The United States was the most preferred destination country globally for travellers in 2016, while in Asia the UAE was the top country for tourists, according to a new study.

The US topped globally with 11.9 per cent of the total tourists visiting the country. Italy with 8 per cent was the second most preferred destination country globally, followed by Germany (6.1 per cent), UK (5.9 per cent) and Spain (4.9 per cent) in the ranking prepared by HotelsPro, a technology and reservation solutions provider for travel industry professionals and a brand of the world's leading travel and accommodation supplier MetGlobal Group of Companies.

Data for the “Global Travel Statistics for 2016” was collected from HotelsPro’s offices in London, Shanghai, Orlando, Dubai and Istanbul.

The most visited continent is Europe (58 per cent). It was followed by Asia (19.5 per cent), North America (16 per cent), South America (2.6 per cent), Africa (2.3 per cent) and Oceania (1.6 per cent), according to the data.
The most preferred country in Asia was the UAE with 19.7 per cent votes. Thailand (12.8 per cent) and Malaysia (7.9 per cent) followed UAE in the rankings for Asia.

The most preferred one in Europe is Italy with 13.8 per cent. Germany (10.4 per cent) and UK (10.2 per cent) followed Italy in the rankings. The most preferred one in Africa is Egypt with 26.7 per cent, followed by Morocco (21.3 per cent) and South Africa (18.6 per cent).

USA and Australia are well ahead
While the most preferred country in North America is the US with 78.3 per cent votes, Canada (9.1 per cent) and Mexico (8.7 per cent) followed the US in the rankings. In Oceania, the most preferred country is Australia (74.6 per cent), followed by New Zealand (21.2 per cent) and Fiji Islands (1.4 per cent). The most preferred country of South America is Brazil with 25.2 per cent, followed  by Argentina (22.9 per cent) and Colombia (21.9 per cent).

Average length of stay is 2,8 days
According to the data, travellers all over the world mostly stayed between 1 and 3 days in the locations they visited in 2016. While 75 per cent of all accommodations constitute 1 to 3 days’ stays, 4 to 7 days stays were about 22 per cent of all stays in 2016. The ratio of more than 7 days stays is 3 per cent, it said. – TradeArabia News Service