The USA still outranks most of Europe as regards being the destination of choice for Irish people, according to the latest quarterly survey from the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA).
The ITAA announced results of the survey at Holiday World Show 2018 in the RDS last week. They show that in 2017, the USA came third in terms of passenger numbers from Ireland. The number one two spots were filled by perennial favourites, Spain and Portugal.
This means that the USA outranked France, Italy, Germany, and many other locations closer to home. The same results are already being seen for 2018, with the USA, Spain and Portugal again enjoying most interest and most bookings at last week’s Show.
USA flights from Dublin
Cormac Meehan, President of the ITAA, said a major reason for the USA’s popularity is the number of direct flights from Dublin.
‘There are now over three million transatlantic seats from Ireland on sale each year,’ he pointed out. ‘We are very fortunate that we are so well connected to the United States. Direct routes are on offer from Aer Lingus, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Norwegian Airlines, and American Airlines.’
Transatlantic passengers can also choose budget flights with Icelandic carrier WOW, via Reykjavik.
Another major factor is how Irish airports offer pre-clearance of US Immigration and Customs. This means no long queueing when passengers land at Stateside.
Overall, there’s been a long love affair between the USA and Ireland, where travel is concerned. That relationship is set to blossom even more this year.
USA travel advice
Here at Insure My Holiday, we’re big fans of the States ourselves, and we’ve delivered lots of useful USA travel advice already.
With regards to flights, we reported last year on how two budget carriers entered the transatlantic market:
We also advised that despite their low headline fares, it’s still wise to consider the ‘traditional’ carriers too:
With regards to travel guides, we featured both Miami and Washington DC:
And for New York, we had a slightly unusual take on things:
Finally, we had a couple of Christmas shopping guides for New York, but much of the advice is relevant for any time of year:
Keep following our blog this year for lots more great advice about destinations in the USA!
Travel Insurance USA
The best USA travel advice we can give is that whenever you’re travelling Stateside, make sure you have travel insurance for your trip.
Travel insurance is particularly important for the USA because of the high cost of healthcare there, should you become ill or suffer an accident. Remember too that you’ll also be covered against all other mishaps that might befall you during your trip, such as lost luggage or cancelled/delayed flights.
Choose single trip travel insurance if your Stateside trip is likely to be your only travelling of the year, or go for annual multi-trip travel insurance if you’re likely to do more travelling during the year too.
Whatever policy you choose with Insure My Holiday, you are assured of a high standard of cover at a low price.
Key benefits of our Gold Plan travel insurance
- Medical Expenses Cover of €5 Million
- Personal Luggage Cover of €2,000
- Personal Money and Documents Cover of €1,600
- Delayed Departure Cover of €200
- Cancellation or Curtailment Cover of €4,000
- Abandonment Cover of €4,000
- Missed Departure Cover of €500
- Personal Accident Cover of €55,000
- Personal Liability Cover of €2,000,000
- Third Party Supplier Insolvency Cover of €2,000
- Schedule Airline Failure Cover of €1,000
- Legal Expenses Cover of €10,000
- Hijack Cover of €1,000
- Catastrophe Cover of €750
- Credit or Cash Card Fraud Cover of €300
Key benefits of our Platinum Plan travel insurance
- Medical Expenses Cover of €10 Million
- Personal Luggage Cover of €3,000
- Personal Money and Documents Cover of €2,000
- Delayed Departure Cover of €400
- Cancellation or Curtailment Cover of €6,000
- Abandonment Cover of €6,000
- Missed Departure Cover of €600
- Personal Accident Cover of €95,000
- Personal Liability Cover of €2,000,000
- Third Party Supplier Insolvency Cover of €2,000
- Schedule Airline Failure Cover of €2,000
- Legal Expenses Cover of €20,000
- Hijack Cover of €2,000
- Catastrophe Cover of €1,000
- Credit or Cash Card Fraud Cover of €500
All are as generous or more generous as you will find with any other travel insurance provider, so it all adds up to even more great reasons to choose Insure My Holiday for all your travel insurance needs.
Just get a travel insurance quote now to see how much you can save!
