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Recent reports from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) shows that flight bookings for UK outbound travel to popular summer destinations have bounced back. However, the prospect of inbound travel has failed to take off.
The WTTC data revealed a massive disparity between forward flight bookings between outbound and inbound UK travel. Tourists’ pent-up desire to travel is projected in the flight booking data for UK holiday makers, who seem to be flocking to family favourites, such as Turkey (up 53 per cent) and Greece (up 51 per cent) over the busy summer period, compared to pre-pandemic figures. Spain, a long-time summer favourite and the most popular destination overall for sun-seeking British travellers, is also performing well and ahead of pre-pandemic levels (up one per cent).
Meanwhile, bookings during the same period to the US, which was the 5th most popular destination for jet-setting Brits remain 10 per cent lower than before the pandemic.
The data shows that while inbound bookings for international arrivals are up by a staggering 1,453 per cent compared to 2021, when severe restrictions to travel were in place, bookings to date are still well below pre-pandemic levels - down 45 per cent versus 2019.
Julia Simpson, WTTC chief executive, said: “The massive imbalance between outbound and inbound UK international flight bookings is a worrying sign for the recovering tourism sector and the UK economy. As the pandemic recedes and international travel returns, it’s encouraging to see holidaymakers making the most of their new found freedom to travel safely.”
