British flight bookings to Spain triple those of nearest competitor Italy

Flight bookings to Spain by British holidaymakers are reportedly three times that of Italy, its nearest competitor

According to the Turespaña Trend Report, flight bookings to Spain made by British holidaymakers for this summer, are triple the volume booked to Italy, which is Spain’s nearest rival. Turespaña is the official National Tourist Organisation for Spain.

Even with this news, levels have still not reached those of 2019, pre-pandemic. Currently, Turespaña reports that the sale of airline seats to Spain is down by 6.9 per cent compared to 2019. In comparison, Greece shows a 24.1 per cent increase on 2019, while Turkey has 33.8 per cent more. Portugal also has an increase of 0.3 per cent.

As the report highlights, these figures have been observed in recent years, with flight seat sales to any country easily influenced by the commitment of major tour operators like TUI, to certain destinations. This could be especially true in the case of Turkey and Egypt, both of whom have seen unrest in recent years.

Sales can also be affected by the subsequent recovery of such markets, whose clients might have chosen to travel to Spain as a result of uncertainty in travelling to these other countries. A sudden turnaround in the popularity of countries can occur when the original regular clients decide it is safe to return to them.

Spain shows a clear domination in Google searches relating to accommodation this summer says the report. Almost 25 per cent of searches were for Spain, while its main competitors are below 10 per cent.

Turespaña explains this clear online dominance of the accommodation market is down to the number of budget airlines available to British holidaymakers. These reportedly account for more than half of the capacity offered to Spain, so that a significant percentage of British tourists turn to other means to book their accommodation.

Highlighted by the Turespaña document is the fact that this big upturn in online searches coincided with March 18, when the remaining Covid restrictions in Spain were lifted. The conclusion is that Spain is without a doubt the preferred destination for Brits, although there is serious competition in the pipeline from Greece and Turkey, as reported by 101.tv on Sunday, April 24.

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