors engaged), and users are immediately whisked into a three-dimensional space to explore what the state of California has to offer to their tourists.

To the new millennial and Gen Z traveler, design and aesthetic can be just as or more important as destination information and travel guidance. Interactive visuals and bold colors speak to the character of California as a vacation spot, filled with globally cultural experiences and advanced businesses in design and technology — adding to the visitor’s impression of what a trip to California could be like. 

As the home of Los Angeles and the land of influencers, Visit California also fully embraces the use of User-Generated Content as a promotional tool, and displays this in an easy-to-digest format.

3. Z ürich Tourism

world's biggest travel websites

Speaking of Nordic graphic design and user-generated content, the official website for the city of Zurich is another example of the excellent use of white space. Dedication to sans serif typography, a two-to-three cool tone color palette, and an extremely simplistic, clean layout keeps visitors from feeling overwhelmed and allows for a breathing space to go through all the activities offered on the website. 

Beneath several of the suggested activities, restaurants, and bars, the Zurich website also labels whether the business is open or the service is being offered in real time, a unique feature that can be extremely helpful for travelers who are looking for last minute places to enjoy or spontaneously plan a day trip.

Their user-generated content page is a delightfully neat design, with the page tab linked as a single hashtag in the top menu. The entire page acts as a unified social media feed, making all their social media coverage on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram visually accessible in one view.

3. Visit Brazil

world's biggest travel websites

Visit Brazil has all information and links available on their homepage, split into four sections: Experiences, Destinations, Regions, and Travel Information. 

Aesthetically, a framework of yellow is filled with a line-up of action-packed visuals, picture and video, and a section dedicated to Instagram content. They know their visitors, and they recognize that in-your-face video content appeals to those who are looking for some sort of adventure. The video that takes up the entire homepage display keeps visitors engaged at initial glance, and while the website prioritizes promoting their adventurous activities, they balance “fun” with “necessity” and make sure to give easy access to the safety information travelers will need to know when coming to Brazil.

world's biggest travel websites

We all know New York City could be its own state, with experience offerings that are equivalent to those of a country.

Set up like a booking site, the NYCgo’s most impressive elements include the UX framework that is deeply familiar to the modern traveler — searching for hotels or accommodations via a search engine reminiscent to short-term rental or airline sites, being able to “like” and save posts or articles for later referral, and of course, a function that offers filtered options to find activities and locations catered to the visitor’s personal preference.

world's biggest travel websites

The bold, graffiti-like font that covers the homepage and is used throughout the website is simple, which is a necessary move considering how much text is on the front page. It’s also a great aesthetic choice, a subtle way of speaking to the headlines that cover billboards in NYC. While the website offers slews of information on the homepage, the way it is formatted and presented to the user keeps the aesthetic uncluttered and down-to-earth.

6. Visit Finland

world's biggest travel websites

From the logo, to overall design, to choice of font, Visit Finland’s website displays similarities to another extremely popular rental booking site, but when it comes to approachability and visual appeal, borrowing those design elements works in their favor.

The website is a smooth, transparent, and, of course, familiar experience — one that is both modular and linear, showing dedication to navigational simplicity. The design does not shy away from white space and minimalism much like its Nordic counterparts also on this list. Complete use of full-screen photos and stunning imagery is a highlight, as well as the level of scroll-responsive interactivity visitors experience as they explore the site. 

This website also displays various Finnish activities and locations through the save/heart feature, referencing a user experience often seen in online shopping or Pinterest mood boards. The layout feels particularly responsive to the nature of the Gen Zers who spend all their time on social media “saving” posts and ideas.

7. Visit Australia

world's biggest travel websites

Like we’ve seen on other websites on the list, the Visit Australia website is hugely loyal to the tile format, which could feel silly if overused, but because the tiles are lined up and sectioned in a cohesive manner, visitors will find it extremely easy to find options for each and every aspect of destination planning. The homepage is lined with left-right carousels of vertical images, appealing to younger generations and optimized for mobile formats.

Drop down menus are also a highlight for this website design. Instead of cluttering the frame with an overwhelming amount of text, the tile format keeps the menu options visually engaging for the user. Integration of beautiful imagery within every step of the user experience shows great dedication towards marketing the destination, which is, ultimately the main purpose of a tourism organization. 

The Visit Australia website offers everything, from itineraries and cultural or geographical activity guides to budgeting and accommodation deals. Recognizing that budget is an important factor for many travelers is also a major plus for any tourism website, as it keeps website visitors within the website instead of browsing other platforms for “best or most affordable deals”. 

Perhaps the highlight of the site is Explore Australia in 8D, an interactive exploratory experience that allows visitors to move through a map of the entire mainland of Australia, including a few islands surrounding the area, and see what each region has to offer, from attractions to lodging and food.

world's biggest travel websites

As much as Peru is receiving growing interest as a travel destination in recent years, the country also seems to be extremely conscious about communicating COVID safety measures and restrictions to potential tourists. The immediate landing page of the tourism website gives visitors easy access to ways to prepare and plan for a trip to Peru from home, beginning with multiple avenues to check and double check updated Covid protocols. Showing this level of diligence to Covid measures not only communicates the fact that Peru takes safety protocols seriously, but also allows for international travelers to cross ‘testing or vaccination requirements’, still a major concern at this time, off their list of potential worries.

The team at Peru Travel also takes advantage of the numerous recognitions, media coverage, and awards that Peru receives as a tourism destination, and pushes that at the forefront of their website design. 

The most exciting part of the website is perhaps the VR page, called Peru 360, where one can “visit” various sites throughout Peru in a virtual reality. While this is a method that has grown in popularity amongst a lot of brands during the pandemic, very few official tourism websites have been successful in offering a well-established experience that feels interactive beyond typical images or videos. 

9. Visit Italy

world's biggest travel websites

Italy has long-been a tourist-heavy destination, and the team at Visit Italy knows it. At the forefront of their website are easy ways to search, budget, and book the top tourist attractions through the best deals. Viewers barely need to scroll down the homepage before getting immediate access to the Ticket Carousel, with exact prices listed by attraction or location.

Visit Italy’s website isn’t the most ambitious platform design-wise, but it prioritizes digestible formats, such as buttons for each step in planning or tiled carousels, and feels easy-to-navigate overall, especially considering all the information on their homepage.

It’s clear that the website knows what their visitors need — to beat lines, to get the best prices, and to make the most of their time in one of the most famous cities in the world that Italy has to offer. The site is ideal for the tourist who needs to prioritize planning and booking over aesthetic photo inspirations. The website also acts as a search engine of sorts, and does not shy away from redirecting their visitors to other booking sites or options in order to make the best decisions.

10. Visit Greenland

Visit Greenland’s website also sets up like a familiar search engine site (a trend we are observing across most of the designs on this list) but serves mostly for travel inspiration and local informational purposes. The layout of the website is simple and loyal to the use of white space, which allows for their unique graphic design elements to shine through in this particular design. 

world's biggest travel websites

Not only are the three-dimensional illustrations beautiful, but they are also interactive, acting as links to the respective relative pages. 

Aside from engaging geographic and cultural graphics, the website also lines up options of various package tours that lead to external provider links, who are more well-versed in helping potential visitors move forward in their planning and exploration process. Because Greenland is a nature-heavy travel destination, the website focuses on displaying a variety of outdoor activities — based on personal interests or geographical location — in order to prevent travelers from feeling deprived of diverse activities. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Innovative methods in the digital world are getting increasing ambitious day by day and website designs are trying to be as responsive as possible, as to make sure they maintain their presence in the travel planning space.

In addition to the websites on our list, several other tourism organizations are diving into unique measures to gain attention from the ever-so-hungry tourist of the post-pandemic travel world. Interactive games, like Cape Town’s Virtual Game Tourism Campaign , are one of the few ways these organizations hope to attract younger audiences and give a virtual taste of their destination to potential travelers. The Machu Pichu 360 website invites visitors to enter the world of VR and includes auditory stimulants, a step up from the Peru 360 page in our list, that engages both eyes and ears to fill the void travelers have all been experiencing during Covid.

With the competitive space for tourism websites expanding at an increasing speed and mobile apps taking the spotlight from website platforms , tourism organizations and designers will most likely continue to borrow elements of the newly digital world to keep their platforms running.

Tags: climate change , design , digital , Digital Marketing , generation z , online booking , online travel , pandemic , tourism , tourism boards , tourism campaigns , websites

  • About the Wonderlusters
  • How to Start a Travel Blog
  • 300+ Best Travel Websites

The Wonderlusters

300+ Best Travel Websites and Resources in 2020

Travel better and smarter for less with this incredible collection of 300+ of the world’s best travel-related websites and resources . Here are the most visited travel sites from around the world, brought together in one place, categorized by topic and ranked by popularity. You won’t see travel planning as a burden anymore.

Stop wasting time on search engines. Instead, add this page to your favorites! It will become your reference to help you: ⭐ Book flights, hotels and car rentals; ⭐ Know the alternatives in terms of accommodation and travel; ⭐ Plan your next destinations at the best price; ⭐ Find activities for your next destinations; ⭐ Find and share extraordinary travel experiences; ⭐ Save a lot of time and money; ⭐ And much more!

Disclosure Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your support is truly appreciated.

Booking Platforms (15)

1. Expedia ⭐⭐

Hotel Booking (8)

1. Booking.com ⭐⭐⭐

Cheap Flights (16)

1. Google Flights ⭐⭐⭐

Car Rentals (16)

1. Rentalcars.com ⭐⭐

Home Sharing (12)

1. Airbnb ⭐⭐⭐

Discount Travels (11)

1. lastminute.com (Europe)

Airlines (38)

1. Delta Air Lines (US)

Ridesharing & Carpooling (12)

1. Uber ⭐⭐⭐

Hotel Chains (12)

1. Marriott ⭐⭐⭐

Mile & Points (10)

1. The Points Guy (US) ⭐

Trains & Buses (19)

1. IRCTC (India)

House Swap (4)

1. HomeExchange ⭐

Travel Insurance (11)

1. World Nomads (Global)

Hostels (5)

1. Hostels Worldwide

Best Travel Blogs (29)

1. Nomadic Matt ⭐

RV Rentals (7)

1. RV Rentals (US)

Banking & Budget (9)

1. XE

Trip Planners (8)

1. Lonely Planet

Cruises (13)

1. Disney Cruise Line

Travel Forums (7)

1. Lonely Planet community

Tours & Activities (15)

1. Tripadvisor ⭐⭐⭐

Travel Communities (7)

1. Meetup

Work & Travel (7)

1. Fiverr ⭐

Helpful Travel Sites (12)

1. FlightAware

Maps & GPS (10)

1. Google Maps ⭐⭐⭐

Useful Travel Apps (10)

1. Google Translate ⭐⭐⭐

Photos & Cloud Storage (7)

1. Google Photos ⭐

How to use this tool?

To refine your results, several options are available to you:

  • Use the search box to make a quick find;
  • Select any category of interest;
  • Filter sites by keyword;
  • Locate the ⭐ next to my favorite sites. They won’t disappoint you ?

Note: although most sites are global, some of them are specific to one or more countries.

How were these sites selected?

This compilation of travel resources is the result of countless hours of research that have raised Poly as an expert in travel planning. The flawless world tour he organized for my own family is a testimony to this.

We selected these sites based on the criteria of popularity and added value for our readers.

The site’s popularity

Marketing obviously contributes a lot to making a product or service popular. But without a value proposition, a website can’ t stay at the top for long. The most popular sites therefore generally have a superior service offering that sets them apart from the others.

On this page are listed the most popular websites in every category, which will meet most of your travel needs:

  • Your flight, hotel and car rental reservations;
  • Your housing and transportation alternatives;
  • Your time and money savings options;
  • Your insurance and travel fund management;
  • Your tools to help you better plan your next trips;
  • Your meetings and interactions with locals and other travelers;
  • Your need for new inspiration;
  • And your other travel-related needs.

The value we bring to our readers

A most popular site is not necessarily the best. Thus, there are some less popular sites that offer a service with a potential to take it to the top of the list .

For your best interest, we have included several less popular sites that you will appreciate, simply because we also appreciate them personally!

How are these lists ranked?

Establishing a ranking of the best travel sites is an intrinsically flawed process, as it is totally subjective. 10 people can do it in 10 different ways.

That’s why we preferred to do it in an objective way, using the Alexa site that ranks websites from all over the world according to traffic.

Is this method reliable? Traffic is one indicator among others. It is not necessarily better than another. Alexa’s traffic measure is by no means the most accurate and is certainly not flawless. But we chose this indicator because it is free and open to the public.

The websites are therefore not ranked in terms of quality, but in terms of popularity. This criterion remains consistent in each list, which implies that the best sites do not necessarily rank first in their respective categories. That said, we are confident that the site samplings in each category do represent the best sites in their category overall.

The traffic of a site can evolve rapidly. Some sites will disappear and other sites that will prove more valuable to travelers will appear, ensuring that you get periodically updated lists. That being said, traffic patterns are not likely to change dramatically. It is therefore quite likely that the lists will not change much from one update to the next.

How to submit a site to these lists?

If you know of essential sites that are not included in these lists, or if you would like to suggest new categories, please feel free to submit them to us via the contact form . If we believe they are relevant here, we will happily add them.

