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Year-on-year southern hemisphere destinations are up, whereas last year we were flocking to the US. And city breaks are suffering, except outside the Eurozone. Caroline Noble, Country Director at Opodo UK, says the booking patterns indicate that holidaymakers are taking one longer holiday and fewer short breaks as the value of the pound makes European and US city breaks less attractive options. “Bookings to Africa, Asia and the South Pacific have dramatically increased for summer 2009 whereas European cities are struggling, with Paris, Athens and Florence all reporting negative growth year-on-year.
“We are also noticing that our customers are booking short-haul much later this year with the economic uncertainty, so we expect to see bookings increase as they book short holidays later in the year to complement the longer one they have already booked for further afield.”
Traditional city slicker hot spots New York and Las Vegas are down this year, whereas Florida is making a comeback as customers look for safety and security in difficult times. It would also seem the Obama Effect has reached the UK – with flights to Washington up 68%.
Top 10 destinations with the biggest growth this year:
1. Melbourne – Australia (up 400%)
2. Singapore (up 219%)
3. Delhi – India (up 165%)
4. Brisbane – Australia (up 115%)
5. Orlando – USA (up 90%)
6. Sydney – Australia (up 81%)
7. Washington – USA (up 68%)
8. Johannesburg – South Africa (up 56%)
9. Hong Kong (up 43%)
10. Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia (41%)
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
