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LUXURY

Luxury Islands Index 2.0: Maldives and St. Barths Lead

Published June 28, 2026 · Updated November 9, 2026

Maldives and St. Barths lead this measured set. Maldives: 133/288 (46.2%; 95% interval 40.5–52.0%). St. Barths: 102/288 (35.4%; 95% interval 30.1–41.1%). Their 95% intervals overlap; neither can be called the sole leader.

288

AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity

46.2%

of answers named Maldives, the most-named (133 of 288)

28

tracked islands named at least once (of 28)

98.2%

of Google searches showed an AI Overview (56 of 57)

Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published August 15, 2026. It uses measured counts, so the two versions are not comparable. Version 2 asks 24 questions three times each on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity (288 answers) and adds Google AI Overviews. Every rate comes with its count and a 95% interval.

What the data shows

01

Maldives and St. Barths

Maldives and St. Barths lead this measured set. Maldives: 133/288 (46.2%; 95% interval 40.5–52.0%). St. Barths: 102/288 (35.4%; 95% interval 30.1–41.1%). Their 95% intervals overlap; neither can be called the sole leader.
02

61/288 (21.2%)

Maldives was the first island named in 61 of 288 answers, more than any other tracked island. Its average first position was 2.3.
03

23/72 (31.9%)

Claude named Antigua in 23 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 5 to 12 of 72.
04

2/288 (0.7%)

Fiji and Necker Island had their own sites cited most, each in 2 of 288 grounded answers. Maldives and Mustique followed at 1 of 288 each. 15 of 28 tracked islands had 0 of 288, and 9 had no tracked own site.
05

56/57 (98.2%)

Google AI Overviews appeared on 56 of 57 searches (CI 90.7–99.7%). On the other search, no overview was shown.
06

20/56 (35.7%)

St. Barths was the island named most often in AI Overviews, at 20 of 56, followed by Maldives at 18 of 56 (32.1%). In the four-engine set, St. Barths was named in 102 of 288 answers (35.4%).
07

36/288 (12.5%)

cntraveler.com was cited in 36 of 288 grounded four-engine answers, with 48 of 2,527 citations (1.9%). forbes.com came second with 43 citations in 39 answers (13.5%).

Appearance rate across 288 four-engine answers. The bar is the 95% confidence interval; overlapping bars cannot be told apart at this sample size.

Which brands AI engines name

Maldives
46.2%
St. Barths
35.4%
Seychelles
31.3%
Turks and Caicos
30.6%
Mykonos
29.5%
Fiji
25.0%
British Virgin Islands
24.7%
Santorini
24.7%
Sardinia
22.2%
Capri
21.5%
Ibiza
20.1%
Bora Bora
19.1%
Anguilla
18.1%
Antigua
16.7%
St. Lucia
16.3%
#NameNamed inAppearance rate95% interval
1Maldives133/28846.2%40.5–52.0%
2St. Barths102/28835.4%30.1–41.1%
3Seychelles90/28831.3%26.2–36.8%
4Turks and Caicos88/28830.6%25.5–36.1%
5Mykonos85/28829.5%24.5–35.0%
6Fiji72/28825.0%20.4–30.3%
7British Virgin Islands71/28824.7%20.0–29.9%
8Santorini71/28824.7%20.0–29.9%
9Sardinia64/28822.2%17.8–27.4%
10Capri62/28821.5%17.2–26.6%
11Ibiza58/28820.1%15.9–25.1%
12Bora Bora55/28819.1%15.0–24.0%
13Anguilla52/28818.1%14.0–22.9%
14Antigua48/28816.7%12.8–21.4%
15St. Lucia47/28816.3%12.5–21.0%

The full list

Own-domain citation is the share of 288 grounded answers that cited the tracked name's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,527 citations. None means no own site is tracked for that name.

