International holiday bookings have surged by as much as 600% after Britain laid out plans to gradually relax coronavirus restrictions. According to a report from Reuters, the bookings boost could give battered airlines and tour operators the summer season redux that was promised last year.
Budget Ryanair, and EasyJet, tour giant TUI, and other businesses are reporting boosted bookings to destinations including Greece, Spain, and Turkey. According to the reports, August breaks are the most popular, followed by July and September. EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren was cited saying:
“The Prime Minister’s address has provided a much-needed boost in confidence for so many of our customers in the UK with demand for flights up 337 percent and holidays up 630 percent already compared to last week and beach destinations proving most popular for this summer.”
Thomas Cooks Chief Executive Alan French dubbed the PM’s roadmap ‘good news’ with the firm seeing booking ‘flooding in’. Johnson said a travel taskforce would set out plans on 12 April on the return to international travel “so people can plan for the summer”.
The international travel ban will not be lifted until 17 May at the earliest.