As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, April and May 2021 have become the most popular months for Britons to book a package holiday and Cyprus is top of their list.
That’s according to data gathered by TravelSupermarket, which revealed that the most booked destination is Paphos, followed by the Costa Blanca then Orlando.
The rest of the top 10 most booked destinations list comprises Tenerife, New York, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Ibiza and Majorca.
The holiday price comparison site also revealed that October 2020 is the most popular future departure month for package holiday searches, followed by September 2020.
Emma Coulthurst, from TravelSupermarket, said: “Who would have thought that the most popular times to book a holiday in May 2020 would be in a year’s time?”
“But that is what the pandemic is currently doing to booking patterns.
Quarantines and the current Foreign and Commonwealth Office restriction on anything but essential travel mean that people are holding back on booking for this year compared with next year.”
The most booked destinations for April / May 2021
- Paphos, Cyprus
- Costa Blanca (including Benidorm)
- Orlando
- Tenerife
- New York
- Antalya resorts, Turkey
- Dalaman resorts, Turkey
- Dominican Republic
- Ibiza
- Majorca
“We know that there is a pent-up desire to travel. We’re seeing people searching for holidays later in the year, October being the most popular month to look for a holiday.
“As the picture becomes clearer on the exact health protocols put in place at airports and on airlines and whether our government and countries will let us travel, more people are likely to book for this year. Currently, though, we’re seeing more Britons hedging their bets on holidays next year.”
According to TravelSupermarket, the top three best value April and May 2021 package holiday deals are a seven-night stay in Majorca for £151pp, a trip to Malta for seven nights from April 6 for £178pp – and a break in the Costa del Sol for a week for £198pp.
Last week, Travel Supermarket revealed that desperate holiday companies have been slashing prices by hundreds of pounds to secure bookings for winter getaways.
Tui had dropped the cost of one 10-night break in the Maldives starting on November 29 by £800.
Package holidays departing October 1 to December 31, prices had dropped across the market between April 14 and May 14 compared to the March 14 to April 14 period.
Average prices to Dubai, using TravelSupermarket searches, were down 30%; Corfu down by 19%; Majorca – 16%; Cyprus – 14%, and Tenerife – 11%.
Cyprus will open its airports on June 9 to 13 mainly to EU countries including Israel but not its biggest market — the UK.
