UK travellers are returning in droves to Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt, although until recently the three destinations were considered by Britons to be at risk of unrest or terrorism, according to analysts at ForwardKeys in a new report UK summer outlook study.
According to the results of the study, Türkiye with the largest market share compared to the other two countries, it shows 66.4% growth in tourist flow from the UK last year; Egypt showed 50.9% growth, and Tunisia a record 901.0%.
Bookings in traditional UK destinations Spain and Portugal fell by 2.5% and 0.2% respectively, according to combined data from consultancies ForwardKeys and GfK, even though UK visitor numbers to those countries have been high in recent years due to unrest and threats to other destinations.
The findings show the negative impact of terrorism on tourism in Middle Eastern and North African countries in recent years, including Morocco, where recovery has only recently begun.
Experts believe that Egypt and Tunisia will take longer to recover on the British market than Turkey, where this process is proceeding more successfully and actively. Thus, the loading of planes to Egypt in the third quarter of this year amounted to 46% from the average level of 2015 for the same period, to Tunisia - even less - 38%, and to Turkey - reached 94% from the figures for 2015.
The latest research from ForwardKeys and GfK shows that overall UK tourism arrivals this summer are 4.9% more than a year earlier.
ForwardKeys CEO and co-founder Olivier Jager said:, commenting on the topic: “These data illustrate the ultimate resilience of travel and tourism. Tourists are willing to re-evaluate their destination experience if they can remain safe for an extended period.”
David Hope, Senior Market Research Analyst at GfK, stressed, in turn: “The dynamics are due to the growth in popularity of short-haul summer routes by 7.7%. These destinations account for around 60% of UK international travel in the summer. The full recovery of North African routes will take some time. This summer, the planned air capacity for Tunisia and Egypt will be occupied only half of what it was in 2015.”
Source: trn-news.ru
