EUROPE. Recovery in flight bookings to London is lagging behind other leading European cities, according to joint research by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and travel analyst ForwardKeys. The key reasons, they said, are border restrictions and UK quarantine regulations, which have “choked travel”.
In the first half of June 2019, London was the most heavily booked city in Europe for any date of arrival, followed by Paris and Rome. In 2020, the UK capital has fallen to the bottom of the top ten rankings in the region.
While Europe has begun to relax travel restrictions and bookings have begun to pick up, those for London have languished, the report noted. The UK government is now preparing to announce ‘travel corridors’ to popular European summer hotspots such as France, Germany, Greece, Turkey and Italy.
Lisbon has soared to the top of the list of most booked European cities during the first half of June, after sitting in ninth place in 2019. Portugal has been one of the first countries to establish enhanced hygiene and safety protocols to welcome tourists and has one of the top testing rates to control transmission.
According to ForwardKeys, new tickets issued for future international travel to the European Union (EU) dropped by -84.4% in the first half of June compared to the same period in 2019, recovering from a -94.5% overall decline in May.
“It’s alarming to see London, which is Europe’s most popular capital to visit, falling from top spot to tenth place in the ranking of most booked European cities during the first half of June”
Bookings to the UK plunged by -96.7% in the first half of June, almost unchanged from the -97.2% collapse in May.
New flight bookings for all international future departures from the EU slumped by -80.2% in the first half of June 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, recovering from a -92.3% decline in May. By comparison, bookings from London only recovered to an -89.8% year-on-year decline during the first half of June, compared to a -94% decline in May.
WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara said: “Travel restrictions and quarantines have continued to quash air travel and strangle demand for travel to and from London, causing it to fall to the bottom of the league for top ten most booked European cities, according to latest flight bookings.
“However, analysis by ForwardKeys clearly shows demand for flights to and from Europe has begun to recover, thanks in part to a relaxation of travel restrictions which has fuelled the recovery in the travel & tourism sector.
“We eagerly await the UK government’s announcement it will finally allow travellers to make plans for the summer and visit destinations across the whole of Europe and allow the UK travel & tourism sector to kick-off its much needed recovery.
“The success of the popular holiday destination of Portugal in attracting visitors follows the government’s implementation of a number of enhanced health and safety measures. These are, in line with our global protocols, designed to restart this important sector and ensure safe travel. We are delighted to recognise these efforts through the WTTC Safe Travels stamp.”
ForwardKeys CEO Olivier Jager said: “It’s alarming to see London, which is Europe’s most popular capital to visit, falling from top spot to tenth place in the ranking of most booked European cities during the first half of June.
“The UK’s tough new quarantine regulations are almost certainly responsible; and that conclusion is further reinforced by the difference between inbound and outbound bookings. ForwardKeys research clearly shows that European air travel has begun to rebound with a slow but steady rise in bookings, compared to the same period last year.”
He added: “Our ticketing data shows that while volumes are still low, having fallen across the EU by nearly -84% compared to the same period in 2019, the numbers are beginning to improve. However, new tickets for future arrivals into the UK are still a staggering -97% down compared to the same ticketing period last year.”
Last year, the UK attracted more than 40 million overseas visitors. WTTC and ForwardKeys warned of a “devastating effect on the travel & tourism sector” if the UK government does not remove barriers such as quarantine and establish ‘air corridors’ with other states.
