In a study of travel searches and bookings, ADARA finds that Brits are overwhelmingly looking to travel to Spain and the US

London, 20th July 2021: Adara, the leader in predictive intelligence is today revealing the impact of the government’s decision to allow fully vaccinated adults to return from amber list countries without quarantine on traveler behaviors. In a study of bookings and searches from 8th July to 12th July, the data shows that bookings immediately soared to their highest this year (up 23% from the day before, 36% from the beginning of July and 65% from the month before.)

With the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, allowing NHS vaccinated Brits and children to return from amber list countries without quarantine from the 19th July onwards, ADARA has analyzed searches and bookings for trips abroad. The study found that the most popular country for UK travelers is Spain (14% share of bookings), followed by the United States (13% of bookings) – despite the fact that the US doesn’t currently allow Brits to enter the country – and Greece and Portugal (5% share of bookings each). 

ADARA’s top 5 destinations for UK travelers from highest to lowest:

• Spain – 14% of all bookings / 12% of all searches

• United States – 13% of all bookings / 13% of all searches

• Greece – 5% of all bookings / 5% of all searches 

• Portugal – 5% of all bookings / 5% of all searches

• Italy – 4% of all bookings /  4% of all searches 

With the Delta variant continuing to spread across the world, the majority of people are looking to fly abroad before restrictions potentially change again. In fact, almost half of bookings (43%) made since the July 8th announcement are for the next 30 days. 

The government’s announcement has also had a wider impact on the travel sector. Confidence in travel has soared since the decision, with the ratio between searches and bookings decreasing from the 2021 weekly average of one booking for every 7.3 searches to one booking for every 5.5 searches for the week ending 11 July 2021.

Carolyn Corda, CMO of ADARA, said: “Despite talk of the growth of staycations during the pandemic, our data clearly shows that Brits are desperate to fly abroad once more. Long-standing destinations like the United States and Spain are experiencing huge surges in bookings and searches following the Transport Secretary’s statement last week, and it seems that travel companies can finally start to prepare for the post COVID landscape. 

“However, taking advantage of the growth in bookings and searches is easier said than done. COVID is still rampant in many parts of the world and the situation and restrictions remain in flux globally. Travel brands, therefore, need to be vigilant and be able to adapt to new restrictions using consumer insights and the ability to target segments of travelers with the right message remains critical to salvaging the summer travel season.” 

 

Contact

For more information contact:

Gill Browne / Ben Tozer: adara@propellergroup.com 

Methodology 

ADARA’s Field Data Science Team has used data from their consortium of travel partners, analyzing data for travel planned from July 8th to April 12th to view the rate of change for bookings and searches. These findings have been indexed for the purpose of comparison of different periods between the dates mentioned, allowing ADARA to find similarities, differences and observe catalyst points for sharp changes. The behavioral habits and demographics of the profiles booking and searching have also been analyzed, to highlight the changing practices of consumers in a year like no other. 

About Adara

ADARA helps brands win in the fast-paced digital economy by providing predictive intelligence for optimal consumer engagement. And, you can have confidence in our data — we set the bar for ethical data use. 1.7 billion digital identities and over 23 billion data elements across 130 countries and serving 2,000 customers globally.