Early summer 2021 market indications

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Some insights for summer 2021 from the team at Forward Keys (www.forwardkeys.com) was published just before the UK’s latest announcement on “Green list” countries.

Firstly, by comparing flight ticket sales sold in 2021 against 2019 to date, Forward Keys compiled the below list of the most "resilient” destinations -

Forward Keys - May 2021.png

Whilst it is no surprise to see destinations that are traditionally more popular with couples than families (e.g. Chania and Thira / Santorini) selling well, did you expect to see those hedonistic twins, Mykonos & Ibiza, holding the top 2 spots?

But after 12 months of lockdown, who can be blamed for wanting to let off some pent-up steam? Whether it will be a return to supercharged clubbing, or more sedate beach bar vibes remains to be seen.

What is also interesting is that 7 of the top 10 destinations are islands. It looks like customers are remembering that last summer the islands often remained on the “green” list, whilst their mainland was more restricted (e.g. Canary Islands).

This is also highlighted in further analysis by Forward Keys looking at UK bookings for travel between July and September against the same point in 2019 -

Forward Keys - May 2021 - July to Sept sales.png

Being a country with some of the most famous holiday islands in Europe, it is little surprise that Greece is capturing a lot of the bookings for the 2nd half of this summer as the UK consumers make their travel plans. The appearance of Cyprus and Malta on this list also bears out the popularity of island destinations and no doubt a large chunk of Spanish bookings will be to its’ famous islands.

For the UK, figures from Skyscanner published today (10 May) showed that Madeira had the largest increase in flight searches, up 625%, as Portugal and its territories were put on the “green list” 4 days earlier.

So it looks like our predictions for the market we made in March are coming true, with bookings by (vaccinated) couples and non-family groups leading the way, very often to “familiar” destinations where they know what to expect. What is now becoming clearer is that island destinations will be incredibly popular as consumers remember the pattern of last summer. Also, some demand will be removed as people prioritise visiting friends and family after lockdown (as seen by the strong showing of Poland in the above graph), rather than booking a holiday.

How to make the most of this market ?

  • Be prepared for lower yield in family rooms in July & August and think of strategies to sell larger rooms to non-families (e.g. upgrade offers)

  • Lower discounting levels in the last quarter of this summer, the market is looking positive here

  • Attract families in October, plus prepare for airlines to have extra capacity to cover the late October school holidays

  • Contact us to discuss your European distribution strategy to ensure you capitalise on opportunities as they arise. Email - steve@itravelsolutions.co.uk