Flight sales to tourist hotspots show slow recovery

All three countries have now given firm dates from which they will permit tourist visits, which Forward Keys said had prompted a spike in bookings from international markets for travel in July and August.

“For most of April and May, the aviation market has been in a state of suspended animation with almost nobody booking anything” said Olivier Ponti, ForwardKeys’ vice president, insights.

“However, in the fourth week of May, things started to change. On 20 May, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s prime minister, told the Greek people that the country would open its doors to foreign tourists from 1 July.

“Two days later, Portugal’s foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva announced that its border would reopen on 15 June; and the following day, Spain followed suit. Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s Prime Minister said that the country would reopen for foreign tourism from July.”

ForwardKeys said markets had reacted “immediately” from the previous three months, when there had been more cancellations than bookings.

“From 20 May – 3 June, the number of international flight tickets issued for Greece increased from effectively zero to 35% of what they were during the same period in 2019.”

Research also showed that in the 12 days from 22 May – 3rd June, the number of international flight tickets issued for Portugal, increased from “effectively zero” to 35% of the equivalent period in 2019. Similarly, during the 11 days from 23 May to 3 June, the uplift in Spain reached 30%.