The world’s top trending destinations for 2017

What holiday scenario could beat having a paradisiacal beach all to yourself, or a never-ending blanket of snow with not a soul in sight? Most of us ache for the chance to cross unchartered tourist territory, with ‘hidden gem’ tips the travel holy grail.

And as the new year dawns, the desire in us to discover and explore new frontiers feels refreshed. But how to find those places that are novel and exciting but have not yet become part of the tourist trail? To make life easy for you, Booking.com dug into its internal data to find the trending destinations for 2017.

The data experts at Booking.com analyzed destinations based on growth in search to find the most aspirational places to visit next year. When analyzed against wider trends, the patterns of growth revealed some tantalizing options. Read on to find out where you should go for your 2017 adventure.

Puerto Rico, Caribbean

As a shining example of blissful island life but with added character, Puerto Rico is the Caribbean destination of choice. It possesses the region’s largest area of virgin tropical rainforest and beaches with pearl-coloured sand and crystalline blue waters. But it’s not just vibrant because of the multi-coloured wooden buildings that populate its well-preserved colonial capital. Its dynamic history forged a lively Spanish, Indian and African island identity. There’s salsa dancing in the street and tapas-style platters, all served up in a distinctly tropical style.