UK travellers to spend billions this summer
Brits are set to splash out a whopping £4 billion on trips to 'green light' destinations this summer, new analysis has revealed
While many holidaymakers missed out on a summer break abroad last year, new data suggests more than 3.2 million Brits will jet off this year to the countries set out in the Government's ‘green list’, which are open to travellers from today.
The prediction comes based off analysis by travel health experts Practio, who analysed 10 years of historic Office for National Statistics data, looking at every single trip made out of the country by UK citizens. Researchers at Practio have been able to forecast the holiday destinations set to benefit the most from Britain’s express vaccine rollout.
The data predicted the amount Brits were due to spend in green light countries Israel, Australia, Gibraltar, New Zealand, Portugal and Iceland as £3 billion; but with holidays mostly cancelled in 2020, the pent-up demand means that number could be significantly higher.
Portugal to benefit the most
Portugal looks set to benefit the most from the lift in restrictions as the popular sun-spot is not subject to the same quarantine rules as other countries for UK travellers. Practico estimates it is set to rake in £2 billion from British travellers alone this year, with £706 spent, on average, per visit.
Commenting on the research, Dr Jonas Nilsen, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Practio said: “We wanted to pull this exhaustive research together to understand UK travel trends over the past ten years, but also to give us an idea of what this means for travel in the future. Travel was mostly out of the question in 2020 and many of us are hoping for its return in 2021. By predicting future trends, we can better equip travellers and businesses that thrive off tourism by helping them to prepare for what's to come and how they can make the most of Brits’ travel habits.
“It’s also been great to see some of the emerging trends and how travel is changing; we’re seeing the go-to destinations start to change with more money being spent in countries further afield, which should be a good sign for the future of the travel industry beyond the pandemic.”