According to a press release from the Associação Turismo do Algarve (ATA) Turismo, the surge in the number of British people looking to the Algarve for their next holiday has been reported in the most recent study by Skyscanner, a global company dedicated to travel research, which places Faro at the top of the Top 5 searches conducted for European destinations, followed by locations such as Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza, in Spain, and Dalaman in Turkey.
According to the study, following recent news about the arrival of vaccines for Covid-19, UK tourists have been showing an increasing interest in travelling abroad during the spring and summer of 2021. The data for November this year points to a weekly increase of 48 percent in the number of searches carried out, from the UK market, for trips between 1 April and 31 August of next year.
“Although it is premature to draw conclusions, these seem to be promising indicators for tourism and for the Algarve in particular”, says João Fernandes, president of Turismo do Algarve.
“Throughout these months, we have been reinforcing the message that the Algarve is a safe destination, fully prepared to welcome its tourists again with the welcome to which they have always been accustomed. That perception is now very present in tourists, namely in the British, so we believe that the Algarve is well positioned to receive these travellers again, as the confidence levels for travel begin to increase”, he concluded.
Wishful thinking .... Travel hopes looking at 2021, for many, is completely destroyed. Have you seen the latest unemployment rates in the UK and France? Governments across Europe , with the exception of Sweden, have castrated their economies in the hope of controlling a virus that was infectious but not dangerous to most. Their lockdown policies have been simultaneously foolish and evil. (Well intended but ultimately more damaging than the virus itself)
If tourist businesses in Portugal think 2021 will be a return to the “golden” years they are deluding themselves.
By Geoff from Algarve on 11 Dec 2020, 12:00
I've just booked flights to Faro for 2021. I used to holiday in Algarve for many years but then travelled elsewhere. I'm now attracted back by its proximity to UK, good climate, relative safety. I think there's a large pent up demand for travel.
By Charles from UK on 15 Dec 2020, 21:21