The most in-demand destinations of 2018, according to Google

Football was the driving force behind this year’s most-searched-for travel destinations, according to Google’s end of year report.

Moscow, which hosted the World Cup Final in July, experienced the largest surge in the number of flight searches compared with last year, handing the Russian city number one spot in the tech giant’s “top-trending flight destinations” ranking. England’s success in Russia 2018 led many to believe a spot in the final was all-but guaranteed and clamoured for last-minute flights to the city - only for Croatia to knock the Three Lions out in the semi-final.

Second place in the ranking that charts destinations that had “high spikes of traffic over a sustained period in 2018 as compared to 2017” went to Kiev.

The Ukrainian capital’s second place was, according to Google, due to the launch of new direct flights from Ryanair, but it is perhaps more likely thanks to a mad dash for flights from the red half of Liverpool ahead of the Champions League Final in May. Scores of Liverpool fans ended up flying the most creative routes to reach Kiev after normal scheduled services sold out, including travelling via countries such as Sweden and Lithuania.

Kiev does have some clout as a destination in itself, offering Unesco-protected churches, an atmospheric old town and day trips to Chernobyl.

In third place was Tenerife, to which Google credited the growing popularity of the Canary Island with British holidaymakers. Its neighbour Gran Canaria ranked fifth, behind fourth place Seville.

Dalaman, Turkey, gives hope to the country’s recovery from a period of instability with its seventh place, while Sri Lanka (eighth) and Pakistan (10th) show a British appetite for more exotic climes.

The top-trending flight searches for 2018

1. Moscow

2. Kiev

3. Tenerife

4. Seville

5. Gran Canaria

6. Geneva

7. Dalaman

8. Sri Lanka

9. Larnaca

10. Pakistan

While this top 10 was the product of searches alongside the words “flights”, Google also revealed to Telegraph Travel the 10 “top trending” destinations Googled alongside “city break”.

The resulting ranking certainly offered fewer surprises - and football. Paris took top spot, followed by Amsterdam and Barcelona.

The top-trending city break destinations for 2018

1. Paris

2. Amsterdam

3. Barcelona

4. Dublin

5. Prague

6. London

7. Venice

8. Krakow

9. Italy

10. Berlin

The travel data was released as part of Google’s 2018 Year in Search, which highlighted the World Cup, Meghan Markle and the Royal Wedding as 2018’s most searched for stories.

Other popular queries included “what is GDPR” and “what is bitcoin”.

“The 2018 Year in Search lists give us an insight into the things that captured the nation’s attention over the past 12 months - from major moments in news, sports and entertainment, through to the the latest dance craze,” said Kirstin Wright, a Google Search Trends expert.

“Twenty years after its launch, Google Search continues to evolve as people look for information in new and different ways, but our focus remains the same - to make the world’s information accessible and useful to everyone.”