#IslandNamed inAppearance rate95% intervalFirst mentionOwn-domain citationCitation share
1Maldives133/28846.2%40.5–52%2.30.3% (1/288)0%
2St. Barths102/28835.4%30.1–41.1%3NoneNone
3Seychelles90/28831.3%26.2–36.8%3.60% (0/288)0%
4Turks and Caicos88/28830.6%25.5–36.1%3.60% (0/288)0%
5Mykonos85/28829.5%24.5–35%3NoneNone
6Fiji72/28825%20.4–30.3%3.90.7% (2/288)0.1%
7British Virgin Islands71/28824.7%20–29.9%3.60% (0/288)0%
8Santorini71/28824.7%20–29.9%3.3NoneNone
9Sardinia64/28822.2%17.8–27.4%2.80% (0/288)0%
10Capri62/28821.5%17.2–26.6%3.1NoneNone
11Ibiza58/28820.1%15.9–25.1%3.70% (0/288)0%
12Bora Bora55/28819.1%15–24%2.70% (0/288)0%
13Anguilla52/28818.1%14–22.9%3.70% (0/288)0%
14Antigua48/28816.7%12.8–21.4%4.90% (0/288)0%
15St. Lucia47/28816.3%12.5–21%4.30% (0/288)0%
16Bali46/28816%12.2–20.6%4.6NoneNone
17Mallorca44/28815.3%11.6–19.9%4.4NoneNone
18Mauritius42/28814.6%11–19.1%5.10% (0/288)0%
19Necker Island42/28814.6%11–19.1%3.30.7% (2/288)0.1%
20Maui36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%5.30% (0/288)0%
21Mustique36/28812.5%9.2–16.8%3.30.3% (1/288)0%
22Barbados35/28812.2%8.9–16.4%4.20% (0/288)0%
23Sicily29/28810.1%7.1–14.1%5.60% (0/288)0%
24Formentera21/2887.3%4.8–10.9%5.5NoneNone
25Lanai21/2887.3%4.8–10.9%3.80% (0/288)0%
26Hvar19/2886.6%4.3–10.1%6.3NoneNone
27Corsica18/2886.3%4–9.7%6.2NoneNone
28Bermuda1/2880.3%0.1–1.9%30% (0/288)0%

Separate table: resort brands from the earlier edition (not ranked)

Names the earlier edition tracked, counted in the same 288 answers but not ranked against the main list. Listed alphabetically; no own-domain figure.

NameNamed answersRate95% intervalNamed first
Aman49/28817.0%13.1–21.8%8
Belmond43/28814.9%11.3–19.5%20
Bulgari Hotels2/2880.7%0.2–2.5%0
COMO80/28827.8%22.9–33.2%32
Cheval Blanc49/28817.0%13.1–21.8%10
Eden Rock39/28813.5%10.1–18.0%19
Four Seasons115/28839.9%34.4–45.7%43
Mandarin Oriental17/2885.9%3.7–9.2%8
One&Only41/28814.2%10.7–18.7%3
Ritz-Carlton28/2889.7%6.8–13.7%8
Rosewood30/28810.4%7.4–14.5%4
Six Senses78/28827.1%22.3–32.5%15
Soneva64/28822.2%17.8–27.4%34
St. Regis47/28816.3%12.5–21.0%1

The top eight, side by side

#NameAppearance rateAnswers and intervalOther measures
1Maldives46.2%133/288 answers · 95% CI 40.5–52%first-mention position: 2.3; owned-domain citation (1/288): 0.3%; citation share: 0%
2St. Barths35.4%102/288 answers · 95% CI 30.1–41.1%first-mention position: 3
3Seychelles31.3%90/288 answers · 95% CI 26.2–36.8%first-mention position: 3.6; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%
4Turks and Caicos30.6%88/288 answers · 95% CI 25.5–36.1%first-mention position: 3.6; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%
5Mykonos29.5%85/288 answers · 95% CI 24.5–35%first-mention position: 3
6Fiji25.0%72/288 answers · 95% CI 20.4–30.3%first-mention position: 3.9; owned-domain citation (2/288): 0.7%; citation share: 0.1%
7British Virgin Islands24.7%71/288 answers · 95% CI 20–29.9%first-mention position: 3.6; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0%
8Santorini24.7%71/288 answers · 95% CI 20–29.9%first-mention position: 3.3

Claude named Antigua in 23 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 5 to 12 of 72.

ChatGPT

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Same questions, different answers

Maldives
48.6%
St. Barths
36.1%
Seychelles
34.7%
Mykonos
31.9%
Turks and Caicos
29.2%
Santorini
29.2%

Claude

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Maldives
45.8%
St. Barths
37.5%
Seychelles
34.7%
Turks and Caicos
33.3%
Mykonos
31.9%
Antigua
31.9%

Gemini

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Maldives
44.4%
St. Barths
37.5%
Turks and Caicos
34.7%
Fiji
29.2%
British Virgin Islands
26.4%
Mykonos
25.0%

Perplexity

72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded

Maldives
45.8%
Seychelles
33.3%
St. Barths
30.6%
Fiji
30.6%
British Virgin Islands
30.6%
Mykonos
29.2%

Google AI Overviews were captured through 57 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 56 = 344 answers.

The fifth engine

98%

Trigger rate: 56 of 57 searches

Google AI Overviews appeared on 56 of 57 searches (98.2%, CI 90.7–99.7%). The other search showed no overview. Within the 56 overviews, St. Barths was named in 20 (35.7%), Maldives was named in 18 (32.1%), British Virgin Islands was named in 18 (32.1%), Turks and Caicos was named in 14 (25%). instagram.com was the most-cited source, with 14 citations and an appearance in 12 of 56 overviews.

