- Eager to reunite with American family and friends,
US-bound flight bookings for Thanksgiving weekend jump
2,200%
- The U.K. is the most excited to get back on the road,
with US-bound flights from the U.K. searched more than US-bound
flights from all other European countries, combined
- The need to go NOW makes November 2021 the most popular month for US-bound
travel from the U.K.; Most popular departure date for US-bound
flights is today, 8 November
- Leisure travel is back: Orlando, New
York, Miami, Las Vegas and Los
Angeles are the new top five US-destinations for
Brits
- Compared to pre-pandemic numbers, the U.K. has
recovered 68% of its outbound international travel, with numbers
rapidly increasing and currently the highest they have been since
the pandemic began
LANGLEY, United Kingdom, Nov. 8, 2021
/PRNewswire/ -- After nearly two years, today, the US has
reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travellers
arriving via air from the 26 Schengen countries in Europe, Ireland, China, India,
South Africa, Iran, Brazil
and, of course, the United Kingdom. Research from the World
Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that the US
economy could have lost up to $40
million a day just from the lack of U.K. visitors alone.
Travelport, a global technology company that powers travel bookings
for hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels worldwide, today
released the below trend data highlighting the U.K.'s excitement to
trek back across the pond.
U.K. Leading Europe and the
World in US-Bound Travel
- Following President Biden's first US travel announcement on 20
September that fully vaccinated travellers from the U.K. and the EU
would be allowed to enter the US starting in November, it was
travellers from the U.K. who were most keen to visit. In the 24
hours that followed, US-bound flights originating from the U.K.
were searched more than US-bound flights from all other European
countries, combined.
- Flight bookings followed a similar trend, with the U.K.
booking more US-bound flights than Germany, Italy, Spain,
France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland and Denmark combined.
- After President Biden's second announcement on 15 October when
even more countries were added to the approved list, the U.K.
stayed on top as the number one country searching and booking
flights to the US, resulting in a 108% increase in
bookings from the week prior to the first announcement.
- Relative to the announcements, the U.K. has recovered 68% of
its outbound international travel, a higher percentage than
countries such as France and
Germany. Numbers continue to
increase daily and are at their highest rate since the pandemic
began.
The Need to Travel Now
- In the 24 hours following the first announcement, U.K.
travellers searched more than 1.4 million flights from
London to New York, making it the most popular
US-bound route searched.
- In the week following the first and second US travel
announcements, November 2021 was
the most popular month for US-bound flight bookings. The most
popular departure date for US-bound travel was today, 8
November – the first day the restrictions lifted. The majority
of November flight bookings were to New York, which ranked number 2 overall in
popularity for Brits.
- In the 24 hours following each announcement, US-bound flight
bookings for Thanksgiving weekend increased by 1,600% and
2,200% respectively.
- Solo travellers and couples were the most ready to get
away, with an increase in flight bookings of 279% and 231%,
respectively, following the second announcement.
Chasing the Sun
- The first US travel announcement still held a high degree of
uncertainty around when in November the ban would be lifted. As
such, Orlando became the number
one US destination for Brits, with August 2022 as the most popular month for travel
to Florida – just in time for
Disney World's 50th Anniversary celebration. Prior to
the pandemic, this sunny locale would have ranked #2.
- Following behind Orlando (#1)
and New York (#2), Miami ranked third, Las Vegas fourth and Los Angeles fifth for Brits.
For more trend data or travel insights, please contact the PR
team at Travelport.
Notes for Editors:
- All search and booking data is derived from Travelport's travel
retailing platform.
- All search data is derived from Travelport's shopping request
platform. It reflects the first origin and first destination of any
search string.
- Travelport's air booking data has been compiled to show the
impact of the two recent US travel announcements (September 20th and October 15th) on international travel
to the US.
About Travelport:
Travelport is a global technology company that powers bookings
for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide. Buyers and
sellers of travel are connected by the company's next generation
marketplace, Travelport+, which simplifies how brands connect,
upgrades how travel is sold, and enables modern digital retailing.
Headquartered in London, United
Kingdom and operating in more than 180 countries around the
world, Travelport is focused on driving innovation that simplifies
the complex travel ecosystem.
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