Please note that we will be particularly selective, as this page is not intended to be an exhaustive and worthless travel directory. Please understand, therefore, that we will assess the sites submitted to us according to the same combined criteria of popularity and added value to our readers, in line with the sites currently listed here.

Any comment?

We love hearing from travelers from all over the world. Feel free to tell us how our site has helped you make your travel arrangements easier by commenting below, or by sending us a message on our contact form or via Facebook .

such great information for bloggers I am a professional blogger thanks.

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Top 10 Best Travel Sites in 2024

Whether you're looking for great deals on flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, or more, you can find plenty of options on the best travel sites..

Google Flights

  • Online Help Center

Kayak

  • Online form & FAQs

Priceline

  • Live chat & FAQs

Airfair Watchdog

  • Email & FAQs

Hotels.com

  • Phone, email

Expedia

  • Phone, online form

AirBNB

We find the 10 best options, so you can make informed decisions on tons of products and services.

Our Top 10 Best Travel Sites in 2024:

  • Google Flights - Best travel site overall
  • Kayak - Best for quick and easy flight and hotel searches
  • Priceline - Best for saving up to 60% on travel bookings
  • Airfair Watchdog - Best for curated flight and hotel options
  • Hotels.com - Best for discounted hotel rates
  • Expedia - Best for comprehensive travel bookings and rewards
  • Travelocity - Best for personalized vacation planning assistance
  • Momondo - Best for real-time flight and hotel deals
  • AirBNB - Best for unique and affordable accommodations
  • Hipmunk - Best for personalized travel recommendations

Paying full-price for travel accommodations is a thing of the past; with travel websites, you can get great deals on flights, hotels, cruises, and more.

There’s nothing quite like travelling, especially when the purpose of your trip is good, pure fun. What’s more, travelling has never been easier or cheaper; today, you can log onto any number of websites, choose a destination and dates, and get a whole list of possible flights, hotels, car rentals, and holiday packages that you can buy with a few clicks of your mouse or swipes of your finger.

Of course, different things are important to different people when travelling. For some, finding the cheapest flight is of paramount importance, no matter how many stopovers or hours it takes.  For others, finding the nicest hotel is essential, no matter what the cost. And yet others don’t care about the flight or hotel; they just want to visit a place where they’ll have plenty of attractions to visit during the day and where there’s an exciting nightlife to keep them busy after dark.

What’s most important to you when travelling?

Cheap Flights

If you’re looking for cheap flights, here’s what NOT to do: Do not order tickets directly from an airline’s website. The tickets posted there are usually full-price and don’t give you options for stopovers. (And stopovers can make flights significantly cheaper.)

Here is what you should do: Go to a website that can search for flights for you. Google Flights , Kayak , Priceline , Airfarewatchdog , Expedia , Travelocity , Momondo , and Hipmunk are all sites that comb the internet using various algorithms and methods, and present you with the cheapest flight options.

There are 2 main categories when it comes to travel sites like the ones listed above: Those that accept payments and those that don’t. Websites that accept payments include Priceline , Expedia , and Travelocity ; this means that you type in your travel destination and dates into the site, get a list of options, and make your payment on the site itself.

Websites that don’t accept payments include Google Flights , Kayak , Momondo , Airfarewatchdog , and Hipmunk . But don’t get us wrong—these flights aren’t free! But as opposed to paying on the actual search site, you’re directed to the airline or ticket seller’s site, and you pay there.

There’s no better or worse when it comes to the 2 types of payment options, it’s just a matter of preference. Some people prefer using search engines that direct you to pay on external sites; this means that you don’t use a middleman and the costs may possibly be lower. Others prefer travel sites that accept payments; in these situations, the sites usually have policies that cover all tickets no matter the airline, like free cancellation within 24 hours.

Hotels & Accommodations

Any of the sites listed above, plus Hotels.com , can be used to find cheap hotels, luxury hotels, and anything in between. Almost every site offers a certain amount of savings when you book a flight and hotel together, which can be good for the thrifty traveller.

Even better for the thrifty traveller, however, is AirBNB , arguably the most popular alternative in the world to hotels. AirBNB listings range from luxury villas to single rooms in a house, and you get to choose the level of your accommodations.

If you’re looking for cheap, you can find it there! If you’re not necessarily looking for cheap, but rather, for features not included in hotels, you can find it there too! AirBNB luxury listings include features like fully-equipped kitchens, private pools, many bedrooms, and more.

Another perk of AirBNB is that you can read real reviews from people who have used the listed accommodations. Of course, if you prefer to stay in a hotel instead of an AirBNB listing, you should always make sure to read those reviews as well.

Car Rentals

While flights and accommodations are the biggest expense of any vacation, car rentals are a less-expensive yet perhaps equally important contributor to your overall travel experience. Which is why most of the sites that show you flight and hotel deals also include a car rental search option.

Because you may not be content to sit on the beach all day; you may want to get out on the open road and explore to your heart’s content.

Another reason renting a car while traveling is a good idea?

When you book a hotel or AirBNB listing in the center of a big city like New York or London, the prices are significantly higher than staying somewhere in the suburbs. The prices can be so much higher, in fact, that it may be financially worthwhile to sleep somewhere out-of-town, rent a car, drive to the city and park in a lot all day than to stay in the center of town.

Of course, to determine whether you’ll really save money with that option, you’ll have to do some homework. Fortunately, you have all of these handy travel websites at your fingertips, which makes searching for cheap prices a fairly easy task.

Not Sure What You Want? No Problem.

If you know you want to travel but are not sure when and where, you can take your pick from the best travel and hotel booking sites to help you with your decision.

With Hello Hipmunk, you can email Hipmunk and ask for advice about where to go or search for destinations using custom preferences like “romantic” or “foodie.”

With Google Flights , you can input the dates you want to travel, and Google will tell you if you can find cheaper flights on slightly different dates.

Other sites like Kayak , Priceline , Airfarewatchdog , and Momondo show you current travel deals in real-time, so you can get an idea of what’s out there and choose the package that suits your budget and travel interests.

Once you choose your destination city, Expedia and Travelocity can show you a list of things to do at the best prices.

As you can see, when it comes to choosing a travel site, you don’t need to stick with only one. Each site has different features and strong points, and you can choose any combination to create the ultimate travel experience for yourself.

You May Also Like These Top 10 Lists:

  • Top 10 Best Concert Ticket Sites
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Tripadvisor Competitors

TripAdvisor Competitors: 7 Of The World’s Largest Travel Sites

TripAdvisor is a platform on which users can review restaurants, hotels, and airlines as well as book accommodations, activities, or plane tickets.

The company, which is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, was founded in 2000 by Stephen Kaufer and Langley Steinert.

The majority of users that access TripAdvisor do so to get a feeling for whatever location they are about to embark on or read other opinions on hotels, restaurants, airlines, and more. In fact, more than one billion reviews have been published on the platform thus far. 

TripAdvisor now even acts as a point of approval for many venues. For example, restaurants can slap the TripAdvisor logo onto their doorstep to signal that they are favored by many travelers.

The platform, furthermore, hands out yearly awards, dubbed Travelers’ Choice , since 2012. These acknowledge TripAdvisor’s best beaches, destinations, hotels, activities, and restaurants.

TripAdvisor has utilized its popularity among travelers to expand into bookings as well. In 2014, the firm launched its Instant Booking feature which enables customers to directly purchase airline tickets or stays on the platform.

The firm’s success is particularly surprising given that Kaufer and Steinert didn’t actually start TripAdvisor as a travel review site. Instead, they created a travel-related and white label search engine that could be used by other companies such as Expedia.

However, the bursting of the tech bubble as well as 9/11 meant that they weren’t able to get any customers 1.5 years into the business. As fortune would have it, though, they had previously created TripAdvisor.com as a demo site to display to prospective clients what a vertical search engine would look like.

TripAdvisor.com, over time, began to amass reviews and traffic, eventually surpassing the core product in the process. In 2004, IAC (which rebranded into Expedia Group a year later) purchased TripAdvisor for $210 million. Seven years later, TripAdvisor spun out of Expedia and IPO’d on Nasdaq.

Today, TripAdvisor generates around $902 million in annual revenue. The company, which employs over 5,000 people, works together with 8 million businesses across the globe. A plethora of companies, including Viator ($200 million), The Fork ($140 million), LaFourchette, and many more have been acquired by TripAdvisor in the process.

The methodology with which competitors of TripAdvisor are ranked is based on publicly available information. Data points such as revenue, number of listings and bookings, funding and valuation, the amount of reviews, the number of employees, and anything else that might be relevant will be considered.   

We take both booking sites as well as review platforms into account. In fact, almost all prominent booking sites now also feature extensive reviews of the places and services customers can purchase.

It has to be noted that this analysis should not be seen as an endorsement of any of the platforms presented. It is merely a summary of the competition that TripAdvisor is confronted with right now.  

So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the top 7 competitors of TripAdvisor.

1. Google Travel

Google is probably the biggest competitor to TripAdvisor, especially when it comes to the firm’s capability to gather reviews and embed them into its travel product. Google Travel consumers to compare prices and book all types of travel-related items, including flights, hotels, and vacation rentals.

Its advances in travel have begun as early as 2004 when the search giant launched Google Maps. The mapping product now informs a large portion of the activities that Google recommends. Businesses and destinations can also be rated. This is particularly beneficial for mobile usage where Maps comes into play.

Google has since heavily expanded its capabilities in travel. In 2010, for instance, it purchased flight information software company ITA for $700 million. The acquisition enabled them to launch their own flight and hotel booking features.

Google does currently not publicize any traffic or revenue figures for Travel – with good reason. In the past, co-founder Kaufer called out Google for its allegedly anti-competitive practices of favoring its own products.

Many searches are now prominently featuring Google’s own products over TripAdvisor. This, in turn, has forced TripAdvisor to purchase ads on Google so that the traffic continues to flow to the platform. Unfortunately, this severely cuts into TripAdvisor’s profit margins whereas Google can continue to attract users for free.

Source: CNBC , Redeam

Booking.com , the namesake site behind travel’s biggest holding company, offers anything from flights to hotels. The site is available in 43 languages and has closer to 100 million reviews published on it.

It has since tried to expand into TripAdvisor’s turf by prominently featuring travel inspiration pieces on its homepage. Both the activities as well as stays on its platform now contain extensive reviews, which continue to grow as their relevance increases.

The site itself was launched by Dutch university graduate Geert-Jan Bruinsma who became frustrated with the lack of hotel booking options in his home country. When he visited Hilton’s newly launched website for the first time, it immediately clicked – and prompted him to create a copycat version for travelers from and into the Netherlands.

In 2000, he agreed to merge with another site called Bookings Online. The dot-com crash had wiped out many of the funding opportunities previously available to startups like his.

They then acquired the Booking.com domain name soon after. Ironically, Expedia, which is probably its biggest competitor, tried to acquire Booking for close to two years. However, Booking eventually sold to Priceline for $133 million in 2005.

For most of its existence, Booking.com had been part of Priceline. However, in 2018, it rebranded into Booking Holdings to align the company with what it was (and still is) known for: booking online travel. That holding company now encompasses some of the world’s biggest travel brands including Agoda, KAYAK, RentalsCars.com, OpenTable, and more.

In 2021, Booking Holdings, which unfortunately doesn’t break down income figures for its namesake site, generated $11 billion in revenue. Gross bookings were equal to $76.6 billion over that timespan. Booking.com itself employs over 15,000 people across the globe.

Ironically, both Booking, as well as Expedia, are also some of the biggest spenders on TripAdvisor, which primarily makes money via advertising and subscriptions .

Source: Booking.com , CNBC , Booking Holdings , Skift

Expedia is the second-biggest holding company in the travel space right behind Booking. The combined company generates $8.6 billion in revenue (2021) and operates brands such as Hotels.com, trivago, Vrbo, and many more.

However, Expedia’s main site, Expedia.com, is certainly nothing to scoff at either. Expedia.com, just like the other platforms on this list, has added both reviews as well as travel inspiration to its existing offering, which entails booking flights, hotels, and other things.  

Expedia itself was created as a sub-division of Microsoft with the purpose of being promoted on the firm’s MSN portal. Rich Barton, at the time, had just transferred from Microsoft’s CD-ROM division into the multimedia department, which was tasked with expanding the reach of MSN.

Three years after it launched in 1996, Expedia was spun out of Microsoft (the first time Microsoft did something like this) and went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange. In 2003, Barry Diller’s IAC acquired a controlling stake in Expedia. Two years later, it spun off its travel division to create Expedia Group.

As previously stated, Expedia vis-à-vis had also owned TripAdvisor for close to seven years until the latter was spun off. This is normally done when investors believe that the company being spun off can create more value by being on its own and portions of its value buried in the firm it is owned by.

Source: Expedia Group , Funding Universe

Airbnb is the world’s largest apartment booking platform. It now boasts six million listings, counts four million hosts, and is available in 100,000 cities and towns as well as 220+ countries across the globe.

Reviews are obviously an integral part of the Airbnb experience as well. They often significantly increase the likelihood of a customer booking a place or experience, which is facilitated via the platform as well.

