In Brief - Google Destinations 2012

I know when I searched the internet for travel destinations last year they were predominantly in Spain and Italy.
Google's Zeitgeist 2012 reveals the most searched or trending destinations by country. I've picked 4 countries: UK, Spain, Netherlands and USA to see where they were searching for, though they do not follow exactly the same criteria necessarily.

Spain (trending)

1. Londres (London)
2. París
3. México
4. San Francisco
5. Barcelona
6. Turquía (Turkey)
7. Israel
8. Berlin
9. Los Ángeles
10. Madrid

United States (most searched International travel destinations)

1. Toronto
2. Paris
3. San Juan
4. Cancun
5. Vancouver
6. Rome
7. Montreal
8. Tokyo
9. St Thomas Island
10. San Jose del Cabo

United Kingdom (trending Destinations)

1. Rio de Janeiro
2. Greece
3. Brazil
4. Dubai
5. Paris
6. London
7. Bruges
8. Cornwall
9. Edinburgh
10. Barcelona

Netherlands (most searched destinations)


1. Italië (Italy)
2. Frankrijk (France)
3. Duitsland (Germany)
4. Spanje (Spain)
5. Griekenland (Greece)
6. Kroatië (Croatia)
7. Portugal
8. Oostenrijk (Austria)
9. Noorwegen (Norway)
10. Engeland (England)

I am surprised that London did not make the top 10 for the US searches particularly with the Olympics based in the city last year and equally surprised that Toronto came top. I would stick with the Olympic theme for suggesting that the reason Rio de Janeiro topped the British list is because it is the destination for the next Games.