These 3 Caribbean destinations dominate US winter travel trends for 2024
Data reviewed by Mabrian, a global travel information platform, has done just that revealed intriguing insights into the Caribbean destinations Americans are considering for their winter vacations, and even more interesting, the cities that are losing their appeal among these travelers.
This is evident from Mabrian’s Share of Searches Index the most sought-after hotspots are Costa Rica, the Mexican Caribbean and Puerto Ricoas well as Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas. However, not all cities in these countries are equally attractive to American citizens.
This data reflects both inspiring travel demand based on searches Americans conducted for travel between November 2024 and February 2025, as well as independently confirmed flight bookings.
We have highlighted this in previous reports a worrying trend of growing attrition among American travelers when it comes to visiting their most beloved destination—Mexico—even though the numbers remain strong.
This phenomenon is highlighted again in this analysis, which shows that the most searched for destination by Americans is actually the Central American country of Costa Rica, with a year-over-year increase in searches of over 33% – the highest among the countries surveyed .
Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport has emerged as the best performing transportation hub, with a 54% growth in searches, likely because it offers easy access to popular tourist hotspots such as Tambor and Tamarindo Papagayo Gulf.
“The inspiring increase in demand in Costa Rica is very uniform across all US airports analyzed, demonstrating that this is a top-of-mind destination for US travelers during the winter season, which looks very positive and promising in terms of consolidated bookings and arrivals,” says Carlos Cendra, partner and director of marketing and communications at Mabrian.
The other Caribbean destinations securing the top spots in searches are Puerto Rico, with a 9% increase compared to the same period last year; the Mexican Caribbean, with combined growth of 6% for Cancun, Cozumel and Tulum airports (we’ll focus on Tulum later); and the Dominican Republic, with an increase of 4% compared to the same period in 2023.
Tulum continues to “steal” tourists from other Mexican destinations
The opening of Tulum’s Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport last December is causing a shake-up in international arrivals in the Mexican Caribbean, with passengers being “legated” from Cancun International Airport, which has seen a steady decline for most of 2024 the number of visitors.
The current analysis shows that the seaside resort of Tulum contributed to a 6% year-on-year increase in travel demand between November 2024 and February 2025. At the same time, it appears to be responsible for a significant 9% decline in travel demand. travelers to Cozumel during the same period.
“Tulum Airport will be a major attraction and connectivity hub for the Mexican Caribbean, and will significantly contribute to attracting more mid-range U.S. and international travelers in the coming years.” said a spokesperson for Mabrian.
Caribbean destinations no longer attract American travelers (at least not as before)
According to the Caribbean Tourism Association (CTO), the United States accounts for more than 16.3 million tourists out of the 32.2 million visiting the region, with a growing trend of 12.7% year over year.
Despite these figures, interest in popular destinations such as Jamaica and the Bahamas has declined, with search volumes down more than 17% and 20% respectively compared to winter 2023.
