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.
LUXURY
Luxury Islands Index 2.0: Maldives and St. Barths Lead
Published June 28, 2026 · Updated November 9, 2026
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
of answers named Maldives, the most-named (133 of 288)
tracked islands named at least once (of 28)
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
Maldives and St. Barths
61/288 (21.2%)
23/72 (31.9%)
2/288 (0.7%)
56/57 (98.2%)
20/56 (35.7%)
36/288 (12.5%)
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
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maldives | 133/288 | 46.2% | 40.5–52.0% |
| 2 | St. Barths | 102/288 | 35.4% | 30.1–41.1% |
| 3 | Seychelles | 90/288 | 31.3% | 26.2–36.8% |
| 4 | Turks and Caicos | 88/288 | 30.6% | 25.5–36.1% |
| 5 | Mykonos | 85/288 | 29.5% | 24.5–35.0% |
| 6 | Fiji | 72/288 | 25.0% | 20.4–30.3% |
| 7 | British Virgin Islands | 71/288 | 24.7% | 20.0–29.9% |
| 8 | Santorini | 71/288 | 24.7% | 20.0–29.9% |
| 9 | Sardinia | 64/288 | 22.2% | 17.8–27.4% |
| 10 | Capri | 62/288 | 21.5% | 17.2–26.6% |
| 11 | Ibiza | 58/288 | 20.1% | 15.9–25.1% |
| 12 | Bora Bora | 55/288 | 19.1% | 15.0–24.0% |
| 13 | Anguilla | 52/288 | 18.1% | 14.0–22.9% |
| 14 | Antigua | 48/288 | 16.7% | 12.8–21.4% |
| 15 | St. Lucia | 47/288 | 16.3% | 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.
| # | Island | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maldives | 133/288 | 46.2% | 40.5–52% | 2.3 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 2 | St. Barths | 102/288 | 35.4% | 30.1–41.1% | 3 | None | None |
| 3 | Seychelles | 90/288 | 31.3% | 26.2–36.8% | 3.6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 4 | Turks and Caicos | 88/288 | 30.6% | 25.5–36.1% | 3.6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 5 | Mykonos | 85/288 | 29.5% | 24.5–35% | 3 | None | None |
| 6 | Fiji | 72/288 | 25% | 20.4–30.3% | 3.9 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 7 | British Virgin Islands | 71/288 | 24.7% | 20–29.9% | 3.6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 8 | Santorini | 71/288 | 24.7% | 20–29.9% | 3.3 | None | None |
| 9 | Sardinia | 64/288 | 22.2% | 17.8–27.4% | 2.8 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 10 | Capri | 62/288 | 21.5% | 17.2–26.6% | 3.1 | None | None |
| 11 | Ibiza | 58/288 | 20.1% | 15.9–25.1% | 3.7 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 12 | Bora Bora | 55/288 | 19.1% | 15–24% | 2.7 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 13 | Anguilla | 52/288 | 18.1% | 14–22.9% | 3.7 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 14 | Antigua | 48/288 | 16.7% | 12.8–21.4% | 4.9 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 15 | St. Lucia | 47/288 | 16.3% | 12.5–21% | 4.3 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 16 | Bali | 46/288 | 16% | 12.2–20.6% | 4.6 | None | None |
| 17 | Mallorca | 44/288 | 15.3% | 11.6–19.9% | 4.4 | None | None |
| 18 | Mauritius | 42/288 | 14.6% | 11–19.1% | 5.1 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 19 | Necker Island | 42/288 | 14.6% | 11–19.1% | 3.3 | 0.7% (2/288) | 0.1% |
| 20 | Maui | 36/288 | 12.5% | 9.2–16.8% | 5.3 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 21 | Mustique | 36/288 | 12.5% | 9.2–16.8% | 3.3 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 22 | Barbados | 35/288 | 12.2% | 8.9–16.4% | 4.2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 23 | Sicily | 29/288 | 10.1% | 7.1–14.1% | 5.6 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 24 | Formentera | 21/288 | 7.3% | 4.8–10.9% | 5.5 | None | None |
| 25 | Lanai | 21/288 | 7.3% | 4.8–10.9% | 3.8 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 26 | Hvar | 19/288 | 6.6% | 4.3–10.1% | 6.3 | None | None |
| 27 | Corsica | 18/288 | 6.3% | 4–9.7% | 6.2 | None | None |
| 28 | Bermuda | 1/288 | 0.3% | 0.1–1.9% | 3 | 0% (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.