Airbnb has been subject to dozens of legal battles throughout its existence. Cities across the world claimed that hosts were running illegal hotels and were thus liable to pay taxes. Cities like New York have hammered down on those hosts, sometimes even imposing seven-figure fines on them.  

Other issues that Airbnb has been associated with include alleged (but yet to be proven) rent increases as well as the distribution of apartments (or simply theft). Some hosts have also been caught spying on their guests in the past.  

Airbnb, despite those issues, has been an investor darling throughout its existence. The founders have raised a combined $6.5 billion during Airbnb’s life as a private company.

The firm ultimately went public in December 2020 and is currently valued at over $60 billion. In 2021, Airbnb has generated close to $6 billion in revenue. It employs over 6,000 people worldwide.

In the past, Airbnb has also tried contemplated expanding into other areas of travel including flight bookings. Those initiatives have been (temporarily) abandoned to focus on the firm’s revenue-generating segments.

Source: Airbnb , Crunchbase

5. Trip.com

Trip.com Group is China’s largest travel site with close to 34,000 employees. Travelers can book anything from flights, trains, stays, cars, tours, cruises, activities, and much more.

However, that hasn’t always been the case. Trip.com actually started out as Ctrip and was China’s local answer to TripAdvisor, allowing users to review hotels and other types of venues in the country.

Those early days were particularly tough, especially when the SARS virus decimated travel across the country. However, being one of the first companies in travel gave Ctrip enough of a runway to survive. It certainly helped that the firm went public in 2003, which added enough capital to its balance sheet to weather any future storm.

In 2019, Ctrip rebranded into Trip.com (after it acquired the firm two years prior) to highlight the firm’s greater international ambitions. This has been particularly important given China’s Zero-Covid policy, which has severely restricted travel demand into and out of the country.

Today, over 1.2 million accommodations are available on Trip.com. The holding company behind Trip.com also owns other sites, most notably Ctrip as well as Skyscanner (which it purchased for around $1.6 billion).

In 2021, Trip.com generated $1.1 billion in revenue. Recently, the firm became the first publicly-traded company in China to implement a hybrid work-from-home policy.

Source: Skift , Trip.com

Agoda is another metasearch engine aggregating offerings for stays, hotels, activities, airport transfers, and more. The platform also offers its own rewards program dubbed PointsMAX.

The firm’s founder, Michael Kenny, first arrived in Southeast Asia in 1994 to work for the Arcadia Hotel Group (now Hilton). As the internet began to take shape, he launched various travel-related sites such as PlanetHoliday.com (1997) and PrecisionReservations.com (2003).

Those sites were eventually merged and led to the creation of agoda.com. To help him get the business off the ground, he recruited long-time friend and experienced online entrepreneur Rosenstein as a co-founder. A mere two years after launching, Agoda was acquired by Booking Holdings for an undisclosed amount.

Agoda, even though founder Rosenstein stepped down from his CEO position after 10 years (back in 2018), continues to be one of the world’s most popular booking sites.

It is widely considered the leading platform in Southeast Asia where it continues to have strong roots. The firm’s Bangkok office, for example, continues to be one of the country’s largest.

Booking does currently not disclose revenue numbers for Agoda, which employs over 4,000 people in 30 countries.

Source: Agoda , Skift

Yelp is another review giant that primarily competes with TripAdvisor across its restaurant section. Close to 250 million reviews have been published on the platform thus far.

Users can even reserve restaurants directly on Yelp. Apart from restaurants, users can rate all kinds of services including home services such as plumbers, beauty spas, nightclubs, and many more categories.  

Both Stoppelman and Simmons had previously worked for PayPal before launching Yelp, which Stoppelman conceived when he was in need of a doctor but couldn’t find a suitable one. Yelp, despite its meteoric rise, which culminated in the firm’s IPO in 2012, has also been subject to criticism.  

For example, many business owners have lamented the firm’s predatory practices in the past. They claimed that the platform pressured them into purchasing ads and would otherwise be penalized with bad reviews, which would be more prominently featured. This is particularly ironic given that CEO Stoppelman has frequently called out Google for its own anti-competitive practices.

Today, Yelp generates around $1 billion of revenue on an annual basis. Restaurants remain the firm’s strongest category, which continues to make the firm a formidable competitor to TripAdvisor.

Source: Crunchbase , Fortune , Yelp

world's biggest travel websites

Viktor Hendelmann

Hi folks, Viktor checking in! Years of experience in various tech-related roles have led me to start this blog, which I hope provides you with as much enjoyment to read as I have writing the content.

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Last Updated on December 8, 2022 by Viktor Hendelmann

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Top online travel agencies

Based on Cloudbeds’ data gathered from thousands of customer properties between 2021 (the benchmark used in our last report) and 2023, we’ve seen a remarkable pace of recovery for OTAs. While top OTAs like Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb have held onto their spots as the highest-revenue generating OTAs, we saw China’s Trip.com rise two spots, indicating the return of Asian travelers to the market. Here are the highest revenue-generating OTAs of 2023.

Highest revenue-generating OTAs

1. booking.com.

Booking.com is one of the largest and most popular travel websites in the world, with over 1.5 million nights booked every day. Its website and mobile apps are accessible in 43 languages and feature over 50 million verified guest reviews of properties in 200+ countries. Its parent company, Booking Holdings, includes OTA brands and metasearch engines such as Priceline.com, KAYAK, Agoda, Rentalcars.com, OpenTable and more.

Expedia.com is the flagship brand of Expedia Group, which includes 200 travel booking websites, including Hotwire, Orbitz, Trivago, and Travelocity, serving 75 countries in 35 languages with over 600 million monthly visits. The website includes searches for all types of accommodations, as well as booking flights, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages. By activating the Expedia connection, properties will broadcast their inventory on Hotels.com, Wotif, and many other channels.

Airbnb is known for providing access to unique accommodations around the world, with the vast majority of properties located outside of main hotel districts. While the company continues to expand into hotel room inventory following its acquisition of HotelTonight (known for booking last-minute lodging), its community expects a certain type of experience. Namely, something that is less cookie-cutter and more oriented to the local vibe.

4. Hostelworld

HostelWorld is a leading OTA for hostel-focused accommodations worldwide, with 12+ million guest reviews. Their inventory also includes hotels, B&Bs, and other budget accommodation types. Hostelworld aims to be a leader in social travel via its online booking options and mobile app, addressing the needs of guests who want to make connections with others as they experience the world around them. Their app and website operate in 20 different languages.

Agoda was founded in 1998 and later acquired by the Priceline Group (now called Booking Holdings) in 2007. Agoda’s website is available in 38 languages and focuses on listing all types of properties. It’s currently one of the leading online travel booking sites for the Asian market but is pushing into the US, India, and European markets.

6. Trip.com

Trip.com is China’s leading provider of travel services including reservations for accommodation, transportation, tours, and corporate travel. Founded in 1999, the company owns and operates several other OTAs and aggregators, including Trip.com, Skyscanner, Qunar, and Ctrip. 

7. Hotelbeds

By connecting to Hotelbeds, will gain unrivaled exposure to the travel industry’s largest network of B2B buyers, including more than 71,000 tour operators, travel agents, airlines, and loyalty & points schemes which can be great for business travel. 

With over 2 million bookable vacation rentals, Vrbo caters to a diverse range of needs and preferences, offering everything from cozy, intimate cabins for romantic getaways to spacious, well-appointed villas suitable for large family reunions or group vacations.

9. Traveloka

Based in Indonesia, Traveloka is one of Asia’s largest online travel agents. Traveloka lists hundreds of thousands of properties across Southeast Asia, Australia, and around the globe. The company also provides lifestyle products and services, such as tickets to attractions, activities, car rentals, and restaurant vouchers.

10. Despegar/Decolar

Despegar/Decolar is a leading online travel company in Latin America, with Despegar functioning as the global brand and Decolar representing the brand in the Brazilian market. Their marketplace operates across 20 markets and offers a broad suite of travel products in the region, including airfare, hotel bookings, travel packages, and other travel products to a large customer base.

Highest revenue-generating OTAs by country

Based on Cloudbeds data, we’ve highlighted the OTAs that are generating the most revenue for our customers in leading travel destinations. 

Hostelworld has moved up on the list across multiple countries, demonstrating that demand for hostels (jumping 5 spots in Thailand and the Philippines), shared accommodations, and experiences is back. In addition, we can see the return of Asian travelers as Agoda and Trip.com rise in North America and make their first appearance on Latin American lists. 

Top 10 OTAs in the U.S

  • Booking.com
  • Hostelworld 
  • Agoda 
  • HotelTonight 
  • Hotelbeds 

Top 10 OTAs in Canada 

  • Booking.com 
  • Expedia 
  • Dorms.com 
  • Mrs & Mrs Smith
  • Tripadvisor

Top 10 OTAs in Mexico

  • Hostelworld
  • Despegar/Decolar 
  • PriceTravel
  • Mr & Mrs. Smith

Top 10 OTAs in Spain

  • Keytel 
  • Mr & Mrs Smith

Top 10 OTAs in other countries 

Learn more about the top revenue-generating OTAs around the world in our Big Book of OTAs, including:

  • Philippines

Highest niche revenue-generating OTAs

What are niche otas.

Niche OTAs are online travel agencies catering to specific audiences and travel needs. Many niches exist today, including OTAs for skiers, campers or glampers, adventure travelers, luxury travelers, and more.

Niche platforms can be the best online travel agencies as they are built to target more specific guest segments. Once you identify what guest segments make sense for your property, you can look into local partnerships to expand your offerings to provide a more tailored experience that complements your guests’ travel plans. For example, if you have a property close to the beach, you can find local surf instructors to partner with and offer lessons through your booking engine to attract surfers. When the guests check in, you can show them where the best surf is in town to improve the guest experience.

After a guest’s first trip is booked through a niche OTA, the guest will likely forego OTAs for their next trip in favor of booking directly on the hotel website. Niche OTAs are an essential part of any property’s online distribution strategy as they build loyalty and encourage direct bookings.

In the niche OTA market, many new channels have emerged over the past few years, especially surf & sport OTAs and luxury OTAs.

Highlighted niche OTAs surf & sports 

The global surfing tourism market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6%, from 9.5 billion USD in 2022 to 17.1 billion USD by 2032. Travelers are increasingly looking for unique experiences, many tailored to specific activities like surfing, and seek out properties that cater to their needs. Today, the top revenue-generating Surf & Sport OTAs include:

Thermal offers a handpicked collection of the best surf trips in the world, with a focus on amazing guides who create one-of-a-kind, authentic experiences.

Good Story has an inventory of surf hotels and internationally recognized surf schools and camps for both novice and experienced surfers. 

Surf Holidays provides unique places to stay with quality local surf instruction to deliver the surf holiday of a lifetime on some of the best breaks in the world. 

Luex Surf & Snow Travel connects travelers with operators/ suppliers of once-in-a-lifetime sports travel experiences and products.

KiteSurfHolidays.com specializes in kitesurfing holidays, including accommodations and kitesurfing schools.

Highlighted niche OTAs luxury

In May 2023, Deloitte reported that the luxury travel industry had rebounded to pre-pandemic levels and is currently thriving, with a global market value of 1.2 trillion USD. Bookings at five-star hotels rose 19% over the first three quarters of 2021, and luxury travelers are more keen than ever to experience “Instagram-worthy” experiences in unique and remote locations. 

The following OTAs cater to travelers looking for luxury accommodations:

Mr & Mrs Smith includes a collection of carefully curated hotels that are first anonymously evaluated and visited by staff. This exclusive OTA works on an invitation-only basis. 

Prestigia is made up of hand-selected quality and unique hotels from all over the world. This OTA offers the best price guarantees, promotions, and exclusive offers. 

icastelli.net luxurious, historical, and unique high-level hotels are the property types found on this OTA. Collections include exclusive boutique hotels, golf hotels, spa hotels, and more.

i-escape provides unforgettable travel experiences, including eco-retreats, safari lodges, and boutique hotels. Also included is an award-winning booking system with a direct dialogue between guests and property and free advice from travel consultants. 

Tablet Hotels the official hotel selection of the MICHELIN Guide. This OTA showcases hotels that provide meaningful experiences to guests, regardless of budget. 

Spotlight – LGBTQIA+ OTAS

The global LGBTQIA+ travel market is valued at over $568.5 billion USD annually . While many countries have become increasingly welcoming to the queer community, discrimination is still prevalent today. A Booking.com study revealed that 58% of LGBTQ+ travelers face discrimination while traveling, and 41% canceled a trip within the past year after seeing their destination wasn’t LGBTQ+ friendly. 

 OTAs like ebab have emerged to offer safe and friendly accommodations to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Top OTAs by property type

Our data shows that while the top global OTAs dominate across almost all property types, some OTAs offer more opportunities for specific property types.

Channels such as Hostelworld have traditionally been popular for searching for hostels, while channels such as Vrbo and Airbnb have catered to vacation rentals. However, we’ve seen that our hotel customers are increasingly adopting Airbnb as part of their channel mix. Airbnb welcomes hotels that have a unique, independent environment and style.

Download our Big Book of OTAs to see the list of the five most popular channel connections by property type, including:

  • Most popular channel connections for Hotels & Boutiques
  • Most popular channel connections for Hostels
  • Most popular channel connections for Vacation Rentals
  • Most popular channel connections for Bed & Breakfasts

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world's biggest travel websites

Top 10+ Best Travel Websites (to Find Deals on your next Adventure!)

