Consumer confidence has spiked after the government last week (Friday 7 May) revealed its first quarantine-free "green list" of potential summer holiday destinations.
The list features 12 countries, four of which are viable summer holiday destinations – Portugal, Israel, Iceland and Gibraltar. The list will be reviewed every three weeks.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said on Tuesday (11 May) its data highlighted a significant increase in consumer confidence following the announcement.
More than half of those surveyed by the airline and operator (52%) said they felt confident about booking and travelling for leisure this summer and beyond, an eight percentage point week-on-week increase to the highest level recorded by Jet2 since March; 55%, meanwhile, said they were eager to travel as soon as they can.
Just more than a quarter (27%) said they didn’t feel confident about travelling, the lowest rate since March and the joint-lowest level in percentage terms this year.
Jet2 said confidence increased in March owing to a number of factors, chiefly the prime minister’s roadmap announcement and the formation of the new-look Global Travel Taskforce, but also the sustained pace of the Covid vaccination roll-out and destinations intimating they would be open to welcoming British visitors this summer.
However, Jet2 said it saw confidence decline in May, citing the lack of clarity in the eventual Global Travel Taskforce report. Publication of the green light, though, appears to have reversed this trend, Jet2 has said.
The airline and operator last month firmly committed to restarting flights and holidays from 24 June rather than waiting for the green list announcement.
Steve Heapy, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive, said: "The UK government has shown a clear ambition to reopen travel, and the publication of the green list has had a very positive impact on customer confidence.
"We already know that customers are desperate to get away on their holidays, and we certainly saw that over the weekend with a huge rush in bookings to Faro and Madeira for this summer.
"We know that there is huge demand for our flights and package holidays, and the past few days have shown beyond doubt that if customers are allowed to travel, they will jump at the chance."