What Are the Most Popular Destinations for Past Packaged Tour Goers?

A survey of some 20,000 past Globus and Cosmos travelers found that Italy continues to dominate as the European destination of most interest to past packaged tour-goers, with 22% of respondents saying Italy is on their "must-see" list for 2023. Rounding out the top countries of interest are Greece and Turkey (21%), France (15%), England, Ireland, and Scotland (14% each).

While culture, history, and must-see landmarks are the top motivators for travelers on tour, a new trend emerged from the "Wish List" survey: 44% of travelers want to get off the beaten path during their tour.

"There's an outdated belief that tour travelers are only interested in classic bucket list cities," said Steve Born, chief marketing officer for the Globus family of brands. "Instead, our travelers want to walk along cobblestones less traveled and are using their tour as the way to get them to new, exciting, and off-the-beaten-path places."

Another myth-buster found in the survey results, Born said, is that tourgoers want passive travel.

"According to our survey, more than one-fourth of our guests (26%) say they want to enjoy active excursions on vacation."

As for who tour goers want to travel with, 62% said they want to travel with their partner, while 35% said they'd like to go with friends or family members, and nearly one-fourth (24%) said they're interested in going solo on their next trip.