Spain Sees Holiday Bookings Surge As Brits Seek To Escape Cost Of Living Blues
Spain News
Published: 09 January 2023 15:07 CET
Spain has seen a surge in holiday bookings from Brits looking to escape the cost of living crisis.
The first Saturday of the New Year is dubbed ‘Sunshine Saturday’ as traditionally it is the most popular day of the year for British holidaymakers to book their summer holidays.
Many UK travel agents reportedly experienced a 500 percent increase on Sunshine Saturday with Spain the number one choice for those looking to blow away the cobwebs of 2022 and put the financial crisis behind them.
Dame Irene Hays, chair and owner of the UK’s largest independent travel agent Hays, said: “Despite the cost-of-living challenges, the last thing people seem to want to give up is their annual holiday.
“We have seen an extremely busy start to the peak booking season and already have customers looking for last-minute sunshine, summer holidays, worldwide cruises and city breaks right across 2023, and even for two years ahead for Lapland adventures at Christmas in 2024.
“Remembering this time last year, when the Omicron variant restricted travel bookings for the first two weeks, we are feeling optimistic.”
Travel agents revealed that mainland Spain has been the most in-demand destination followed by Canary Island favourites of Tenerife and Lanzarote.
It is believed that around one in three bookings for Spain are for departures during the first three months of the year.
It follows a recent announcement by the Spanish government that the country’s tourist numbers were close to a full recovery with 4.3 million people visiting the country in November, representing 93 percent of the figures registered in 2019 prior to the Covid pandemic.
Of those visitors, a massive 19.1 percent of travellers were from the UK, once again proving that the British love affair with Spain as their destination of choice remains stronger than ever.
However, with Covid restrictions now lifted, and in their eagerness to find a bargain and cut costs, Brits have been warned by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to exercise caution when booking their holidays.
Michael Budge, head of Atol at the CAA, said: “This weekend, typically known as ‘Sunshine Saturday’, is traditionally the busiest time of the year for people booking their holidays.
“Holidays can be a significant financial outlay, especially in the current economic climate. Our research tells us that many consumers thought it was important to have a trip financially protected by Atol.
“Our top tips will help many people to stay financially secure and watch out for hidden costs.”
ABTA, the trade association for UK travel agents and tour operators said that their research performed at the end of 2022 showed that around 61 percent of Brits polled planned on booking a holiday abroad in 2023 with 31 percent saying they would book earlier than usual in an attempt to cut costs.
Those polled said that their top five holiday destinations in the New Year were Spain, the U.S, France, Italy, and Greece.
Source
https://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/1718541/summer-holidays-booking-cost-of-living-britons
https://newslanes.com/2023/01/08/surge-in-holiday-bookings-to-beat-cost-of-living-blues/
https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/hays-travel-reports-five-fold-increase-in-sunshine-saturday-bookings-37923
