By Frances Cha
(CNN) — One country’s dusty backyard is another country’s dream vacation, according to Google’s 2013 year-in-review list.
Published Tuesday, the Zeitgeist charts reveal the hottest travel destinations by country.
The data is divided into two kinds of lists. The first reflects the “trending” destinations — those that show the greatest growth in searches when compared to last year — while the second shows rankings of topics with the largest total search volumes.
Google is the world’s most popular search engine, with 71% of the global search engine market share.
The roundup yielded some surprising results — Macau was the most searched destination in India this year, for example.
In Australia the top destination was Disneyland, despite the fact that the closest Magical Kingdom is an ocean away in Hong Kong.
London topped the destination searches in the United Arab Emirates, while those in the UK were planning trips to Rome and New York.
Zeitgeist also analyzed the top destination wedding and honeymoon searches coming from the United States.
American couples wanted to head to the warm waters of Mexico, Bahamas and Kauai for their weddings, while New Zealand topped their honeymoon searches. Croatia rounded out the top 10 honeymoon list.
True value
“This info is gold if you want to really know what the local hotspots are,” says Google spokesperson Joyce Hau.
“For instance, what island destination is the most popular amongst Thais in Thailand? Hint: it’s not Koh Samui.”
It’s actually Koh Larn.
Despite having only a 3% market share in China, Google’s study also looked at search queries there. Hangzhou and Suzhou were declared of greatest interest to travelers.
China will soon become the world’s largest domestic travel market and account for 40% of all outbound Asian travelers according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group.
Highlights for the most searched destinations around the world are below. You can see the full lists at Google Zeitgeist.
Most searched destinations
Australia (search volume) 1. Disneyland 2. Dubai 3. China 4. London 5. Malaysia 6. Koh Samui 7. Phuket 8. Cambodia 9. Antarctica 10. Mecca
India (search volume) 1. Macau 2. Maldives 3. Mauritius 4. Bali 5. Boston 6. Dubai 7. Amsterdam 8. Singapore 9. Bangkok 10. Philippines
New Zealand (search volume) 1. Australia 2. Fiji 3. Vanuatu 4. Sydney 5. Bali 6. Mexico 7. Brisbane 8. Vietnam 9. New Caledonia 10. London
United Arab Emirates (search volume) 1. London 2. Singapore 3. Madrid 4. Barcelona 5. Thailand 6. Doha 7. Beirut 8. Sydney 9. Cannes 10. Paris
United Kingdom (trending) 1. Rome 2. New York 3. Amsterdam 4. Palma 5. Magaluf 6. Bangkok 7. Sydney 8. Bruges 9. Venice 10. Mauritius
China (search volume) 1. Hangzhou 2. Suzhou 3. Jiuzhaigou 4. Wuzhen 5. Beijing 6. Yunnan 7. Tibet 8. Hong Kong 9. Shanghai 10. Taiwan
U.S. searches for destination wedding locations (trending)
1. Mexico 2. Bahamas 3. Kauai 4. Caribbean 5. Jamaica 6. Italy 7. Las Vegas 8. Florida 9. Costa Rica 10. Bermuda
U.S. searches for honeymoon locations (trending)
1. New Zealand 2. Cancún 3. Maldives 4. Bali 5. Thailand 6. Belize 7. St Lucia 8. Tahiti 9. Caribbean 10. Croatia
Top domestic travel destination searches, by search volume
Japan (top Japanese destinations by Japanese users) 1. Disneyland 2. Universal Studios Japan 3. Tokyo DisneySea 4. Sky Tree 5. Isejingu (Ise Shrine) 6. Tokyo Dome 7. Fujikyuu Highland 8. Huis Ten Bosch 9. Izumo Taisha 10. Ooedo Hot Springs
Malaysia 1. Genting Highlands 2. Langkawi 3. Gold Coast Morib 4. Pulau Perhentian 5. Penang 6. Pulau Tioman 7. Port Dickson 8. Melaka 9. Kuching 10. Pulau Redang
Philippines 1. Sky Ranch Tagaytay 2. Movenpick Resort Cebu 3. Tubbataha Reef 4. Pico de Loro 5. Tugawe Cove Resort 6. Potipot Island 7. Amana Waterpark 8. Misibis Bay 9. Nuvali 10. Laiya resorts
Taiwan 1. Kenting 2. National Palace Museum 3. Wuling Farm 4. Yushan 5. Gongyuan 6. Lamay Island 7. Chateau in the Air, Miaoli 8. Jiufen 9. Huashan 10. Alishan
Thailand 1. Lahn Island 2. Asiatique 3. Siam Park 4. Chang Island 5. Accommodation in Hua Hin 6. Samed Island 7. Dream World Theme Park 8. Pattaya 9. Korea 10. Chiang Rai
The-CNN-Wire
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