Portugal – only major European ‘sun and sand’ destination sees bookings soar
6521 Min Read
English tourists simply love their Mediterranean sun and sea Summer destinations, and there was little doubt that hundreds of thousands of travellers around the country were highly expecting the Government green list of destinations, allowing them to travel without the need to quarantine on their return.
While Maltese authorities were expecting to make it into the final list, the UK Government thought otherwise and Portugal became the only popular sun and sea destination for British tourists. This achievement worked wonders for the country’s tourism industry with daily booking volumes recorded by Skyscanner for flights to the Atlantic archipelago jumping by 625% during the first 24 hours after the announcement.
Demand for economy-class return flights from the UK, showed that planned travel to Gibraltar went up by 335%.
The other major choice was Israel, for which the daily booking volume was up by 290%. The green light for quarantine-free travel to the country with the world’s highest vaccination rate is also being seen as a lifeline for the airline industry.
Portugal seems to be now reaping the reward of strict restrictions which have proved highly effective in Portugal, which included a full lockdown earlier this year.
