April 2010 has been an interesting month for the UK travel sector which has experienced a five day closure of airspace, a first in aviation history; a month of unsettled weather, with everything from snow storms to heat waves, and some of the UK’s favourite holiday destinations, Greece and Thailand, were hit by civil unrest.

Cheap flight comparison site Skyscanner (www.Skyscanner.net) reveals how the events of April 2010 affected the UK’s interest in travel destinations.

The top five remain stable with the immensely popular beach destinations of Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife, Palma and Faro holding on to their positions. Dalaman continues its popularity spurt, moving up one more place to number six, overtaking London. Dublin also rose one spot, displacing New York, whilst Amsterdam held firm at number ten.

Highest Climbers
Gerona was the highest climber this month, rising nine places in popularity, followed by Luqa in Malta and Pisa which both rose eight places. Stockholm and Bodrum both moved up seven spots, as did Nice, likely due to the Cannes Film festival which takes place in May.

Biggest Fallers
Geneva took by far the biggest drop this month, slipping a massive twenty places in the charts, likely due to the end of the ski season. Dubai fell nine places and Lanzarote slipped six spots down to nineteen.

New Entries
Germany has fared well this month with both Hamburg and Frankfurt entering the Top 50. Greece will be reassured to see Crete enter the charts despite its well publicised economic problems, and rival Turkey will be pleased that Antalya has also entered, meaning that overall Turkey has four locations in the Top 50, to Greece’s two.

Drop Outs
After rocketing up the charts last month, Munich disappears from the Top 50 this month, along with Manchester, Hong Kong and Budapest.

Barry Smith, Skyscanner Co-Founder and Development Director commented:

“Spain continues to hold on to the top spots along with Portugal’s Faro. Dalaman is going from strength to strength, rising another place from last month, and despite civil unrest in Thailand, Bangkok has risen two places to number 11, showing its resilience as a tourist destination.”

April 2010 Top 50 Destinations

  1. Malaga (Spain) [0]
  2. Alicante (Spain) [0]
  3. Tenerife (Spain) [0]
  4. Palma (Spain) [0]
  5. Faro (Portugal) [0]
  6. Dalaman (Turkey) [+1]
  7. London (UK) [-1]
  8. Dublin (Ireland) [+1]
  9. New York (USA) [-1]
  10. Amsterdam (Netherlands) [0]
  11. Bangkok (Thailand) [+2]
  12. Barcelona (Spain) [-1]
  13. Paphos (Cyprus) [+1]
  14. Ibiza (Spain) [+5]
  15. Orlando Florida (USA) [+5]
  16. Larnaca (Cyprus) [+1]
  17. Paris (France) [-1]
  18. Lanzarote (Spain) [-6]
  19. Bodrum (Turkey) [+7]
  20. Belfast (UK) [-2]
  21. Rome (Italy) [+1]
  22. Murcia (Spain) [+1]
  23. Madrid (Spain) [+1]
  24. Edinburgh (UK) [-3]
  25. Glasgow (UK) [+3]
  26. Gran Canaria (Spain) [+1]
  27. Milan (Italy) [-2]
  28. Prague (Czech Republic) [+4]
  29. Berlin (German) [+1]
  30. Gerona (Spain) [+9]
  31. Nice (France) [+7]
  32. Luqa (Malta) [+8]
  33. Athens (Greece) [+4]
  34. Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt) [-5]
  35. Geneva (Switzerland) [-20]
  36. Venice (Italy) [-5]
  37. Hamburg (Germany) [NEW ENTRY]
  38. Istanbul (Turkey) [-4]
  39. Lisbon (Portugal) [-3]
  40. Marrakech Menara (Morocco) [+1]
  41. Stockholm (Sweden) [+7]
  42. Pisa (Italy) [+8]
  43. Crete (Greece) [NEW ENTRY]
  44. Dubai (UAE) [-9]
  45. Krakow (Poland) [-2]
  46. Frankfurt (Germany) [NEW ENTRY]
  47. Fuerteventura (Spain) [-5]
  48. Sydney (Australia) [-3]
  49. Antalya (Turkey) [NEW ENTRY]
  50. Los Angeles (USA) [-1]

Rankings are based on the number of searches for flights during April 2010 on the Skyscanner website for UK departures. Ranking movement is based on change compared to March 2010 Trends www.skyscanner.net