Valentine’s Day travel is up 22% over last year according to Allianz Global Assistance’s latest survey, which found that New York City and Cancun are the most popular domestic and international destinations for romantic holiday weekend getaways or Baecation’s. As I always say, nothing says romance like dirty water dogs or tequila shots!

Allianz Global Assistance, reviewed Americans’ travel plans* for roundtrip flights a deux for the weekend prior to Valentine’s Day (departing and returning Thursday, February 6 to Monday, February 10, 2020) and from Thursday, February 13 – Monday, February 17, 2020. The Big Apple once again tops the domestic top 10 list and Los Angeles (#2), Seattle (#3), San Francisco (#4), Miami (#5), Chicago (#6), Atlanta (#7), Boston (#8), Phoenix (#9) and Las Vegas (#10) also held on to their rankings from 2019.

For international Valentine’s Day jet-setters, Cancun takes the cake for the sixth consecutive year and overall, Mexico dominates thanks to San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (#2) and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (#3), which jumped respectively from #3 and #8 in 2019. Sweetening the international list are Richmond, Canada (#4), Toronto, Canada (#5), Mexico City, Mexico (#6), Nassau, Bahamas (#7), Oranjestad, Aruba (#8), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (#9) and Montego Bay, Jamaica (#10).

Allianz’s data indicates Americans are strongly favoring domestic ‘baecations’ versus international getaways this year, noting international travel is down 19%. Multiple factors may be contributing to this trend, from avoiding long lines in customs to unpredictable weather patterns: perennially popular travel destinations in the Caribbean are still feeling the after-effects of earthquakes and hurricanes, including Nassau, Bahamas, which dropped to #7 from #3 last year. Interestingly, the Dominican Republic, which also has had its fair share of negative publicity surrounding travel to the island nation, made its first appearance in the top 10 international list at #9.

“Our survey shows that this Valentine’s Day, home is truly where the heart is,” said Daniel Durazo, director of marketing and communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA. I have to agree with my friend Dan. Both according to this survey and my own desire to stay closer to home these days with a lot of uncertainty around the world and even at home with the New York Global Entry issue. That said, I’ll be home in New York for Valentine’s Day although I’ll never use the word “Baecation” in real life!

*Methodology:

The data of U.S. travelers’ 2020 Valentine’s Day travel plans was gathered by analyzing the number of customers that went through the online booking process of airfare paths for partners offering Allianz Global Assistance to generate itineraries for roundtrip flights for two passengers departing and returning to U.S. airports for domestic and international destinations from 2/6/20 – 2/10/20 and 2/13/20 – 2/17/20

Disclaimer: I work as an ambassador for Allianz Global Assistance (AGA Service Company) and receive financial compensation.

Sharing is caring!