Flight trends May 2010: Top 20 flight destinations

With the ash cloud still casting a shadow over European airspace during the early part of last month, a major, (though short-lived) British heat wave, as well as Thailand's civil unrest dominating headlines, May has been an unsettled month for the UK travel industry. Cheap flights comparison site Skyscanner reports on the latest flight search trends.

Spain remained solid holding the top four spots with Malaga, Alicante, Palma and Tenerife. Faro in Portugal, Turkey's Dalaman and London remained steady in fifth, sixth and seventh positions. New York climbed a further one position to number eight, Ibiza entered into the top ten at number nine, and Dublin fell two spots to tenth.

Flights to Sydney saw the biggest rise in rankings, moving up nine places to position thirty-nine. As the summer approaches, the party island of Ibiza rose five places, as did Stockholm and Istanbul. The Turkish city has seen a significant boost this year due to its status as a European Capital of Culture 2010. Greece's largest island - Crete - also rose five positions to number thirty eight.

With a month of civil unrest in Thailand, it's no surprise that searches for flights to Bangkok dropped during May, signalling a loss of visitors to the country this summer. Sharm El Sheik also took a dive, falling seven places, possibly due to the strengthening Egyptian Pound which is eroding Egypt's reputation as a value destination. Spain's Gerona also took a hit, dropping seven places.

New to the Top 50 in May were Hungarian capital Budapest, Munich (which dropped out of the top 50 last month but has now returned) and Johannesburg, benefitting from the South Africa World Cup.

Germany city Hamburg disappeared from the Top 50, as did Turkey's Antalya and Los Angeles.

Barry Smith, Skyscanner Co-founder commented:

"It's taken a little while but we're now seeing the effects of Thailand's civil unrest hit the search rankings which will hurt what is an immensely popular tourist destination for British travellers. However, with the situation calming, we expect numbers to recover soon.

Top 20 destinations

1. Malaga (Spain) [0]
2. Alicante (Spain) [0]
3. Palma (Spain) [+1]
4. Tenerife (Spain) [-1]
5. Faro (Portugal) [0]
6. Dalaman (Turkey) [0]
7. London (UK) [0]
8. New York (USA) [+1]
9. Ibiza (Spain) [+5]
10. Dublin (Ireland) [-2]
11. Amsterdam (Netherlands) [-1]
12. Orlando (USA) [+3]
13. Barcelona (Spain) [-1]
14. Larnaca (Cyprus) [+2]
15. Paris (France) [+2]
16. Paphos (Cyprus) [-3]
17. Lanzarote (Spain) [+1]
18. Bangkok (Thailand) [-7]
19. Bodrum (Turkey) [0]
20. Murcia (Spain) [+2]