Travel Tips & Trends

Dream destinations

A recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive asked a representative sample of adult Americans which foreign country they would most like to visit for a vacation, if cost was not an issue. For the eleventh year in a row, Australia topped the list as the most popular "dream destination."

Second through fifth places went to Italy, Great Britain, France and Ireland. It is noteworthy that three out of the top five choices are English-speaking countries. Sixth through 10th places: Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and Greece.

The results of the annual poll show some changes since last year. Japan and Spain both moved into the top 10, while Canada slipped from seventh to 11th place. Egypt and China appeared on the list (at 14th and 15th place) for the first time in several years.

While Australia was the overall favorite, there were exceptions in some demographic groups. Italy was the favorite among 18-30 year olds, and Great Britain won with respondents aged 62 and over.

Six percent of respondents said they would not go anywhere outside the USA-a jump from 2% in previous years, and the highest since 2001, when the percentage was 7%.