eDreams ODIGEO, has launched its ‘Year in Travel’ report, providing an overview of the past year, insight into the year ahead and predictions for 2023. Its report analyses searches and booking data from its customers in all key European markets* and the USA, revealing top destinations, booking habits and the evolution of travel in the year ahead. Opodo, part of the eDreams group, is the best known brand in the UK.
As we reach the end of the year, data pulled from eDreams ODIGEO (which includes Opodo)’s 2022 bookings and search data brings new revelations about our habits over the last twelve months and our dreams for the year ahead.
TOP 2022 DESTINATIONS
For global travellers, London came second to Paris as the most popular booked destination. The highest percentage of visitors to the UK arrived from Spain (18%), compared to 12% from Germany, 11% from Italy and 9% from France (by comparison, just 6% of France’s incoming travellers had set off from the UK).
For British travellers, Dublin was the most popular booked destination again this year, followed by Barcelona, Paris, Malaga and Alicante. Top destinations for Britons were all short-haul, perhaps reflecting the closure of many long-haul borders .
TOP 2022 SEARCHES
London tops the leaderboard when it comes to travel searches from all markets in 2022, followed by Paris, Istanbul, New York City and Barcelona. During 2022 most British travellers took short-haul flights, but we continued to dream of further horizons: our searches for the year highlight Dubai as a perennial favourite, with Istanbul, Bangkok and New York City all making it into the top eight most searched for destinations.
2022 GROWTH DESTINATIONS
In order to investigate which destinations are rising in popularity, eDreams ODIGEO looks at newcomers into the top 50 booked destinations for the year compared to 2021. In 2022 Berlin, Antalya, Brussels, Stockholm and Pisa each made it into British travellers’ top 50 list. 2022 newcomers in the top 50 for all markets globally include Budapest, Copenhagen, Malta, Stockholm and Geneva.
Opodo’s data further reveals that top growth destinations across all markets in 2022 compared to the previous year are Denpasar (+1478% bookings), Singapore (+1446% bookings), Bangkok (+1188% bookings), Phuket (+689% bookings) and Jakarta (+384% bookings) (see Table 3). It is important to bear in mind that these growth figures are atypical in that they reflect a return to travel following the disruptions of previous years.
TOP HOTEL DESTINATIONS
Despite many British travellers queuing to travel overseas, the top destination booked by Brits for hotel stays in 2022 was London. Our next favourite cities for hotel breaks were Istanbul, Dublin, Paris and Barcelona.
TRAVEL HABITS
Reflecting our pent up appetite to travel – and to stay for a week or more once there – Opodo’s data reveals that 41% of all bookings globally were for trips lasting seven days or more. A quarter of all bookings were for trips of 7-13 days while a healthy 8% of all bookings were for journeys lasting three weeks or more.
Travellers globally are waiting longer to book, with a whopping 45% of all bookings made relatively last minute: within 2 weeks or less of departure, compared to 36% in 2021 – an increase of 25%. This relatively new habit may have been born of the pandemic, but it shows no current signs of slowing down.
eDreams notes that in 2022 other key habits included increased interest in blending work trips with holidays (Bleisure) and that changing work patterns continued to result in a rise in demand for remote working opportunities (Digital Nomadism).
TRAVEL IN 2023
Opodo’s search and booking data reveals the stand out destination for travel in 2023 is London. In terms of global bookings it comes second only to Paris, with Barcelona, Bangkok and Madrid making up the top five destinations booked. London is second in global searches also, just behind Bangkok and ahead of Paris, New York City and Tokyo.
Key international events planned for 2023 are already driving interest in travel. The UEFA Champions League final in Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium on 10 June 2023 is driving global searches upwards by +307% for travel to Istanbul between the 8-12 June 2023 vs the same dates in 2022. In Paris, Roland Garros takes place every year but the 2023 tennis tournament next summer is already generating travel buzz, with global searches to travel to Paris between the 26 May – 12 June 2023 vs the same dates in 2022 up by +85%.
The Coronation of Charles III in London on 6 May 2023 has also caught the imagination of global travellers with searches for travel to London between 4-8 May 2023 already showing an increase of +143% against the same dates in 2022. The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool on 13 May 2023 is also driving a +569% increase in global searches to travel to Liverpool between 11-15 May 2023 vs the same dates in 2022.
Dana Dunne, CEO of eDreams ODIGEO, comments: “The data speaks for itself, consumers are embracing the opportunity to travel whenever they can. Our bookings data shows short breaks are currently the most prominent, revealing that consumers are looking to squeeze in holidays wherever possible, with almost a third of trips lasting for just three-four days. This trend could also be representative of more flexible work patterns, enabling travellers to bring their laptops with them and work abroad whilst enjoying a long weekend in a new, exciting environment.
“This is reflected in the most booked destinations, with a range of European destinations such as Budapest, Copenhagen and Malta pushing some of the more traditional European holiday destinations out of the top ten.“Our findings also reveal that travellers have been spontaneous with their bookings, with nearly half (45%) taking place just 15 days before departure, or less. This underpins consumers’ desire to seize the day after being restricted on their travel plans for so long.
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