By Team RapidAPI // January 8, 2021

When looking at the best travel websites, it is important to weigh the pros and cons. The line from good to great is thin, so it’s difficult to prioritize the best of the bunch. The ten websites and search engines below are standouts in the industry and continue to provide consumers with a reason to explore a new destination.

Related: Best Flight & Travel APIs

Top Travel Sites to Find Deals

10. skyscanner.

skyscanner.com

Skyscanner is a reliable website that provides solid deals for the patient buyer. It won’t replace any of the big boys on the list, but it still remains a nice option for all in one package. The unique comparison engine does its job without displaying unnecessary information.

  • One of the hidden gems to find blockbuster travel deals
  • Flight Search engine handles updates to other websites quickly
  • Works great as a vacation research tool
  • Free Flight Search API
  • Sources data from multiple online travel agencies & travel agents
  • Sparse results will limit its appeal for larger groups

Connect to the Skyscanner API

9. Funjet Vacations

The limited options of Funjet Vacations is a turnoff for some, and a lifesaver for others. It sports a simple homepage that offers flight/hotel and hotel/car options. Funjet is the travel website people go to when they already have a heavy itinerary in place.

  • A website that gets right down to business without wasting your time
  • Options are limited, but clearly laid out for the buyer to see
  • One of the easier websites to navigate on mobile
  • Prices aren’t always consistent

Browse Travel APIs

8. Cheap Caribbean

This is a surprising inclusion on the list considering how limited the travel scope is. If you can look past that one flaw, CheapCaribbean.com delivers on its promise for deals on that side of the world. No other website on this list can match their all-inclusive packages to the Caribbean.

  • Best packages available for the Caribbean
  • A popular choice for honeymoon packages
  • Beautiful location with a lot to offer
  • Not much use if you don’t want to go to the Caribbean

7. TripAdvisor

Tripadvisor is known for its collection of reviews and articles. Believe it or not, you can actually create an entire vacation package on the website! Despite the sometimes-overlooked nature of this feature, Tripadvisor is still considered one of the best in the business.

  • Best place to get a general idea of things to do in a particular area
  • Moderation team does a good job of removing troll reviews
  • Booking options are solid (for casual or luxury travel)
  • Also provides car rental options
  • Negative trip reviews are sometimes too personal, and not always reliable

Connect to the TripAdvisor API

It’s almost frightening how good Orbitz is since it is the sister site of Expedia. Despite the connection, Orbitz exists for a specific reason on this list- it caters to individual travelers better than Expedia. When you’re looking for one or two tickets, Orbitz is one of the better websites to browse.

  • Excels at finding smaller deals
  • Makes a good alternative to bigger websites that focus on groups
  • Some of the deals are one of a kind
  • Deals go fast

hipmunk.com

Hipmunk joins a long list of travel websites that use a search engine spider to collect booking information from the bigger sites. The difference here is that Hipmunk organizes the information in a way that makes sense. Sometimes, it does a better job than the original website.

Update: Hipmunk is shutting down its operations per TechCrunch

  • An almost perfect search engine that puts others to shame
  • Filters are easy to manipulate and tabs are simple to search through
  • Hipmunk organizes information intelligently so that you don’t get confused
  • Some tweaking to the search engine is needed to make it perfect

Connect to the Hipmunk API

kayak.com

One of the forgotten greats in the travel website industry is Kayak. They peaked early by providing deals that not even the best travel websites could match. Once the competition caught up, Kayak went from being legendary to ‘great’.

  • Still one of the better websites for travel information
  • Prices are competitive during heavy travel times
  • The search engine is solid, and most deals will contain accurate information
  • The website is a nightmare on older Android/iOS devices. The Kayak Mobile app is strongly recommended

3. Booking.com

booking.com

Seeing Booking.com at the #3 spot may irk some travelers. The website is known for having incredible deals, but with the worst customer service possible. Buyers that never have to deal with the company’s customer service are highly likely to use the online booking system for future purchases.

Related: Best Flight Booking Websites for 2020
  • A truly underrated all-world booking website
  • Options extend beyond booking – Buyers can list their properties for rent
  • A friendly close-knit community that provides more balanced reviews than Tripadvisor
  • Customer service needs an overhaul

Browse Travel APIs Browse a few of the top booking APIs here .

2. Priceline

William Shatner put Priceline on the map, adding a memorable face to one of the best websites in travel. Priceline has always been a top competitor, gathering deals from all over the web. Their best feature is accuracy, even when the website grabs last-minute deals.

  • Huge focus on accurate booking information Most recognizable brand on the list The website stays updated and user-friendly for all devices
  • Some of the deals are a little behind better ones on other websites

expedia.com

Expedia is one of the most well-known travel websites for a reason. Their bundle options are extensive, with a nice set of customization features to fit every vacation type. It’s safe to say that Expedia covers the most ground when planning a large trip.

  • Robust set of options for any vacation
  • Deals are always up to date
  • The easiest website to use
  • Sometimes competitors would have slightly better deals

Wrapping Up

Booking a hotel , flight , or car is a lot easier when using a travel website. It is a time-saver, and with the right connections will also save you money. Enjoy your vacation package by ensuring you did everything possible to make it perfect.

What did you think about our list? Which travel sites are missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below.

Summary: Top Travel Websites for 2020

Relevant and related resources.

  • Iata Codes API
  • Best Sites for Frequent Flyers
  • Best Travel Rewards Programs
  • Best Travel Insurance Companies

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Team RapidAPI

Reader interactions.

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July 21, 2021 at 11:39 am

waystoptrip.com delivered you a lot of about travelling and tourism so you can see and get information.

July 24, 2021 at 7:49 pm

Vntrip is not English website, I have no idea what language is it

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World’s 30 Best Travel Destinations, Ranked

Best places to visit in the world.

Bali, one of the best travel destinations

The ultimate ranking of travel destinations aims to solve a serious problem: so many places to visit, so little time.

But even in a world with a trillion destinations, some manage to stand out and rise to the top. From the sleek skyscrapers of Dubai to the emerald-green waters of the Bora Bora lagoon, you’re sure to find at least one vacation that piques your interest (and likely several!).

These are the 30 best places to visit in the world. Which ones have you already been to? And which ones stoke your wanderlust most?

30. Argentine Patagonia

Traveler in Argentine Patagonia

In this region of the Andes, you’ll find glaciers, evergreen trees, deep blue lakes and clear skies everywhere you look. For a trip full of adventure and discovery, there are few better destinations on the planet.

No trip is complete without a visit to the craggy Mount Fitz Roy, the historic (and mysterious) Cave of the Hands, the Punta Tombo wildlife preserve, the Peninsula Valdes marine wildlife refuge and the impressive Perito Moreno Glacier. Be sure to bring your camera and your sense of wonder.

* Rankings are based on U.S. News & World Report's " World's Best Places to Visit ," traveler ratings as well as our own editorial input.

What to Know Before You Go to Argentine Patagonia

Argentine Patagonia Glacier National Park

Where to stay: Cyan Soho Neuquen Hotel

Hot tip: Since springtime occurs in the southern hemisphere in October and November, those months are your best bet when planning a trip.

Fun fact: The largest dinosaur fossils ever unearthed were found in Argentine Patagonia. They belong to the largest-known titanosaur, believed to have weighed about 83 tons. 

Note: We may earn money from affiliate partners if you buy through links on our site.

29. Amalfi Coast, Italy

Campania, Amalfi Coast

Set in the Sorrentina Peninsula, the Amalfi Coast has long been renowned for its natural beauty and idyllic coastal towns. During the golden age of Hollywood, it was a preferred vacation spot for glamorous movie stars.

Days here are spent eating Italian food, drinking wine and walking around colorful cobblestone streets. You can also expect to drink copious amounts of wine as you look out into the Mediterranean Sea.

The best way to see the coast is to rent a car and then drive to different towns each day.

What to Know Before You Go to the Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast road

Where to stay: Hotel Marina Riviera

Hot tip:  If you're planning on using a beach chair to work on your tan, make sure you wake up early, as they are usually first come, first served.

Fun fact:  The Amalfi Coast is featured in Sofia Loren's 1995 Film, "Scandal in Sorrento."

28. Cancun, Mexico

Beach sunset in Cancun

For years, Cancun has been the preferred getaway for East Coast Americans (particularly Floridians) who want an international getaway that's still close to home. But despite the droves of tourists, the area has managed to keep the charm that attracted people in the first place.

The city is known mostly for its luxury hotels, wild nightlife and warm beaches. Definitely indulge in all of these — as well as the Mexican food! — but also consider other activities like visiting Mayan ruins, swimming in cenotes and snorkeling. One thing is certain: You won't run out of things to do in Cancun .

What to Know Before You Go to Cancun

Cenote Zaci, Mexico

Where to stay: Hyatt Zilara Cancun

Hot tip:  While you're in Cancun, make a plan to visit one of Grupo Xcaret's six eco-tourism parks, with the best ones being Xcaret and Xelha. The Mexican-owned company is credited with starting the eco-tourism trend in the Yucatan Peninsula, and the parks offer incredible and varied local experiences.

Fun fact:  The Yucatan Peninsula, where Cancun is located, was the cultural, political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Many locals have Mayan ancestry and Mayan continues to be widely spoken in the area.

27. San Francisco, California

Close up of Golden Gate Bridge

Everyone should visit San Francisco at least once in their lives. Though tech companies grab all the headlines these days, it remains down-to-earth, diverse and packed with things to do.

Where to start? No matter your style, you’ll want to check out the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge, see the sunbathing sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf, take a tour of the historic prison Alcatraz and relax in one of the city’s many parks, especially Dolores Park for its epic people-watching on the weekends. 

For dinner, treat your tastebuds and make a reservation at one of the many Michelin-starred restaurants in the Bay Area .

What to Know Before You Go to San Francisco

San Francisco houses

Where to stay: The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square

Hot tip: Want similarly beautiful landscapes and rich cultural attractions, but at lower prices and with (slightly) fewer crowds? Head to Oakland just across the Bay Bridge, named one of the most exciting places on earth to travel by National Geographic. 

Fun fact: The fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco by a Japanese resident. Random!

26. Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls in autumn Canadian side

Niagara Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world . The power with which water storms down cliffs on the border between the United States and Canada has captivated the imagination of humans for centuries. 

This natural wonder is comprised of three awe-inspiring falls. One of the best ways to experience them is on a boat tour.

What to Know Before You Go to Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls boat tour

Where to stay: Sheraton Niagara Falls

Hot tip: There is some debate about which side of the falls is better, but the general verdict is that the Canadian side offers better views. This is because you can (ironically) get a better view of the American Falls as well as get up close to Horseshoe Falls. 

Fun fact:  Established in 1885, Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S.

25. Yellowstone National Park

Bison at the Great Prismatic Spring

Located mostly in Wyoming as well as Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone is America’s first national park and remains one of the most popular in the country, welcoming more than around 3.3 million people in 2022. With unpredictable geysers, rainbow-colored hot springs, craggy peaks, shimmering lakes and tons of wildlife — from elk to boars to bison — it’s easy to see why so many people flock here. 

The park makes for an awesome family trip and is well-suited to budget travelers since it offers so many campsites ( over 2,000! ). 

What to Know Before You Go to Yellowstone

Old Faithful Geiser erupting, Yellowstone

Where to stay: Stage Coach Inn

Hot tip: You’ll never fully beat the crowds at this wildly popular park, but April, May, September and November are your best bets for finding some solitude.  

Fun fact: Yellowstone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.  

24. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

snorkle Destinations: Great Barrier Reef, Australia

As the largest reef in the world, the Great Barrier Reef is home to thousands of marine species. This makes it a paradise for scuba diving or snorkeling. 

The reef system is truly gigantic, with over 600 islands and about 2,900 individual reefs. This is one of Australia's greatest prides, but it's also a planetary national treasure. Seeing it with your own two eyes is an experience that is incredible beyond words.

What to Know Before You Go to the Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef from above

Where to stay: Crystalbrook Flynn

Hot tip: Though going underwater to see the reef is a must, we also recommend booking a helicopter tour to experience the magic of it from above.

Fun fact:  Made of corals, which are animals that live in collectives, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet.

23. Santorini, Greece

White washed houses in Santorini

With its picturesque blue-domed churches, whitewashed buildings and colorful beaches, the island of Santorini is a photographer’s paradise. If you want to snap photos to post to Instagram and make everyone back home jealous, this is the place to go. 

Also make sure to experience some of Santorini’s archaeologically significant sites, like Ancient Akrotiri (an ancient city preserved by volcanic ash) and Ancient Thera (where humans lived as early as the 9th century BC). And don’t forget to visit the smaller islands that surround it, including Thirassia, Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni. 

What to Know Before You Go to Santorini

Santorini houses

Where to stay: Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Santorini

Hot tip: To optimize your vacation, visit in September and October or April and May — when the weather is still warm, but there aren’t as many other tourists milling around.

Fun fact: While it’s difficult to prove, locals like to say there’s more wine than water on this island where it hardly rains (and vino abounds).

22. Florence, Italy

Florience center, Italy

For art and history buffs (and anyone who appreciates delicious Italian food), Florence is a must-visit city. 

