February 10 2022  |  Industry News

ForwardKeys: UK flight bookings soar as tests removed

By Wendy Morley

As predicted, research firm ForwardKeys shows flight bookings to and from the UK have soared following the government’s announcement that COVID-19 testing would no longer be required for fully vaccinated travellers entering the UK.

Bookings jumped to 84% of pre-pandemic the day after the announcement by UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps on 24th January. Each relaxing of rules has triggered a spike in bookings.

UK Outbound Tourism

Outbound bookings instantly jumped 109%. The five destinations for which bookings recovered most strongly in January compared to 2019 were: 1. Mexico, +72%; 2. The Maldives +54%; 3. Greece +22%; 4. Cyprus +20%; 5. Barbados +16%.

ForwardKeys reports the return of typical seasonal patterns, with booking peaks showing for the forthcoming half-term break in February and the Easter holiday period. The extended holiday weekend to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee in early June is 13% up on 2019.

Bookings for the most popular destinations for half-term break are ahead of 2019, with Mexico +68%, Pakistan +60%, The Maldives +55%, Barbados +32%, Qatar +28%, Bangladesh +16%, The UAE +8% and Portugal +2%. Dominated by long-haul destinations, this list is made up of both popular beach holidays and Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) destinations.

Easter and summer holidays are relatively stronger than they are for the upcoming half-term break show even stronger bookings vs 2019, with half-term bookings are 33% behind, whereas Easter bookings are 29% behind and summer is 16% behind.

Currently, the top destinations for Easter are led by Cyprus, +68% compared to 2019, followed by Nigeria, +35%, Mexico, +28%, Greece, +26% and Spain, +5%.

UK Inbound Tourism

While outbound travel surged, inbound travel also picked up 47% overall.

The strongest inbound travel markets vs 2019 were Nigeria, +73%; Ireland, +47%; US, +47%; Brazil, +47%; Saudi Arabia, +45%, the UAE, +44%, South Africa, +40%, Spain, +40%, Kuwait, +37% and Sweden, +36%.

Olivier Ponti, VP of Insights at ForwardKeys, said: “’Chocks away!’, a term used by WW2 pilots to remove the blocks in front of their undercarriage so they could take off, is the ideal metaphor to describe what’s happening right now in the market for travel to and from the UK. By withdrawing the impediment of testing and the risk of quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers, flight bookings are surging ahead.”

“What I find particularly interesting is the continued dominance of classic sea and sun destinations,” he added “A clear sign that the pandemic is still very much with us is the absence of a revival in city tourism or travel to airports strongly associated with skiing. However, if we see Continental European countries relaxing their travel restrictions in the way the UK has just done, I expect to see a flood of holiday bookings that could exceed pre-pandemic levels, thanks to a release of the huge pent-up demand.”

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