From a seed list of popular travel destinations for 2023, Betway has crunched the numbers to predict which locations are set to see the biggest increase in tourists in 2023.
April 2023: With the summer months quickly approaching, many of us will be looking forward to sunbathing on a warm beach or exploring a new city. But which destinations can expect to see the biggest increase in eager tourists in 2023?
Analysing Google search volume over the past 12 months for 118 destinations set to be popular in 2023, Betway has predicted which locations will see the highest increase in travellers flocking to its shores in the year ahead. They’ve also revealed the most popular countries to travel to according to social media.
Morocco is the country set to see the biggest increase in tourists in 2023
With a unique culture and landscape to explore, Morocco is expected to see its popularity soar the most this year, with searches jumping by almost 64% in the last six months. Meanwhile, sunny Croatia comes in second place, and Costa Rica comes in third.
The top 10 countries where search volume has increased the most in the last six months:
| Rank | Country | Google searches – Feb 2022 – Aug 2022 | Google searches – Sep 2022 – Feb 2023 | Percentage increase of Google searches in the past 6 months |
| 1 | Morocco | 1,220,000 | 3,350,000 | 63.58% |
| 2 | Croatia | 1,500,000 | 2,740,000 | 45.26% |
| 3 | Costa Rica | 2,240,000 | 4,090,000 | 45.23% |
| 4 | Spain | 1,220,000 | 1,830,000 | 33.33% |
| 5 | New Zealand | 1,830,000 | 2,740,000 | 33.21% |
| 6 | Turkey | 2,240,000 | 3,350,000 | 33.13% |
| 7 | Poland | 1,500,000 | 2,240,000 | 33.04% |
| =8 | Vietnam | 1,830,000 | 2,240,000 | 18.30% |
| =8 | Mauritius | 1,830,000 | 2,240,000 | 18.30% |
| 9 | Peru | 2,240,000 | 2,740,000 | 18.25% |
| 10 | Laos | 673,000 | 823,000 | 18.23% |
Naoshima expected to see the highest influx of tourists in 2023
Looking at the top towns, cities and islands set to see an increase in popularity this year, Naoshima, located in Japan, tops the list. A must-see location for art lovers, Google searches for Naoshima have increased by almost 64% in the past six months.
Another art hotspot also located in Japan, the city of Kanazawa comes in second place, whilst the idyllic island of Ko Pha-ngan in Thailand comes in third.
The top five towns, cities and islands that are predicted to see the biggest influx of tourists in 2023:
| Rank | Location | Geography | Country | Google searches – Feb 2022 – Aug 2022 | Google searches – Sep 2022 – Feb 2023 | Percentage increase of Google searches in the past 6 months |
| 1 | Naoshima | Town | Japan | 8,100 | 22,200 | +63.51% |
| 2 | Kanazawa | City | Japan | 40,500 | 90,500 | +55.25% |
| 3 | Ko Pha-ngan | Island | Thailand | 14,800 | 27,100 | +45.39% |
| 4 | Siem Reap | City | Cambodia | 60,500 | 110,000 | +45.00% |
| 5 | Bohol Island | Island | Philippines | 5,400 | 8,100 | +33.33% |
Italy is the most popular country to travel to, according to social media
From the Colosseum to Lake Como, Italy is full of picture-perfect locations, so it might not come as a surprise that it tops the list as the most popular country on social media with almost 90 billion TikTok views and almost 158.5 million Instagram hashtags.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom comes in second with a whopping 187.3 billion TikTok views and just over 64 million Instagram hashtags.
| Rank | Country | TikTok views | Instagram hashtags |
| 1 | Italy | 88,900,000,000 | 158,495,669 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 187,300,000,000 | 64,067,091 |
| 3 | Japan | 68,800,000,000 | 162,927,727 |
| 4 | Turkey | 77,300,000,000 | 74,401,843 |
| 5 | Spain | 53,100,000,000 | 72,770,965 |
| 6 | Poland | 45,100,000,000 | 40,375,867 |
| 7 | Greece | 35,200,000,000 | 46,259,273 |
| 8 | Egypt | 49,000,000,000 | 28,087,632 |
| 9 | Vietnam | 50,600,000,000 | 25,588,455 |
| 10 | Morocco | 40,900,000,000 | 22,612,152 |
Do you have any travel plans for 2023?