As the birthplace of the Renaissance, it’s home to some of the most iconic artworks by the world’s premier artists throughout history — Michaelangelo, Brunelleschi and Donatello, just to name a few. In addition to art museums and architectural wonders, Florence is also home to chic shops, quaint cafes and spectacular gardens. 

What to Know Before You Go to Florence

Il Duomo, Florence

Where to stay:  NH Collection Firenze Porta Rossa

Hot tip: Keep Florence in mind if you want to spend your honeymoon in Europe without spending a fortune, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Fun fact: The city’s famed “El Duomo” cathedral took over 140 years to build .

21. Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite Falls

Yosemite, one of the most-visited national parks in America with more than 4 million annual guests, encompasses 750,000 acres of wilderness just waiting to be explored.

It’s home to scenic waterfalls, like the 317-foot Vernal Fall and the 617-foot Bridalveil Fall, as well as iconic rock formations like El Capitan and Half Dome, two popular spots for the world’s best rock climbers to test their mettle.

Not surprisingly, the wildlife here also impresses. Dozens of species of butterflies, marmots, bobcats and mule deer are just some of the animals that call Yosemite home. And keep your eyes peeled for black bears; some 300 to 500 roam the park . 

What to Know Before You Go to Yosemite

Yosemite National Park

Where to stay:  The Ahwahnee

Hot tip: Summer can get really busy here, so if you want to camp, be sure to book a spot early. Want to beat Yosemite’s notoriously bad traffic? Ditch the car and take advantage of the park’s extensive free bus system.

Fun fact: This is one of the only places in the country where you can catch a moonbow — like a rainbow, but created by the light of the moon instead of the sun. 

20. St. Lucia

St. Lucia Les Pitons

Whether you’re visiting on a cruise ship or just relaxing at an all-inclusive resort or boutique hotel, stunning St. Lucia is a clear winner. This Caribbean island offers diverse terrain for vacationers, from its pristine beaches to its lush rainforests to its volcanic peaks, the Pitons, that loom over the landscape. 

Adrenaline-junkies love hiking, climbing and zip-lining, while newlyweds (and soon-to-be-married couples) enjoy the romantic mix of fine dining, adults-only resorts and exotic activities. 

What to Know Before You Go to St. Lucia

St. Lucia boats

Where to stay: Rabot Hotel From Hotel Chocolat

Hot tip: Visit when temperatures are moderate, which is typically in May and June.

Fun fact: St. Lucia is the only country named after a woman: Christian martyr Saint Lucia of Syracuse.

19. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai skyscrappers

Everything is bigger and better in Dubai, home to one of the world’s largest shopping malls, tallest towers, largest man-made marinas — and the list goes on. 

This Las Vegas-like urban center in the United Arab Emirates has an eclectic mix of activities for visitors to enjoy, including beaches, waterparks, tons of shopping and even an indoor ski resort. Outside the skyscraper-filled city, the vast desert awaits, best enjoyed via quad-biking or sandboarding.

What to Know Before You Go to Dubai

Dubai beach

Where to stay:  Five Palm Jumeirah Dubai

Hot tip: Though you’re likely to pay a pretty penny for a trip to Dubai no matter when you visit, you can save a little cash by visiting during the scalding-hot summer months and by booking your hotel room two to three months in advance.

Fun fact: Dubai’s man-made Palm Islands were constructed using enough imported sand to fill up 2.5 Empire State Buildings . 

18. Machu Picchu, Peru

Machu Picchu, Peru

Many travelers describe their visit to Machu Picchu as life-changing. Why? It’s an archaeological wonder, the remains of an ancient Incan city dating back more than 600 years. No wonder this is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most-visited attraction in all of Peru. 

Be sure to visit significant sites like Funerary Rock, where it’s believed Incan nobility were mummified, and Temple of the Condor, a rock temple sculpted to look like the impressive bird in its name.  

What to Know Before You Go to Machu Picchu

Llamas in Machu Picchu

Where to stay: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

Hot tip: If you’re planning a trip, be sure to get your ticket in advance, as only 2,500 people can visit Machu Picchu each day. (And a lot of people have this destination on their bucket list.)

Fun fact: The site contains more than 100 separate flights of stairs . 

17. Sydney, Australia

Sydney Harbor with boats

With its iconic Opera House and lively Bondi Beach, Sydney is the perfect spot to vacation if you’re looking for a blend of culture, arts, nightlife and relaxation. 

Spend the day on the water at Darling Harbour, then head to the Royal Botanic garden for even more fresh air. Want to travel like a local? Get a ticket to a rugby match and order a Tim Tam, a popular chocolate-covered cookie that pairs well with coffee. 

What to Know Before You Go to Sydney

Sydney Opera House in the evening

Where to stay: Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

Hot tip: You can make your trip more affordable by visiting during Sydney’s shoulder seasons, which are typically September through November and March through May.

Fun fact: In 2007, Bondi Beach was the site of the largest ever swimsuit photoshoot ; 1,010 bikini-clad women participated, enough to earn it a spot in the Guinness World Records book.

16. Grand Canyon, Arizona

Grand Canyon from observation point

The Grand Canyon is truly massive (277 river miles long and up to 18 miles wide!), which helps explain why so many people feel the urge to see it in person. 

In 2022, 4.7 million people visited, making the Grand Canyon the second-most popular national park in the country (behind Great Smoky Mountain Nationals Park). Established in 1919, the park offers activities for all ability levels, whether you want to do an intense hike down into the canyon and sleep under the stars (with a backcountry permit, of course) or simply want to saunter along the South Rim Trail, an easy walking path with views that wow.

What to Know Before You Go to the Grand Canyon

Family in the Grand Canyon

Where to stay:  The Grand Hotel at the Grand Canyon

Hot tip: If you’ve wanted to visit the Grand Canyon for a while now, this is the year to do it. The park is celebrating its 100th birthday with musical performances, lectures, screenings and other special events.

Fun fact: The most remote community in the continental U.S. can be found in the Grand Canyon. At the base of the canyon, Supai Village — part of the Havasupi Indian Reservation — has a population of 208. It’s inaccessible by road, and mail is delivered by pack mule. Want to see it for yourself? The village houses a collection of campsites , accessible via a hiking trail.

15. Bali, Indonesia

Landmark Temple Gates in Bali

In recent years, Bali has become a popular expat destination, where groups of "digital nomads" work and play. 

But the island hasn't lost its original charm to this added tourism and continues to be an incredible destination. Divide your time between swimming in the beach, hiking active volcanoes, visiting temples and enjoying views of tiered rice terraces.

What to Know Before You Go to Bali

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple in Bali

Where to stay: Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach

Hot tip:  Though shoulder season (January to April and October to November) means fewer crowds and cheaper prices, it also means rain. Tons of it. We'd recommend avoiding the rainy season if possible.

Fun fact: On the Saka New Year, Balinese people celebrate Nyepi. This Hindu celebration is a day of silence when everything on the island shuts down and no noise is allowed.

14. New York, New York

New York City Manhattan

As the saying goes, New York City is “the city that never sleeps” — and you won’t want to either when you visit, lest you run out of time to take it all in. 

Be sure to check out newer attractions, like the High Line (an elevated park) and Hudson Yards (a mega-mall along the Hudson River), but also make time for some New York City classics, like catching a Broadway show or standing under the lights of Times Square. 

Foodies will have a hard time choosing where to eat (the city is home to almost 100 Michelin stars !), which is why an extended trip is always a good idea.

What to Know Before You Go to New York City

New York City Broadway

Where to stay: The Beekman, A Thompson Hotel

Hot tip: Yes, January and February get cold here, but this is also the best time to lock in relatively reasonable hotel rates. You can spend your time eating in the city’s restaurants, exploring its fabulous museums and catching its world-class theater shows without needing to spend much time in the chilly outdoors. 

Fun fact: There’s a birth in New York City about every 4.4 minutes — and a death every 9.1 minutes. 

13. Banff National Park, Canada

Banff Lake Louise

Some of the world’s most stunning mountain scenery and vistas are located in Banff, the tiny Canadian town located at 4,537 feet above sea level inside the national park by the same name. Banff is the highest town in Canada, and Banff National Park was Canada’s first, established in 1885.

Shred some powder at Banff’s three ski resorts in the winter, then come back in the summer for activities like hiking, biking, fishing and scrambling (scaling steep terrain using nothing but your hands).

What to Know Before You Go to Banff

Kayaking in Banff National Park

Where to stay: Fairmont Banff Springs

Hot tip: June to August and December to March are the best times to visit if you want to take advantage of summer and winter activities. 

Fun fact: Banff National Park has more than 1,000 glaciers.

12. Maldives

Sunset in the Maldives

You can look at picture after picture, but you still really need to visit the Maldives to believe its beauty. If rich sunsets, flour-like beaches and vibrant blue waters are your style, this is the destination for you. 

Though it’s somewhat difficult to get to this small island nation southwest of Sri Lanka, that also means it’s incredibly private and secluded, which makes it the perfect spot for a honeymoon or romantic beach getaway. 

And don’t worry about getting bored, either — explore the water by snorkeling or scuba diving, relax in the spa or wander around the bustling Male’ Fish Market.

What to Know Before You Go to Maldives

Maldives overwater bungalows

Where to stay: Velassaru Maldives

Hot tip: May to October is the island-nation’s rainy season — but that also means it’s the best time to go for fewer crowds and better rates.

Fun fact: In 1153 AD, the nation’s people converted to Islam. Today, the Maldives remains the most heavily Muslim country on earth.

11. Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona, Sagrada Familia

Soccer, architecture, shopping, nightlife, world-class food and wine, arts and culture — is there anything Barcelona doesn’t have? If there is, we honestly can't think what it would be. 

This cosmopolitan Spanish city is home to some awe-inspiring architecture, including several buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi, so be sure to book tours of his whimsical creations like Park Guell and the yet-to-be-finished Church of the Sacred Family (La Sagrada Familia). 

For nightlife and shopping, Las Ramblas is always bustling; for an enriching arts experience, follow the progression of famed artist Pablo Picasso at Museo Picasso.

What to Know Before You Go to Barcelona

Barcelona Park Guell

Where to stay:  Hotel Bagues

Hot tip: It can get really humid here, so it's best to plan your trip in May and June before things really heat up.

Fun fact: In preparation for its 1992 hosting of the Olympics, the city flew in sand from as far away as Egypt to make Barceloneta Beach a place where people would want to go. Though largely man-made, the beach remains a wonderful spot for seaside R&R. 

10. Glacier National Park, Montana

Glacier National Park in the winter

The crown jewel of beautiful Montana, Glacier National Park is every outdoors traveler's dream.

Of course, the most defining natural feature of the park are its glaciers, which provide spectacular views as well as a number of pristine lakes. There are hundreds of trails that will take you up peaks, down through valleys and across some of the most beautiful landscapes you'll ever see.

What to Know Before You Go to Glacier National Park

Mountain goats at Glacier National Park

Where to stay: Firebrand Hotel

Hot tip:  Plan to spend a day or two in the nearby town of Whitefish. This gateway to Glacier National Park is one of the best small towns in America and a destination in its own right. 

Fun fact: During your visit, you're very likely to run into mountain goats, which are the official symbols of the park.

9. Tokyo, Japan

Akihabara Tokyo

The Japanese capital is one of the most exciting cities on the entire planet. It is notoriously fast-paced, with neon lights illuminating the multitudes that are constantly rushing to their next destination. 

But Tokyo is also a city of temples, of taking time to picnic under the cherry blossoms and of making sure you enjoy the abundance of delicious food that can be found on basically every corner.

What to Know Before You Go to Tokyo

Sensoji temple , Tokyo

Where to stay: The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, a Luxury Collection Hotel

Hot tip: Visit between the months of March and April or September and November for more comfortable temperatures. Of course, spring is when the city's cherry blossoms are famously in full bloom.

Fun fact: Tokyo happens to be the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 40 million people calling the greater metro area home.

8. Phuket, Thailand

Phuket boats

If you’re looking for a vacation destination that feels luxurious but won’t break the bank, start searching for flights to Phuket now. 

This island in southern Thailand, which is just an hour flight from Bangkok, is surrounded by the Andaman Sea, so white sandy beaches abound. If a stunning sunset is what you’re after, head to Promthep Cape, the southernmost point on the island and a popular spot for photo-ops. For views of the island and beyond, climb to the top of the massive alabaster statue called Big Buddha.

You can even learn something during your vacation by visiting the Soi Dog Foundation, an innovative animal shelter that’s fighting the meat trade and taking care of the thousands of stray cats and dogs in the area.

What to Know Before You Go to Phuket

Phuket temple

Where to stay: InterContinental Phuket Resort

Hot tip: Visit between November and April for the best weather — and ideal conditions for beach activities like swimming and boating. 

Fun fact: The island is not pronounced in the rather colorful way it appears to be. The correct way to say it is “poo-ket” or “poo-get.”

7. Rome, Italy

Rome, Colosseum

Though Rome’s historic significance cannot be overstated, don’t assume that this Italian city is stuck in the past. On the contrary, you’ll find posh storefronts and luxurious hotels not far from iconic structures like the Pantheon (built in 120 AD) and the Colosseum (built in 80 AD).

