Britons return to Spain: hotel bookings rebound in the last week of February after Johnson's announcement
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The spike in bookings in the last week of February has a clear culprit: Brits.
The recent announcement by the UK government on the dates of a de-escalation plan in the country has made many Britons bet on Spain as one of the main tourist destinations for their next summer vacations.
Spain will be able to receive flights from the UK again from next May 17, which is the main outbound market for Spain: in 2019, 18 million Britons arrived in Spain, a figure that plummeted in 2020 to 3 million.
According to reports Hostelturthe British have booked 12% more in the last week than last year, although for the moment it does not compensate for the fact that the rest of the markets are still on standby.
Sources from the Mirai consulting firm explained to the same media that this is the first time in months that the volume of net bookings is above -50% compared to the previous year.
Although it is true that there are many last-minute bookings for stays in March, cancellations for April and May continue to be high, even surpassing new bookings.
Another change highlighted by the consultant is that, compared to a year ago, when the pandemic still seemed distant and it was thought that it would not affect the European market, bookings are following a new trend. Tourists are now opting for longer stays (with an average of 24 nights) and booking well in advance (more than 120 days).