Searches for package holidays to Spain this summer have increased by 52 per cent, Greece by 51 per cent and Portugal by 38 per cent in the past fortnight on the back of news that European tourism is reopening and quarantine-free air bridges can be established.
There have been 40 per cent more price comparison searches for July, August and September holidays in the past two weeks. That’s according to searches on holiday price comparison site TravelSupermarket from May 16 to 30 compared with the previous fortnight, for package holidays overseas departing between July 1 and October 31 this year.
Portugal has gone up two places in the search rankings in the past fortnight, compared with the start of May, to become the fifth most popular summer holiday search option for Britons.
Searches for package holidays to Spain this summer have increased by 52 per cent, Greece by 51 per cent and Portugal by 38 per cent, says TravelSupermarket
This uptake in searches for Portuguese holidays is on the back of of the country’s announcement that it is hoping to welcome holidaymakers including Britons as soon as possible and will not quarantine them.
Greece has also been one of the first countries in Europe to say it wants to welcome back international holidaymakers – international flights will be operating to its two largest mainland airports from mid-June.
Similarly, Spain has been outlining in the past two weeks its desire for tourists to return in July and for the summer season to be salvaged.
According to TravelSupermarket, as Britons look to get away when lockdown restrictions are lifted, the country of choice to visit before the end of October is Spain.
In second place is Greece followed by the United States, Turkey and Portugal.
When it comes to more specific destinations, the top ten most-searched-for places by Britons in the past fortnight for a holiday to depart between July 1 and October 30, 2020, are Las Vegas (first), Tenerife (second), the Maldives (third), the Costa Blanca (fourth), Dubai (fifth), Orlando (sixth), Canary Islands (seventh), Majorca (eighth), Amsterdam (ninth) and Crete (10th).
An uptake in searches for Portuguese holidays is on the back of of the country’s announcement that it is hoping to welcome holidaymakers including Britons as soon as possible and will not quarantine them. Pictured is a beach in the Algarve
TravelSupermarket points out that searches for package holidays to Crete have shot up by 73 per cent in the past two weeks – it was in 19th place.
The website says this comes as many airlines and holiday companies say they will resume flights to the Greek Islands from the beginning of July.
Package holiday price enquiries to Tenerife have increased by 36 per cent and to the Costa Blanca by 46 per cent, taking holidays to resorts including Benidorm from seventh to fourth most popular with Britons.
Emma Coulthurst, travel commentator from TravelSupermarket, said: ‘There are more people searching for a holiday now for this summer than there were at the beginning of May. Talk of air bridges and countries opening up to tourism appears to be getting people searching and comparing holiday prices.
TravelSupermarket says that package holiday price enquiries to the Costa Blanca, pictured, have increased by 46 per cent
‘Holiday prices have also been creeping down in the past fortnight and there are some good prices on offer. However, the reality is that we don’t yet know when Brits will be able to travel again.
‘The Foreign and Commonwealth Office indefinite advice against anything but essential travel remains in place and there is no indication of when this will be lifted. It is wait and see as to which countries will let Britons travel there and when – and when the UK Government will allow Brits to travel overseas for holidays again. The UK 14 day quarantine is also set to come in on Monday (June 8) and to be reviewed in the last week of June.
‘Despite the increase in people searching for holidays for this summer in the past week, people are clicking through from our site and booking with travel companies for next summer, more than they are for this summer. There needs to be more certainty before people are willing to take the plunge on this summer more than next.’
HOLIDAY SEARCHES IN THE PAST FORTNIGHT FOR ANY FUTURE DEPARTURE DATE
TravelSupermarket also looked at the most popular holiday searches for all dates in the future, not just this summer.
The most-searched-for destination between May 16 and 30 was the Maldives, followed by Las Vegas and Orlando.
Tenerife was in fourth place, New York fifth and Cancun was sixth. The Costa Blanca came seventh with the Canary Islands eighth, Dubai ninth and Amsterdam 10th.
The rest of the top 20 most-popular searches in the past fortnight were Lanzarote (11th), Ibiza (12th), Majorca (13th), Dominican Republic (14th), Bali (15th), Barbados (16th), Cape Verde (17th), Jamaica (18th), Hawaii (19th) and The Algarve (20th).
The most-searched-for destination for all departures in the future between May 16 and 30 was the Maldives, pictured
Island escapes seem particularly popular as 11 of the top 20 most popular searches are to islands.
TravelSupermarket says that Ibiza has seen the biggest jump in search interest in the past two weeks, up 85 per cent, taking it from the 22nd to the 11th most-searched destination for a future holiday from the UK.
The website points out that the Balearic Islands, as a whole, have seen a 55 per cent increase in clicks in the past fortnight.
There has been a 48 per cent increase in searches to Portugal, taking it from 13th to the eighth most-searched country for holidays from the UK in the space of a fortnight and there has been a 45 per cent increase in holiday prices searches to Greece.
Spain has seen a 43 per cent increase in holiday price searches as has Italy, says TravelSupermarket.
Other destinations that have seen a significant uplift in searches in the past fortnight are Crete (68 per cent), the Costa del Sol (63 per cent), Tenerife (46 per cent), Lanzarote (44 per cent), Rhodes (44 per cent), Goa (40 per cent), the Algarve (38 per cent), Santorini (37 per cent) and Cancun (36 per cent).
The most popular country on British holidaymakers’ wishlists to visit after lockdown is Spain (No1), followed by the U.S, Greece, the Maldives and Turkey.
The rest of the top 10 comprises Mexico (sixth), Italy (seventh), Portugal (eighth), Cyprus (ninth) and the United Arab Emirates (10th).
THE MOST POPULAR MONTHS FOR A HOLIDAY
When looking at all holiday searches in May on TravelSupermarket, the price comparison website says that October 2020 is the most popular departure month. It is followed by September 2020, December 2020 and May 2021.
Data shows that the most popular destinations to search for an October 2020 holiday are the Canary Islands, Las Vegas, Dubai, the Costa Blanca and New York.
Las Vegas, pictured, is one of the most popular destinations for searches for a holiday for October 2020
The most popular destinations that Britons are comparing prices for in September are the Costa Blanca, Tenerife, Crete, Dubai and Las Vegas.
For December, the wish list is headed up by New York, followed by Tenerife, Lanzarote, the Maldives and Dubai.
For May 2021, British holidaymakers are looking and booking ahead for holidays to Orlando, followed by Majorca, the Maldives, the Balearic Islands and the Costa Blanca.
For departures being looked at for this July and August, the most price comparison searches are for the Canary and Balearic Islands and the resorts in and around Antalya in Turkey.
Other price comparison sites are available.