And then, of course, there’s the city’s art. Stroll through Rome, and you’ll stumble upon some of the greatest treasures the world has ever seen — an astonishing collection of frescoes, paintings, ceilings and fountains created by icons like Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Raphael and Bernini.

After all that exploration, take advantage of ample opportunities to eat and drink, including at several Michelin-starred restaurants. City staples include suppli (deep-fried balls of risotto, mozzarella and ragu meat sauce) and cacio e pepe (a deceptively simple mix of al-dente pasta, pecorino romano and fresh black pepper). 

What to Know Before You Go to Rome

Rome Spanish Plaza at dawn

Where to stay: Radisson Blu Ghr Hotel

Hot tip: Tourists congregate here in the summer when temperatures are also sweltering. Go instead between October and April, when there are thinner crowds, better rates and cooler temps. Just make sure to bring a light jacket.

Fun fact: Each year, travelers throw about $1.7 million worth of coins into the Trevi Fountain. The money is donated to Caritas, a Catholic nonprofit that supports charities focused on health, disaster relief, poverty and migration.

6. London, England

Modern bridge London

English writer Samual Johnson once said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” 

From live performances of Shakespeare to truly world-class (and free!) museums like the National Gallery, London will enrich your mind and enliven your senses. Of course, no visit would be complete without a stop at Buckingham Palace to see the famous stone-faced guards outside and the 19 lavish State Rooms inside (though, unfortunately, you can’t see the queen’s private quarters). Another must-see landmark is the Tower of London, the historic castle on the north side of the River Thames.

What to Know Before You Go to London

London in the spring

Where to stay: Vintry & Mercer

Hot tip: Many U.S. cities now offer direct flights to London, so set a price alert and act fast when you see fares drop.

Fun fact: London’s pubs are worth a visit for their names alone; fanciful monikers include The Case is Altered, The Pyrotechnists Arms, John the Unicorn and The Job Centre. 

5. Tahiti, French Polynesia

Tahiti, French Polynesia

Flavorful French cuisine, top-notch resorts, warm waters — need we say more? Though Tahiti can be pricey, travelers say it’s so worth it. 

The largest of the 118 French Polynesian islands, Tahiti is split into two main regions (connected by a land bridge). Tahiti Nui, the larger region, is home to the island’s capital Papeete and surfing hotspot Papenoo Beach, while Tahiti Iti, the smaller region, offers more seclusion and the bright white sands of La Plage de Maui.

What to Know Before You Go to Tahiti

Tahiti bungalows during sunset

Where to stay: Hilton Hotel Tahiti

Hot tip: Visit between May and October, Tahiti’s winter, when there are less humidity and rain. 

Fun fact: Overcrowding is not a concern here; Hawaii gets more visitors in 10 days than all of French Polynesia does in a year.

4. Maui, Hawaii

Rocky beach in Maui

If you’re short on time or you just can’t decide which Hawaiian island to visit, Maui is right in the sweet spot: not too big, not too small, but just right.

There are five regions to explore on Maui, including the popular West Maui and South Maui, home to some of the island’s best-known attractions and beaches (Wailea Beach is in South Maui, for example). But don’t overlook East Maui, where you can travel along the Road to Hana, or the Upcountry, where you can explore the world’s largest dormant volcano, Haleakala. 

What to Know Before You Go to Maui

Maui cave

Where to stay:  Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

Hot tip: This is Hawaii we’re talking about, so your trip will be on the pricey side. Be sure to budget for add-ons if you need them (think gym access and WiFi at your hotel), and do some research on insurance before you head to the car-rental counter.

Fun fact: How’s this for a selling point? Maui has more beach than any other Hawaiian island — 60 miles of it, with red, white and black sand.

3. Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Bora Bora overwater bungalows

Don’t write off the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora just because of its size. Though it’s a little more than 2 miles wide and just 6 miles long, Bora Bora packs in an abundance of natural beauty. To start, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the island’s turquoise lagoon surrounded by lush jungle.

If you’re looking for more than relaxation on your trip, consider hiking or booking a 4X4 tour of Mount Otemanu, part of an extinct volcano that rises 2,400 feet above the lagoon. You can also snorkel among the coral reef of Coral Gardens, where you might catch a glimpse of reef sharks, eels and stingrays.

Because of its remoteness, flying into Bora Bora Airport will be quite a journey, no matter where you're departing from. But you'll forget everything as soon as you see this Polynesian paradise that is beautiful beyond words.

What to Know Before You Go to Bora Bora

Bora Bora Island

Where to stay: Conrad Bora Bora Nui

Hot tip: Though Bora Bora can be wildly expensive to visit, you can cut costs by visiting between December and March (though you should avoid the Christmas holiday) and by bringing your own alcohol and sunscreen with you.

Fun fact: Bora Bora is one of the countries that no longer exists . The Kingdom of Bora Bora was an independent state until it was forcefully overtaken and annexed by France in 1888.

2. Paris, France

Paris from the Arc de Triumph

Paris has it all — incredible cuisine, legendary landmarks and centuries of history. Those are just some of the reasons it’s the second-best place to visit in the world.

Though you’ll want to spend your time hitting up popular tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower and the Musee d’Orsay, you should also carve out time to explore other parts of Paris — the city’s 20 diverse neighborhoods, called arrondissements, for instance. Standouts include the 2nd arrondissement, which touts covered passages and some of the city’s hippest restaurants, and the romantic 18th arrondissement, with charming squares, cafes and bars, set apart from the city’s more tourist-packed areas.

What to Know Before You Go to Paris

Paris Montmartre at dawn

Where to stay: Grand Hotel Du Palais Royal

Hot tip: Yes, summer in Paris is busy, but the weather is also ideal — average highs are in the 70s.

Fun fact: Built for the 1889 World Fair, the Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be temporary , and was almost torn down in 1909. Luckily, local officials saw its value as a radiotelegraph station, preserving the future tourist icon for generations to come. 

1. South Island, New Zealand

Milford Sound

South Island, the larger but less populated of the two islands that make up New Zealand, earn this top-spot honor for its gorgeous scenery, adrenelin-pumping experiences and affordability.

The 33.5-mile hike on Milford Sound, which is limited to 90 people at a time, is considered one of the world’s best treks, with stops at Lake Te Anau, suspension bridges, a mountain pass and the tallest waterfall in the country, Sutherland Falls.

For a heart-pumping experience, you can jump out of a helicopter while flying over the Harris Mountains with skis on your feet. Still not satisfied? Roam Fiordland National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage area, and explore the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, two of the most accessible glaciers in the world.

What to Know Before You Go to New Zealand

South Island, New Zealand

Where to stay: QT Queenstown

Hot tip: Book your trip for the fall, when South Island is temperate, not overcrowded and offers great rates. Bonus: This is also when the island is at its most stunning.

Fun fact: New Zealand natives, called Kiwis, are among the most hospitable you’ll ever meet. The local saying “He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata” translates , appropriately, to “What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people.”

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Fake shops illustration

Chinese network behind one of world’s ‘largest online scams’

Exclusive: Vast web of fake shops touting designer brands took money and personal details from 800,000 people in Europe and US, data suggests

More than 800,000 people in Europe and the US appear to have been duped into sharing card details and other sensitive personal data with a vast network of fake online designer shops apparently operated from China.

An international investigation by the Guardian, Die Zeit and Le Monde gives a rare inside look at the mechanics of what the UK’s Chartered Trading Standards Institute has described as one of the largest scams of its kind, with 76,000 fake websites created.

A trove of data examined by reporters and IT experts indicates the operation is highly organised, technically savvy – and ongoing.

Operating on an industrial scale, programmers have created tens of thousands of fake web shops offering discounted goods from Dior, Nike, Lacoste, Hugo Boss, Versace and Prada, as well as many other premium brands.

Published in multiple languages from English to German, French, Spanish, Swedish and Italian, the websites appear to have been set up to lure shoppers into parting with money and sensitive personal data.

However, the sites have no connection to the brands they claim to sell and in most cases consumers who spoke about their experience said they received no items.

A fake website claiming to offer Lacoste products

The first fake shops in the network appear to have been created in 2015. More than 1m “orders” have been processed in the past three years alone, according to analysis of the data. Not all payments were successfully processed, but analysis suggests the group may have attempted to take as much as €50m (£43m) over the period. Many shops have been abandoned, but a third of them – more than 22,500 – are still live.

So far, an estimated 800,000 people, almost all of them in Europe and the US, have shared email addresses, with 476,000 of them having shared debit and credit card details, including their three-digit security number. All of them also handed over their names, phone numbers, email and postal addresses to the network.

Katherine Hart, a lead officer at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, described the operation as “one of the largest online fake shops scams that I have seen”. She added: “Often these people are part of serious and organised crime groups so they are harvesting data and may use it against people later, making consumers more susceptible to phishing attempts.”

“Data is the new currency,” said Jake Moore, a global cybersecurity adviser at the software company ESET. He warned such personal data troves could also be valuable to foreign intelligence agencies for surveillance purposes. “The bigger picture is that one must assume the Chinese government may have potential access to the data,” he added.

The existence of the fake shops network was revealed by Security Research Labs (SR Labs), a German cybersecurity consultancy, which obtained several gigabytes of data and shared it with Die Zeit.

Fake goods websites

A core group of developers appears to have built a system to semi-automatically create and launch websites, allowing rapid deployment. This core appears to have operated some shops themselves, but to have allowed other groups to use the system. The logs suggest at least 210 users have accessed the system since 2015.

SR Labs consultant Matthias Marx described the model as “franchise-like”. He said: “The core team is responsible for developing software, deploying backends, and supporting the operation of the network. The franchisees manage the day-to-day operations of fraudulent shops.”

‘It reeled me in …’

It was a few weeks before Christmas. Melanie Brown, 54, from Shropshire in England, was looking for a new handbag. She put the image of a leather item from one of her favourite German designers, Rundholz, into Google. Immediately a website appeared offering the bag at 50% off the usual £200 retail price. She added it to her cart.

“It reeled me in,” she said. After selecting the bag she spotted other designer clothes from a high-end brand she loves called Magnolia Pearl. She found dresses, tops and jeans, racking up a £1,200 bill on 15 items. “I was getting a lot for the money, so I thought it was worth it,” she said.

But Brown was being ripped off. Over nearly a decade, a network operating from Fujian province in China used what appears to be a single software platform to create tens of thousands of fake online shops.

There are the big global brands such as Paul Smith, haute couture houses such as Christian Dior, but also more niche, much sought-after names such as Rixo and Stella McCartney, and high street retailers like Clarks shoes. Not just clothes – there are fake stores selling quality toys, such as Playmobil, and at least one selling lighting .

About 49 people who say they were scammed have been interviewed for this investigation. The Guardian spoke to 19 from the UK and the US. Their evidence suggests these websites were not set up to trade in counterfeit goods. Most people received nothing in the mail. A few did, but the items were not the ones ordered. A German shopper paid for a blazer and received cheap sunglasses. A British customer received a bogus Cartier ring instead of a shirt and another was sent a non-branded blue jumper instead of the Paul Smith one they had paid for.

Strangely, many who tried to shop never lost money. Either their bank blocked the payment, or the fake shop itself did not process it.

However, all of those interviewed have one thing in common: they handed over their private data.

Simon Miller, the director of policy and communications for Stop Scams UK, said: “Data can be more valuable than sales. If you are hoovering up someone’s card details that data is invaluable then for a bank account takeover.”

SR Labs, which works with corporations to protect their systems from cyber-attacks, believes the scam is operating on two levels. First, credit card harvesting, in which fake payment gateways collect credit card data but do not take any money. Second, fake selling, where the criminals do take money. There is evidence the network took payments processed via PayPal, Stripe and other payment services, and in some cases directly from debit or credit cards.

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The network used expired domains to host its fake shops, which experts say can help to avoid detection by websites or brand owners. It appears to have a database of 2.7m of these orphaned domains and runs tests to check which ones are best to use.

In Germany, the owner of a glass bead factory said she had received angry calls almost every day from shoppers asking where their Lacoste clothes were. She found out that an old website of hers, perlenzwoelfe.de, had been used for the scam. She was findable as content she had previously placed on at that address was visible in web archives. She reported the fraud to the police. “The officials just said there was nothing they could do about it.”

It was the same story for Michael Rouah who runs Artoyz , an online store and shop in central Paris selling handmade toys. His full catalogue of products was copied. “They changed the name and used another domain … They stole the images from our website and changed the prices, putting them – of course – much lower.”

He was alerted to the fraud by customers. “We generally can’t do much about it … We explored taking action with a lawyer, but it takes time and it costs money,” he said.

Michael Rouah says his Artoyz

The network appears to have originated in Fujian province. Many of the IP (internet protocol) addresses can be traced back to China, some to the Fujian cities of Putian and Fuzhou.

Payroll documents found in the data suggest individuals were hired as developers and data harvesters and paid salaries through Chinese banks.

There were also three templates for employment contracts, where the employer is listed as Fuzhou Zhongqing Network Technology Co Ltd.

Officially registered in China, and issued with an official unique identifier number, the company gives its address as Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian. It is not clear what connection it has to the network.

The contracts set out strict working conditions. The employee is given a performance score and can increase their salary with a higher ranking. They are judged on whether they refrain from playing video games, watching movies, or sleeping while at work. If staff are sick or take a holiday, their salary is reduced for days missed unless they work overtime.

