Skyscanner Flight Trends January 2010

11 February 2010

Spain dominates overall – New York and Bangkok top medium/long haul list

Top Ten
Spain dominated January’s search rankings, with five Spanish cities in the top ten. Faro and Dalaman also made the hot list, suggesting that sun and sand are still top priorities for British travellers, although the presence of flights to London, New York and Amsterdam shows that city breaks are also popular.

Medium and Long Haul
The most popular medium and long haul destinations searched for during January were: flights to New York (7th), Bangkok (11th), Orlando (15th), Sharm el Sheik (24th), Dubai (30th), Sydney (36th), Johannesburg (43rd), Las Vegas (45th), Delhi (48th) and Hong Kong (49th).

Most Popular Countries
Overall, Spain remains the most popular country for British travellers, despite fears that less favourable euro exchange rates would lead to a switch to non-euro countries such as Turkey, which has three destinations in the rankings, including a high number of searches for cheap flights to Dalaman. Despite being the UK’s closest neighbour, France is notably scarce in the top 50, with only one French city ranking, possibly due to the increased popularity of the Eurostar over flying.

Skyscanner Says
Barry Smith, Skyscanner co-founder and business director commented:
“Following a year of economic stress in 2009, we’re waiting to see which locations rise from the ashes of recession in 2010. Spain is still the top dog by a long shot, but Portugal, Italy and Cyprus have a significant slice of the market and Turkey and Thailand are nipping at its heels. Orlando should do well this year due to the opening of Harry Potter’s Wizarding World, and South Africa will also see a spike due to the World Cup.”

The following rankings are based on the number of searches for cheap flights during January 2010 on the Skyscanner website for UK departures.

January 2010 Top 10 Destinations

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