Eastern Europe looms as ‘top 2017 destination’

Travelzoo is forecasting 2017 to be the ‘year of Eastern Europe’, with continued acts of terror and uncertainty over the medium-term value of the pound causing British tourists to break with tradition and explore rising destinations including Croatia and Bulgaria.  

The Travelzoo Spring 2017 Travel Trends Survey shows nearly half of Britons are avoiding traditional Western European destinations because they’re worried over safety, while others (17%) say the weakness of the pound is influencing their choice of destination in 2017.

Over a third are planning a UK holiday this year, up 7% year-on-year, but millions of people prefer to travel abroad, with the Spring Travel Trends showing Central and Eastern Europe as a whole (12%) is now more appealing for Britons than Spain (10%).

With Travelzoo recently predicting that UK tourists could be paying at least 10% more for their holiday in 2017, due to sterling depreciation and the rising cost of oil, Joel Brandon-Bravo, Managing Director of Travelzoo in the UK, said: “Six months on from the Leave vote and it’s encouraging to see Britons considering Eastern Europe as a travel destination in 2017. As flight bans to Sharm el Sheikh and Tunisia continue, and uncertainty over the value of the pound remains, countries such as Croatia and Bulgaria – which operate outside of the Euro – offer better exchange rates and great value for money to British tourists.”

Although the research shows Croatia, Bulgaria and Poland to be the most popular Eastern European holiday destinations this year, 45% of Britons considering travelling there admit they would have never considered travelling to these countries before.

Brandon-Bravo continued: “UK tourists who are now looking further east won’t be disappointed. If you take the Balkan Peninsula for example, the coastlines of Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, are just a stone’s throw from the east coast of Italy. They boast the same warm weather and beautiful beaches, lakes and mountains, and present a wonderful opportunity for British people to explore new travel gems.”

Concluding, Brandon-Bravo said: “The fact British holidaymakers are considering alternative, more affordable travel destinations this year is certainly positive news for the travel industry too – particularly after what has been a turbulent 18 months. Last year we were right about 2016 being the year of the US, so we’re confident this rise in popularity for Eastern Europe will come to fruition in 2017.”