The UK will soon celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, which takes place on Saturday, 6 May, and an extra public holiday on Monday, 8 May, which creates a long weekend for celebrations throughout the country.

This bank holiday is in addition to the annual public holiday that takes place on the first Monday in May. Recognising the huge interest in this historical event and the extra public holiday creating more opportunities and incentives to travel, Trip.com reveals its European data to see how travel has been affected by the long celebratory May Day holidays.

Analysis of flight bookings made between January and April 2023, for arrivals into the UK over the bank holiday period (1- 8 May) revealed a 70% increase, with flight bookings to the UK made in January 2023 increasing by a whopping 971% compared with January 2022.

Of flights arriving in the UK between 1 May and 8 May, 63% will land at one of London’s airports, with analysis of flight origin indicating that most inbound tourists to the UK will arrive from Spain and Italy.

Nearly 7% and just over 5% of inbound flights to the UK will arrive from Barcelona and Malaga, respectively, with almost 6% originating from Milan and just over 3% from Rome.

Domestic travellers are the third largest group, heading to the capital to participate in the Coronation activities throughout London.

Completing the top ten travelling groups are those from Portugal, Germany, France, Greece, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Hotel bookings for the same period have also seen a year-on-year increase of 131% and, interestingly, an analysis of hotel bookings shows the majority are from UK travellers, with domestic trips as popular as ever.

The highest percentage of hotel bookings were for Camden and, understandably, the City of Westminster, as travellers look to stay close to the centre of the celebrations.

Andy Washington, Trip.com Group General Manager EMEA, said, “An influx of domestic and international travellers arriving and staying in London is understandable, considering the enormous historical significance of the King’s Coronation.

“The Coronation is a massive draw, with Trip.com using its expertise to track where the inbound visitors are coming from to experience what will be, for many, the only time they will ever see the Coronation of a modern monarch.

“The extra Bank Holiday has also added incentive to travel, enabling visitors to make the most of their free time, take in the pageantry and enjoy a Spring break in London.”

While there has been a boom in tourism to the United Kingdom, many Brits have also taken advantage of the long weekend to travel outside their home country.

Trip.com data shows bookings for flights departing the UK between 1- 8 May have increased by 151% compared to 2022, with Spain, Italy and the Netherlands topping the destinations list.

Of these flights, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Millan are among the most popular cities for travellers from the UK.

Also taking spots in the top 10 destinations are India, Portugal, Thailand, Germany, Ireland, France, and Turkey.

Though a few long-haul destinations have shown some popularity, it is clear that Europe is the go-to destination for the long spring weekend for UK residents.

In fact, with European travel destinations being so popular, Trip.com has an exciting deal for travellers keen to hop on the trend.