The data includes a spreadsheet describing the payment between January and October 2022 of 2,410,000 yuan (almost £266,000) in dividends to at least four shareholders of an unnamed company.

The Fuzhou Zhongqing company is now advertising for developers and data collectors via Chinese recruitment websites. The salary for a data collection specialist is 4,500-7,000 Chinese yuan (about £500 to £700) a month and the business is described as a “foreign trade company that mainly produces sports shoes, fashion clothing, brand bags, and other series”.

The Fuzhou Zhongqing company did not respond to a request for comment.

Action Fraud, the UK’s reporting centre for cybercrime, said it would seek to have the fake web shops taken down.

Online scams are a growing problem. There were 77,000 cases of purchase fraud – where goods are paid for but never materialise – in the UK in the first six months of 2023, a 43% increase compared with the same period in 2022. In the US consumers lost nearly $8.8bn to fraud in 2022, an increase of more than 30% over the previous year. The second most commonly reported scam is related to online shopping fraud.

According to the TSB fraud spokesperson Matt Hepburn, purchase fraud is “the biggest driver” of online financial crime in the UK. He said technology companies should do more to protect consumers. “Search engines and tech platforms must prevent their users from being exposed to fake sites, and swiftly remove the scam content that is reported to them.”

Hester Abrams, the international engagement manager at the industry collaboration Stop Scams UK, said: “Consumers will only be better protected from criminal outfits exploiting digital systems if businesses and governments make scam prevention a genuine priority. Investigations like this show just how much impact we could have against scammers with a better coordinated international effort.”

Additional reporting from Helen Davidson and Chi-hui Lin

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These Are Going to Be the Most Popular Travel Destinations in 2024

A lready thinking about where you want to travel in 2024 ? If you’re hoping to hit the hottest travel destinations of the year, Expedia Group is here to help. The one-stop travel site—alongside Hotels.com and VRBO—just released Unpack '24 , a travel trends analysis for the coming year. In addition to detailing the projected top 10 most popular international destinations of 2024, the site also revealed 10 “dupes” for travelers looking to perhaps spend a bit less, as well as those hoping to be surrounded by fewer fellow tourists. Additionally, they revealed 10 affordable cities where the world’s biggest musical acts are set to perform, as well as where to travel if you live a sober lifestyle.

“At Expedia Group, we have extensive first-party travel data that we use to enhance and curate experiences for our travelers across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo,” Jon Gieselman, president of Expedia Brands, says in the report. “These insights shape our travel forecasts, revealed in Unpack '24, enabling our travelers to be the first to discover and book the most desired trips before they become well-beaten paths.”

Ready to ignite your travel bug? Ahead, discover the most popular travel destinations of 2024.

The Top 10 Travel Destinations of 2024

Expedia Group predicts that travelers are most likely to jet set to destinations popularized in fan-favorite TV shows and movies. According to the report, “More than half of travelers say they’ve researched or booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or in a movie. In fact, travelers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok, and podcasts.” With that in mind, they reveal that the top 10 travel destinations of 2024 are as follows:

  • Thailand - Featured in White Lotus , Season 3—which has sadly been pushed to premiere in 2025
  • Romania - Featured in Wednesday , Season 2—which has not yet set a release date
  • Malta - As seen in Gladiator 2 , which is set to premiere on November 22, 2024
  • Paris - As seen in Emily in Paris
  • Scottish Highlands - Featured in Outlander
  • London, Bath, and Windsor, U.K. - As seen in Bridgerton and The Crown
  • South Korea - Featured in Squid Game —the Season 2 release date has yet to be announced
  • Florida Keys - As seen in the series Bad Monkey
  • Australia - Featured in Baz Luhrmann’s Faraway Downs series, as well as the film Furiosa , which is set to premiere on May 24, 2024
  • Greece - as seen in the films Argylle (set to release in 2024) and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

The Top 10 Travel Destination Dupes

Dupes have long been lauded in the beauty and fashion categories, and now the concept is making its way to travel. “1 in 3 of those polled say they’ve booked a dupe,” the report reveals. “But what do these less obvious alternatives offer besides potential savings? They’re often less crowded, tend to be a little unexpected, and can be every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true destinations.”

Intrigued by the idea of booking a stellar vacation for a fraction of the price? Check out Expedia Group’s Top 10 Travel Destination Dupes, below, which are listed as the original destination of inspiration and the dupe that mirrors it.

  • Seoul —> Taipei
  • Bangkok —> Pattaya
  • Santorini —> Paros
  • Saint Martin —> Curaçao
  • Sydney —> Perth
  • London —> Liverpool
  • Lisbon —> Palermo
  • Geneva —> Québec City
  • Zermatt —> Sapporo
  • Nashville —> Memphis

The Top 10 Tour-Inspired Travel Destinations

Music lovers, this one’s for you! As you well know, traveling to see your favorite artists live is expensive, to say the least. With this in mind, Expedia set out to find the most affordable destinations where the world’s most famous pop and rock stars are set to take the stage in 2024.

Through their research, in which they analyzed the average daily rates of tour locations, they found the top 10 most affordable cities (less than $150/night on average) where travelers can witness the likes of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Coldplay, Metallica, Madonna, and more. They are as follows:

  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - $91
  • Edmonton, Canada - $108
  • Mexico City, Mexico - $119
  • Warsaw, Poland - $119
  • Birmingham, U.K. - $127
  • Houston, Texas - $130
  • Antwerp, Belgium - $140
  • Tokyo, Japan - $147
  • Perth, Australia - $148
  • Detroit, Michigan - $149

For more research-backed travel trends, be sure to check out Expedia’s full Unpack ‘24 Trend Report .

Discover destinations all over the world inspired by TV and movie sets, music tours, lifestyle trends, and more.

Arizona is home to 5 of the 'World's Largest' things — do you know what they are?

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At the core of America's roadside culture lies a phenomenon that promises to inspire travelers with awe and wonder.

From towering dinosaurs to oversized replicas of everyday food items, the U.S. boasts an array of roadside attractions that hold the title of "'world's largest," drawing on the curiosity of visitors and passersby.

According to a map created by blog.batchgeo.com , more than 195 roadside attractions in the U.S. consider themselves the “world’s largest” something.

Arizona has five of them, including "World's Largest Cow Skull," "World's Largest Map of Old Route 66" and "World's Largest Petrified Tree."

Located at the entrance of Longhorn Grill and Saloon off Nogales Highway, the self-declared largest cow skull is at least twenty feet high with horns measuring 30 feet from tip to tip, according to Medium . Although the skull is not real, it has become a staple local landmark in Amado.

Here's what these Arizona sites have to offer and which states have the most of these attractions.

Have you spotted these cactuses? They aren't saguaros. Here's what they are

These are Arizona's largest roadside attractions

These are Arizona's "world's largest" wonders and where they are located.

  • World's Largest Cow Skull, Amado.
  • World's Largest Petrified Tree, Holbrook.
  • World's Largest Map of Old Route 66, Meteor City.
  • World's Largest Kokopelli, Camp Verde.
  • World's Largest Kachina, Carefree.

6 states with the most 'World's Largest' roadside attractions

These are the states that have more than 10 of the "world's largest attractions," according to a map created by blog.batchgeo.com , though some individual attractions might be outdated or are self-declared.

  • California: The Golden State has 14  “World’s Greatest” attractions for visitors to explore. Some of the most known ones include the dinosaur statues of Cabazon and the donut at Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood.
  • Ohio: Tied with California, Ohio also has 14 "World's Largest" attractions, including a crystal ball, cuckoo clock, cheese wheel and pumpkin pie, among others.
  • Illinois: St. Louis offers the famous "World's Largest Ketchup Bottle," a water tower disguised as a red bottle with a green label with “CATSUP” spelled across. Illinois has 10 more attractions, including the largest statue of Abraham Lincoln, wind chime and rocking chair.
  • Michigan: Michigan has 11 "world's largest" roadside attractions. Among them, two cities attempted to create the world's largest cherry pie. The town of Charlevoix first broke the record in 1976, but 11 years later, Traverse City, just 50 miles away, took the spot with its 28,000-pound pie. Both pies were later beaten by a city in British Columbia.
  • Minnesota: The state also has 11 attractions, including the largest loon, which is the state bird. Six more "world's largest" attractions in Minnesota are animals: a fish, prairie chicken, pelican, turkey, tiger muskie and walleye.
  • Texas: The largest state in the U.S. also has 11 world’s largest roadside attractions, including the "World’s Largest Caterpillar", "World's Largest Fire Hydrant," "World's Largest Rattlesnake" and "World's Largest Watermelon."

Eurovision 2024: Israel's Eden Golan makes it through to grand final with Hurricane after protests

Eurovision - the world's largest live music contest - is taking place against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, with large protests taking place in Malmo as performers prepare to perform in the grand final on Saturday night.

By Bethany Minelle - Arts and entertainament reporter in Malmo, Sweden

Thursday 9 May 2024 22:37, UK

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Twenty-year-old Eden Golan from Tel Aviv performed Israel’s Eurovision song this year.

Israel has made it into the Eurovision grand final, despite calls for the country's entry to be banned from the contest.

Israel's success in reaching the final stage of the show - which will take place on Saturday - comes against a backdrop of large protests across Malmo, Sweden , which is this year's host city.

The Pro-Palestinian demonstration ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest. Pic: AP

Israel 's song Hurricane - sung by 20-year-old Eden Golan - had to be reworked after an initial version titled October Rain was ruled too political by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) which believed some lyrics referred to the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.

Some believe that some lyrics in the current song - including "Dancin' in the storm… I'm still broken from this hurricane," still refer to attacks seven months ago which killed more than 1,000 people and resulted in hundreds of hostages being taken.

During an earlier rehearsal on Tuesday, Golan was met with boos and cries of "Free Palestine," and an audience member appeared to have a Palestinian flag removed from them in the auditorium.

Israel's Eden Golan with Hurricane for Israel. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU

The EBU has said only flags that represent countries taking part, and the rainbow flag, can be brought to the event.

They have said other "flags, symbols, clothing, items and banners being used for the likely purpose of instrumentalising the TV shows" will be removed.

Golan performed her song Hurricane dressed in white and flanked by five backing dancers. The performance centred around a large wheel-like prop in the centre of the stage.

She has said she hopes to unite people through music.

Israel's Eden Golan with Hurricane for Israel. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU

Condemnation of 'harassment' and 'abuse'

In the run-up to the competition - which is the world's largest live music contest - there have been demonstrations and calls for Israel to be banned over their ongoing ground offensive in Gaza .

However, the EBU - which says it is an apolitical organisation - has ruled that Israel can take part, saying it has not broken any broadcasting rules.

The EBU has also condemned the "harassment" and "abuse" of any acts taking part in the show.

This week, the EBU was forced to apologise after former Swedish contestant Eric Saade, who is reportedly of Palestinian origin, wore a keffiyeh around his wrist while he sang in an earlier rehearsal.

On Tuesday, ten acts were chosen for the final in the first semi-final: Ireland's Bambie Thug, Ukrainian duo Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil, Finland's Windows95Man, Serbia's Teya Dora, Cyprus's Silia Kapsis, Lithuania's Silvester Belt, Croatia's Baby Lasagna, Slovenia's Raiven, Portugal's Iolanda and Luxembourg's Tali.

The other nine acts who made it through from Thursday's semi-final were Greece's Marina Satti, Switzerland's Nemo, Austria's Kaleen, Armenia's Ladaniva, Latvia's Dons, Georgia's Nutsa Buzaladze, Estonia's 5Miinust and Puuluup, Norway's Gate and The Netherlands's Joost Klein.

The "Big Five" (the UK, Germany, Spain, France and Italy, who are the largest contributors to the competition) all gain an automatic place in the competition along with host nation Sweden.

In March, nine contestants - including the UK's Olly Alexander, Ireland's Bambie Thug and Switzerland's Nemo - called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the "safe return" of Israeli hostages in a joint statement.

UK's Olly Alexander with Dizzy. Pic: Corinne Cumming/EBU

However, they said they would not be boycotting the event in a bid to "uphold this space" and "inspire greater compassion and empathy".

As it stands, no act has withdrawn from this year's contest over the war.

More than 34,000 people have been killed, and over 77,000 have been injured in Gaza since the conflict began, according to Gaza's Hamas-led health ministry.

Israel's entry Golan, who has been performing since she was nine years old, left Israel when she was six to live in Russia with her family, but returned when she was 18.

Her song, which was co-written by one of the writers and producers of Israel's 2018 winning number Toy - tells the story of a young woman experiencing a personal crisis.

It's among the favourites with bookmakers to win the competition.

Last year Israel, who have been performing in the contest since 1973, came third with the song Unicorn performed by Noa Kirel. They have won Eurovision four times.

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The Grand Final is on Saturday night. Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the contest as it happens.

More From Forbes

The world’s 15 safest cities (2 u.s. cities made the list), ranked in a new report.

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Seoul—one of the safest cities for millennial travelers—at sunset.

Searching for the safest places to travel? Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP) recently unveiled its annual State of Travel Insurance Safest Destinations report , which ranks the world’s 15 safest cities to travel. This year, two U.S. cities made the list, with Honolulu named the safest city in the world.