| Name | Named answers | Rate | 95% interval | Named first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aman | 49/288 | 17.0% | 13.1–21.8% | 8 |
| Belmond | 43/288 | 14.9% | 11.3–19.5% | 20 |
| Bulgari Hotels | 2/288 | 0.7% | 0.2–2.5% | 0 |
| COMO | 80/288 | 27.8% | 22.9–33.2% | 32 |
| Cheval Blanc | 49/288 | 17.0% | 13.1–21.8% | 10 |
| Eden Rock | 39/288 | 13.5% | 10.1–18.0% | 19 |
| Four Seasons | 115/288 | 39.9% | 34.4–45.7% | 43 |
| Mandarin Oriental | 17/288 | 5.9% | 3.7–9.2% | 8 |
| One&Only | 41/288 | 14.2% | 10.7–18.7% | 3 |
| Ritz-Carlton | 28/288 | 9.7% | 6.8–13.7% | 8 |
| Rosewood | 30/288 | 10.4% | 7.4–14.5% | 4 |
| Six Senses | 78/288 | 27.1% | 22.3–32.5% | 15 |
| Soneva | 64/288 | 22.2% | 17.8–27.4% | 34 |
| St. Regis | 47/288 | 16.3% | 12.5–21.0% | 1 |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maldives | 46.2% | 133/288 answers · 95% CI 40.5–52% | first-mention position: 2.3; owned-domain citation (1/288): 0.3%; citation share: 0% |
| 2 | St. Barths | 35.4% | 102/288 answers · 95% CI 30.1–41.1% | first-mention position: 3 |
| 3 | Seychelles | 31.3% | 90/288 answers · 95% CI 26.2–36.8% | first-mention position: 3.6; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0% |
| 4 | Turks and Caicos | 30.6% | 88/288 answers · 95% CI 25.5–36.1% | first-mention position: 3.6; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0% |
| 5 | Mykonos | 29.5% | 85/288 answers · 95% CI 24.5–35% | first-mention position: 3 |
| 6 | Fiji | 25.0% | 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% |
| 7 | British Virgin Islands | 24.7% | 71/288 answers · 95% CI 20–29.9% | first-mention position: 3.6; owned-domain citation (0/288): 0%; citation share: 0% |
| 8 | Santorini | 24.7% | 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
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
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
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 rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maldives | 43.9% | 1 |
| 2 | St. Barths | 35.5% | 2 |
| 3 | Seychelles | 29.9% | 3 |
| 4 | Turks and Caicos | 29.7% | 4 |
| 5 | Mykonos | 27.9% | 5 |
| 6 | British Virgin Islands | 25.9% | 7 |
| 7 | Fiji | 24.1% | 6 |
| 8 | Santorini | 23.8% | 8 |
| 9 | Sardinia | 20.6% | 9 |
| 10 | Capri | 20.1% | 10 |
Who each question surfaces first
Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.
| Question | Leader | Next | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q01 · 12 answers | Necker Island 100.0% | Seychelles 100.0%; British Virgin Islands 91.7% | AI Overview shown on 1 of 1 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | Maldives 100.0% | Seychelles 83.3%; St. Lucia 75.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | Santorini 100.0% | Mykonos 100.0%; Capri 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 0 of 0 searches |
| Q04 · 12 answers | St. Barths 100.0% | Necker Island 58.3%; Anguilla 50.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | Bora Bora 100.0% | Maldives 100.0%; Seychelles 91.7% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q06 · 12 answers | Maldives 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
Google AI Overviews · share of 56 overviews
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,527 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 155 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unclassified | 1,728 (68.4%) | 95 (61.3%) |
| General news / business press | 367 (14.5%) | 8 (5.2%) |
| Company / brand sites | 126 (5%) | 4 (2.6%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 110 (4.4%) | 4 (2.6%) |
| Directories / rankings | 90 (3.6%) | 5 (3.2%) |
| Reference | 47 (1.9%) | 0 (0%) |
| Community / social | 39 (1.5%) | 39 (25.2%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 16 (0.6%) | 0 (0%) |
| Research / data providers | 3 (0.1%) | 0 (0%) |
| Official / government | 1 (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.
| Step | What 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.
| Engine | Model IDs called | Asked | Returned | Grounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-mini | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-5-5 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.6-flash | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Perplexity | sonar-pro | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Google AI Overviews | DataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced) | 57 | 56 shown | 56 |
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.
| # | Question | Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | What are the most exclusive island destinations in the world? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 02 | What are the best luxury islands to visit in 2026? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 03 | What are the best Mediterranean islands for luxury travel? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 04 | What is the most exclusive Caribbean island for a winter holiday? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 05 | What are the best islands for a luxury honeymoon? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 06 | What are the best private-island wellness retreats? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 07 | What are the best superyacht destinations in the Mediterranean? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 08 | Which island has the best luxury beach clubs? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 09 | What is the most private Caribbean island? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 10 | Where can I go for a quiet luxury week on an island? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 11 | Which islands have the best Forbes Five-Star resorts? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 12 | Where do celebrities vacation over the December holidays? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 13 | What are the best islands in the Indian Ocean for luxury travel? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 14 | What are the best luxury islands in the South Pacific? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 15 | What are the most romantic islands for a honeymoon in Europe? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 16 | Which islands have the best overwater villas? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 17 | What are the best Greek islands for a luxury trip? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 18 | What are the best Italian islands for a luxury holiday? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 19 | Which Caribbean islands have the best luxury villas? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 20 | What are the best islands for a yacht charter in the Caribbean? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 21 | Which islands have the best nightlife for affluent travelers? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 22 | Which islands have the best wellness and spa resorts? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 23 | What are the best islands for a luxury family vacation? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 24 | Which islands are best for a luxury trip in summer? | Luxury Islands Index 2.0 | Added question |
About 5W
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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