Five-engine rankNameFive-engine rateFour-engine rank
1Maldives43.9%1
2St. Barths35.5%2
3Seychelles29.9%3
4Turks and Caicos29.7%4
5Mykonos27.9%5
6British Virgin Islands25.9%7
7Fiji24.1%6
8Santorini23.8%8
9Sardinia20.6%9
10Capri20.1%10

Who each question surfaces first

Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.

QuestionLeaderNextAI Overview
Q01 · 12 answersNecker Island 100.0%Seychelles 100.0%; British Virgin Islands 91.7%AI Overview shown on 1 of 1 searches
Q02 · 12 answersMaldives 100.0%Seychelles 83.3%; St. Lucia 75.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q03 · 12 answersSantorini 100.0%Mykonos 100.0%; Capri 100.0%AI Overview shown on 0 of 0 searches
Q04 · 12 answersSt. Barths 100.0%Necker Island 58.3%; Anguilla 50.0%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q05 · 12 answersBora Bora 100.0%Maldives 100.0%; Seychelles 91.7%AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches
Q06 · 12 answersMaldives 100.0%Turks and Caicos 91.7%; Seychelles 91.7%AI Overview shown on 2 of 2 searches

The four engines produced 2,527 citations in total. cntraveler.com was cited most often, with 48 citations (1.9%) across 36 answers. Next came forbes.com (43), hauteliving.com (41), en.wikipedia.org (40), forbestravelguide.com (40), hauteretreats.com (32).

Four AI engines · share of 288 grounded answers

Most-cited domains

forbes.com
13.5%
hauteliving.com
13.2%
cntraveler.com
12.5%
en.wikipedia.org
11.5%
forbestravelguide.com
10.4%
theluxurytravelexpert.com
10.1%
travelandleisure.com
9.0%
hotelsforkings.com
8.7%
foresttravel.com
8.7%
jacadatravel.com
7.6%

Google AI Overviews · share of 56 overviews

instagram.com
21.4%
youtube.com
19.6%
facebook.com
16.1%
escape.news.com.au
5.4%
internovatravel.com
5.4%
lonelyplanet.com
5.4%
luxurytraveladvisor.com
5.4%
sovereign.com
5.4%
stbartsconciergerie.com
5.4%
tiktok.com
5.4%

Citation share by source type

Share of all citations by the type of site cited.

Source typeFour AI engines (of 2,527 citations)Google AI Overviews (of 155 citations)
Other / unclassified1,728 (68.4%)95 (61.3%)
General news / business press367 (14.5%)8 (5.2%)
Company / brand sites126 (5%)4 (2.6%)
Review / comparison publishers110 (4.4%)4 (2.6%)
Directories / rankings90 (3.6%)5 (3.2%)
Reference47 (1.9%)0 (0%)
Community / social39 (1.5%)39 (25.2%)
Trade / specialist press16 (0.6%)0 (0%)
Research / data providers3 (0.1%)0 (0%)
Official / government1 (0%)0 (0%)

How can brands improve their AI visibility?

These steps follow from the measured results above. They describe what the engines cited in this study and are not a guarantee of results.

StepWhat this study measured
Put your facts on your own domain.Fiji's own domains were cited in 0.7% of grounded answers, Maldives' in 0.3%.
Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite.The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were forbes.com (in 13.5% of grounded answers), hauteliving.com (13.2%), cntraveler.com (12.5%), en.wikipedia.org (11.5%) and forbestravelguide.com (10.4%). General news and business press supplied 14.5% of citations and review and comparison publishers 4.4%.
Check each engine separately.Claude named Antigua in 31.9% of answers against 6.9% on Perplexity. Claude named St. Lucia in 25.0% of answers against 5.6% on ChatGPT.
Do not ignore video and community sites.Community and social sites supplied 5.5% of Google AI Overview citations against 1.5% in the four chat engines. instagram.com was cited in 21.4% of overviews, youtube.com in 19.6% and facebook.com in 16.1%.
Watch names outside the tracked list.The Brando (27 answers), COMO Hotels and Resorts (20 answers), North Island (20 answers), Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (19 answers), Hawaii (18 answers) were named often but were not tracked.
Re-run the same questions every month.Compare counts and intervals, not ranks. The 24 questions are in the appendix.

What AI answers

Which islands lead these AI answers?

Maldives and St. Barths lead this measured set. Maldives: 133/288 (46.2%; 95% interval 40.5–52.0%). St. Barths: 102/288 (35.4%; 95% interval 30.1–41.1%). Their 95% intervals overlap; neither can be called the sole leader.

Which island is named first most often?

Maldives was the first island named in 61 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 2.3.

How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?

An overview appeared on 56 of 57 searches (98.2%, CI 90.7–99.7%). Within those 56 overviews, St. Barths was named most often, in 20 (35.7%).

Which sources do the engines cite?

Across 2,527 four-engine citations, cntraveler.com was cited most (48 citations, in 36 of 288 grounded answers), followed by forbes.com (43 citations).