“BHTP’s State of Travel Insurance Safest Destinations report is unique in its ability to pair firsthand, survey respondent experiences with valuable third-party sources in order to identify its annual list of Safest Destinations,” Carol Mueller, vice president at BHTP told me in an interview. “Only travelers who have actually been to the cities are allowed to rank them on a variety of safety measures, using their first-hand knowledge as a yardstick.”

In addition to surveying actual travelers who have visited the cities, BHTP analyzes several third-party data sources—including the U.S. State Department, The Economist and more—to evaluate safety concerns such as terrorism, weather emergencies, health measures and the safety of underrepresented groups.

Over the past four years, the report has witnessed notable changes, reflecting the evolving travel landscape. While Scandinavian nations and Northern Europe traditionally dominated the list, this year’s report showcases a diverse lineup, with Asian and South American cities making their mark.

Honolulu, which has been named the safest city in the world on a new report.

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For 2024, Honolulu claims the coveted first spot. Despite its vulnerability to natural disasters, Honolulu impresses travelers with its overall safety, making it an ideal travel destination. “Even Honolulu’s lowest marks are the highest of any destination in that category,” says Mueller. “Though the island’s volcanic origin and location in the Pacific make it an obvious target for a variety of natural disasters, from wildfires to typhoons, surveyed travelers perceive Honolulu as an incredibly safe destination for their tropical vacations.”

Coming in second on the list is Montreal. The Canadian city is recognized—above all—for its transportation safety, where it gets the highest marks. One concern, according to BHTP: wildfires, since smoke from fires in northern Quebec can drift down to Montreal, impacting the air quality.

A view of of Old Montreal, which comes in second on the list of safest cities.

Reykjavik, Iceland comes in number three on the list of safest cities. According to BHTP, its high ranking is due to its excellent scores for women, people-of-color and LGBTQ+ safety, as well as safety from terrorism.

Rounding out the top five is Sydney, Australia (which receives consistent safety marks from travelers) and Amsterdam in the Netherlands (which ranks highly for safety for women, LGBTQ+ travelers and people of color).

The only other U.S. city on the list of world’s safest cities is Orlando, Florida, which comes in at number 15. Renowned for its theme parks and family-friendly attractions, Orlando gets high ratings for transportation safety and safety against terrorism. “While we’d caution travelers against chasing golf balls near Lake Jesup, which is home to about 10,000 alligators, Orlando has high ratings for transportation safety and safety against terrorism,” says Mueller. “This should come as no surprise—you rarely hear about disasters aboard the Walt Disney World Railroad.”

The skyline of Orlando, Florida, which is on the list of the safest cities in the world in 2024.

As travelers navigate the intricacies of safety, the report also offers insights into each city’s unique challenges and precautions. From concerns about wildfires in Honolulu to political demonstrations in Barcelona, travelers can make informed decisions to ensure their safety during their journeys.

Beyond the overall rankings, the report also ranks cities according to the nuanced safety concerns of different traveler segments, from millennials to LGBTQ+ travelers prioritizing inclusive destinations.

Read on for the lists of the world’s safest cities to travel, as well as lists from the perspective of various traveler segments.

An aerial view of Honolulu and Diamond Head.

The World’s Safest Cities To Travel in 2024

In addition to being ranked top safest city overall, Honolulu was also named the world’s safest city ... [+] for women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC travelers.

Safest Cities for Women/LGBTQ+/BIPOC Travelers

Seoul is named the world's safest city for Millennial travelers.

Safest Cities for Millennial Travelers

According to BHTP, Millennials (ages 25-44) tend to travel farther afield. “Hence, the high ratings for Singapore, Dubai and Seoul,” say the authors of the report.

Copenhagen is named the safest city for mature travelers.

Safest Cities for Mature Travelers

“Beijing’s presence here is a little surprising,” say the authors of the report. “But everything else is as expected.”

Seoul is named the top city for families. Pictured here: walking on the grouds of the Gyeongbokgung ... [+] Palace.

Safest Cities for Families

“Parents find Asian destinations safe,” say the authors of the report. “Hence, four of them made their top 10.”

Island life and island colors in San Juan, Puerto Rico, named the safest city for LGBTQ+ travelers.

LGBTQ+ Travelers

“Puerto Rico’s top city doesn’t show up anywhere else but here,” say the authors of the report. “Also note that despite discriminatory laws towards LGBTQ+ travelers, they still consider Dubai to be an extremely safe destination.”

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News & features, winter center, news / climate, the ‘world’s largest’ vacuum to suck climate pollution out of the air just opened. here’s how it works.

By Laura Paddison, CNN

Published May 8, 2024 8:45 AM PDT | Updated May 8, 2024 12:03 PM PDT

Iceland becomes home to the innovative large-scale air vacuum, a groundbreaking solution designed to remove CO2 emissions and tackle climate change.

(CNN) —  The “world’s largest” plant designed to  suck planet-heating pollution  out of the atmosphere like a giant vacuum began operating in Iceland on Wednesday.

“Mammoth” is the second commercial  direct air capture  plant opened by Swiss company Climeworks in the country, and is 10 times bigger than its predecessor, Orca, which started running in 2021.

Direct air capture, or DAC, is a technology designed to suck in air and strip out the carbon using chemicals. The carbon can then be injected deep beneath the ground, reused or transformed into solid products.

Climeworks plans to transport the carbon underground where it will be naturally transformed into stone, locking up the carbon permanently. It is partnering with Icelandic company Carbfix for this so-called sequestration process.

The whole operation will be powered by Iceland’s abundant, clean geothermal energy.

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Climeworks' Mammoth plant in Hellisheiði, Iceland, started operating on May 8. (Photo credit: Oli Haukur Myrdal/Climeworks via CNN Newsource)

Next-gen climate solutions like DAC are gaining more attention from governments and private industry as humans continue to burn fossil fuels. Concentrations of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere  reached a record high  in 2023.

As the planet continues  to heat up  — with devastating  consequences for humans  and  nature  — many scientists say the world needs to find ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere in addition to rapidly cutting fossil fuels.

But carbon removal technologies such as DAC are still controversial. They have been criticized as expensive, energy-hungry and unproven at scale. Some climate advocates are also concerned they could distract from policies to cut fossil fuels.

This technology “is fraught with uncertainties and ecological risks,” said Lili Fuhr, director of the fossil economy program at the Center for International Environmental Law, speaking about carbon capture generally.

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Mammoth's modular design allows units to be stacked up and moved around the plant. (Photo credit: Climeworks via CNN Newsource)

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Climeworks' Mammoth plant will eventually be able to capture 36,000 tons of carbon from the air. (Photo credit: Oli Haukur Myrdal/Climeworks via CNN Newsource)

Climeworks started building Mammoth in June 2022. The plant has a modular design with space for 72 “ collector containers ” — the vacuum   parts of the machine that capture carbon from the air — which can be stacked on top of each other and moved around easily. There are currently 12 of these in place with more due to be added over the next few months.

Mammoth will be able to pull 36,000 tons of carbon from the atmosphere   at full capacity, according to Climeworks. That’s equivalent to taking around 7,800 gas-powered cars off the road for a year.

The new plant is “an important step in the fight against climate change,” said Stuart Haszeldine, professor of carbon capture and storage at the University of Edinburgh. It will increase the size of equipment to capture carbon pollution.

But, he cautioned, it’s still a tiny fraction of what’s needed.

All the carbon removal equipment in the world is only capable of removing around 0.01 million metric tons of carbon a year, a far cry from  the 70 million tons  a year needed by 2030 to meet global climate goals, according to the International Energy Agency.

There are already much bigger DAC plants in the works from other companies. Stratos, currently under construction in Texas, for example, is designed to remove  500,000 tons of carbon a year , according to Occidental, the oil company behind the plant.

But there may be a catch. Occidental says the captured carbon will be stored in rock deep underground, but its website also refers to the  company’s use of captured carbon  in a process called “enhanced oil recovery.” This involves pushing carbon into wells to force out the hard-to-reach remnants of oil — allowing fossil fuel companies to extract even more from aging oil fields.

It’s this kind of process that makes some critics concerned carbon removal technologies could be used to prolong production of fossil fuels.

But for Climeworks, which is not connected to fossil fuel companies, the technology has huge potential, and the company says it has big ambitions.

Jan Wurzbacher, the company’s co-founder and co-CEO, said Mammoth is just the latest stage in Climeworks’ plan to scale up to 1 million tons of carbon removal a year by 2030 and 1 billion tons by 2050.

Plans include potential DAC plants in  Kenya  and the  United States .

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India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024 Tickets Availability, Ticket Prices, How to Book Match Tickets Online, Travel Cost

Curated By : Cricketnext Staff

Last Updated: May 08, 2024, 17:30 IST

Delhi, India

How to book tickets for the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024 match

How to book tickets for the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024 match

Get the latest updates on India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024 tickets. Find out about ticket availability, prices, online booking, and travel costs for the highly anticipated match Of T20 World Cup 2024 at news18.com

The Indian vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024 match on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, USA, is the marquee clash of the T20 World Cup, at least during the league stages, and cricket fans around the world will be keen to get their hands on the tickets. The India-Pakistan rivalry is the biggest in Cricket, partly due to design and other external factors. India and Pakistan do not play in bilateral series, and only in the ICC and ACC tournaments do these two teams come face to face.

Complete List of T20 World Cup 2024 Squads

The last time India played Pakistan was in the ICC World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad in October. These two teams also clashed in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Melbourne, with Virat Kohli‘s imperious 53-ball 83* handing India the win. In the 2023 World Cup, India demolished Pakistan by seven wickets with 117 balls remaining after shooting down their neighbours for 191.

India’s T20 World Cup Squad, Full Schedule, Match Timings in IST, Tournament History, Most Runs and Most Wickets

In fact, India has won three out of the last five encounters against Pakistan. Pakistan’s last win against India came in the T20 Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai. This was followed by the T20 World Cup fixture in Melbourne, which India won. The Asia Cup in the ODI format the following year in Pallekele ended in no result, while the last two meetings—both ODIs—in Colombo (Asia Cup 2023) and Ahmedabad (World Cup 2023) went India’s way.

As Cricket tries to break into the USA market, the   India vs. Pakistan fixture will be the ICC showpiece match.

IND VS PAK Ticket Availability and Prices

The highly anticipated clash in New York between cricket rivals Pakistan and India was over-subscribed by 200 times in the public ballot for tickets, the International Cricket Council said. The 34,000-seat temporary venue is Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Long Island. For fans hoping and planning to watch the game in the USA, their best bet was the public ballot ICC opened in February, which had the cheapest tickets – as low as USD 6 (INR 497) – on sale. The most expensive ticket was priced at Rs 33,148 (USD 400). Here is the breakdown of the ticket prices as per ICC.

India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup Ticket Prices

  • Standard– USD 175 (Rs 14,550 approx.)
  • Standard Plus – USD 300 (Rs 25,000 approx.)
  • Premium – USD 400 (Rs 33,000 approx)

IND VS PAK Online Booking Process

As of May 8, 2024, the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup tickets are sold out, as per ICC’s official website. The only India fixture from the league stages available are tickets for the India vs USA match on June 12. And only the Premium tickets starting at USD 300 (Rs 25,000 approx.) are currently available.

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India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024 Tickets Available on Resale Websites?

However, the tickets on platforms like StubHub and SeatGeek are being resold at astronomical prices. The Premium tickets for the India vs Pakistan clash were initially priced at USD 400 (Rs 33,000 excluding taxes) on the official website. However, the price has surged to Rs 33 Lakh (USD 40,000) on resale platforms. When the platform fees are added, the amount goes even higher, up to USD 50,000 (Rs 41 Lakhs). One has to spend around USD 1,259 (Rs 1.04 lakhs) to avail of the cheapest ticket for the India vs Pakistan game in New York. On other platforms, the prices are lower but still over USD 11,000.

Rising prices are now competing with the cost of tickets for some major sporting events in the USA. According to last year’s data, the average World Series ticket cost around USD 1,100 (Rs 91,000), while the average Super Bowl 58 ticket reached USD 9,000 (Rs 7.45 Lakh). The upcoming India vs. Pakistan clash is expected to set a new record as the country gears up to host an ICC for the first time.

IND VS PAK Travel Cost and Accommodation

The lowest ticket price on one of the resale platforms is Rs 1,09,865 (USD 1,315) for the Premium section, while the most expensive is listed at Rs 34,43,970 (USD 41,240)

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Flight Ticket Cost to Watch India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024

A one-way ticket to the USA from India (Delhi) can cost anywhere from 45,000 per person to Rs 4,76,352 as of May 8, 2024. A return ticket can cost you as much as Rs 6,00,000, while the cheapest can cost up to Rs 90,000.

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Hotel Stay for India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2024

The demand for hotels in and around Nassau County for the fixture is high, and according to a popular travel website, 73 percent of the places to stay are unavailable during India vs Pakistan match week. Rooms, however, are available, ranging from Rs 10,000 for one night per adult to Rs 75,000 for one night per adult as of May 8, 2024. These rates will go up further closer to June 9. 

  • Indian cricket team
  • Pakistan cricket team
  • T20 World Cup 2024

Team Rankings

Upcoming matches.

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