The holiday destinations everyone is rushing to book post lockdown
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Travel is officially back on. According to the government’s four-step roadmap of easing lockdown measures, we could be given the green light to travel internationally again from 17 May at the earliest - but this will be subject to review.
In any case, we have our fingers firmly crossed that we’ll be abroad again by later this summer - and it seems a lot of people have the same idea, with many flocking to book stays in popular resorts of Marbella and Sorrento, as well as further flung destinations like Pakistan.
Following Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday 22 February, Skyscanner reported a 69% increase in bookings made on its site and Booking.com said it saw a spike in searches for destinations - both domestic and international - following the announcement too.
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“It’s clear this was the news travellers were waiting for as we saw an immediate increase in bookings on Skyscanner following the announcement from the Prime Minister on Monday,” Jon Thorne, traveller expert at Skyscanner said.
“We expect that over the next few weeks and months as details become clearer for what is needed to unlock overseas travel, we will see travellers continue to react positively. We know from our data and speaking to our customers that there has consistently been a lot of pent-up demand to get away, with many immediately looking to popular summer destinations such as Greece and Spain for summer breaks overseas.”
Ryan Pearson, regional manager at Booking.com added that there’s been a “real sense of optimism” since the roadmap was announced.
“In light of the vaccine rollout and with many of us eager to experience the world once again, there is no surprise that we are seeing an increase in bookings for domestic summer getaways in particular,” Pearson added.
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Read more: The UK destinations to book now for your summer holiday
So where are the people heading too?
We asked the experts at Booking.com and Skyscanner to reveal the most booked and searched-for international destinations since the announcement and the results of this data is below.
Spain
Booking.com has seen a spike in searches for Spanish hotspots, including Barcelona, Marbella and Malaga.
Pakistan
Skyscanner saw an increase in travellers looking to go to Pakistan later this year - it was in its top 10 most-booked destinations on Monday.
Greece
Flights to Greece in August can currently be found for just £75 on Skyscanner - these usually average £216 at this time of year.
India
India was also one of the most-booked destinations on Skyscanner this week as people vie to finally tick off those bucket list trips.
Turkey
Turkey flights are also currently at a low price for August on Skyscanner - £153 instead of the average £251.
Italy
Rome and Sorrento are two of the most searched-for destinations for this summer, Booking.com says.
Portugal
One of the cheapest options for a summer getaway - flights to Portugal are just £54 on Skyscanner at the moment for August compared to the usual going rate of £148.
Thailand
Many travellers are looking further abroad for their next trip it seems, as Thailand was featured in Skyscanner's top 10 most-booked destinations on Monday.
Croatia
Booking.com recorded an uptick in searches for Croatian summer havens, Dubrovnik and Split.
United States
Everyone’s keen to get back stateside it seems, as the US was another of Skyscanner's most-booked destinations after the announcement.
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