Do the four engines agree?

Only in part. Claude named Antigua in 23 of 72 answers, against 5 to 12 of 72 on the other engines. Claude named St. Lucia in 18 of 72 answers, against 4 to 13 of 72 on the other engines.

How this study was measured

24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 57 Google searches · 56 AI Overviews

24 questions asked three times on each of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, measured November 3, 2026. United States, English; Google retrieval uses desktop results. Models: gpt-5-mini, claude-sonnet-5-5, gemini-3.6-flash only, sonar-pro. Google AI Overviews come from DataForSEO, not inferred chat answers. Appearance counts returned text, including ungrounded answers; citation rates use grounded answers. Longer overlapping names suppress shorter ones; First mention is the earliest eligible name order. Own-domain rates include declared domains and subdomains; shared parent scopes may count for multiple names and cannot be summed as unique citations.

EngineModel IDs calledAskedReturnedGrounded
ChatGPTgpt-5-mini727272
Claudeclaude-sonnet-5-5727272
Geminigemini-3.6-flash727272
Perplexitysonar-pro727272
Google AI OverviewsDataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced)5756 shown56

Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.

Definitions

  • Appearance rate: answers naming the tracked name ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
  • First mention: average order in which the tracked name first appears (1 = first).
  • Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the tracked name's domains ÷ grounded answers.
  • Citation share: citations to the tracked name's domains ÷ all citations.

Limits

  • Only 28 tracked islands are ranked; results are not an exhaustive market ranking.
  • Only the tracked islands were scored. Untracked names that appeared often were not scored, including The Brando (27 answers), COMO Hotels and Resorts (20 answers), North Island (20 answers), Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (19 answers), Hawaii (18 answers).
  • 345 of 360 planned results were returned. 15 AI Overview lookups were excluded after at most three total attempts.
  • 57 successful Google searches: 56 overviews shown; 1 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
  • All returned chat answers had search sources.
  • No Core question names a tracked name.
  • Names with no tracked own site are shown as None. Source types use Company / brand sites only for verified official organisations; other unresolved sites are Other / unclassified.
  • Wilson 95% intervals are descriptive; overlapping leading intervals do not establish a sole leader. Measurements do not endorse medical, legal, financial or product claims.
  • Islands from the earlier edition (its claimed core group of Mykonos, Ibiza, Sardinia, Capri, St. Barths and the Maldives) plus the other Mediterranean, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific islands the questions cover. The noun is island or destination, not brand. Own domains are official tourism sites where one exists; islands without a verified site show no own-domain figure. Resort brands named in the earlier edition (Aman, Rosewood, Four Seasons, Six Senses, One&Only, Cheval Blanc, Eden Rock) are not ranked against islands. The Maldives is an island country and Bali, Maui and Lanai are single islands; all are counted as one destination each. Names the earlier edition tracked (resort brands) are counted in a separate table that is not ranked against the main list; the main ranking and title stay on the main list. They have no own-domain figure.
  • Google Shopping links and unresolved google.com/goto redirect links are not counted as cited sources; original URLs remain in the evidence.
  • Answers were collected through each engine's API using the model IDs listed in the methodology. The consumer ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity apps can answer differently.

The 24 questions

Questions marked "Core question" are the original study questions, asked word for word. The others are added neutral questions.

#QuestionGroupSource
01What are the most exclusive island destinations in the world?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
02What are the best luxury islands to visit in 2026?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
03What are the best Mediterranean islands for luxury travel?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
04What is the most exclusive Caribbean island for a winter holiday?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
05What are the best islands for a luxury honeymoon?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
06What are the best private-island wellness retreats?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
07What are the best superyacht destinations in the Mediterranean?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
08Which island has the best luxury beach clubs?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
09What is the most private Caribbean island?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
10Where can I go for a quiet luxury week on an island?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
11Which islands have the best Forbes Five-Star resorts?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
12Where do celebrities vacation over the December holidays?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Core question
13What are the best islands in the Indian Ocean for luxury travel?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
14What are the best luxury islands in the South Pacific?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
15What are the most romantic islands for a honeymoon in Europe?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
16Which islands have the best overwater villas?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
17What are the best Greek islands for a luxury trip?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
18What are the best Italian islands for a luxury holiday?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
19Which Caribbean islands have the best luxury villas?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
20What are the best islands for a yacht charter in the Caribbean?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
21Which islands have the best nightlife for affluent travelers?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
22Which islands have the best wellness and spa resorts?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
23What are the best islands for a luxury family vacation?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question
24Which islands are best for a luxury trip in summer?Luxury Islands Index 2.0Added question

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5W is an independent PR, creative and GEO agency founded in 2003, and we get you in the chatbox. All of our work is done in house, including media relations, site building and content. Learn more about our GEO practice or write to info@5wpr.com.

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