Global travel leader, Skyscanner, has released its latest Horizons report, highlighting insights into booking windows, destination choices, and trending destinations across the EMEA region.
The analysis is based on Skyscanner’s proprietary forward-looking Travel Insight data, comparing traveller behaviour and search trends year-on-year.
Across the board, travellers are planning further ahead compared to the previous year, marking a return to traditional seasonality in 2024.
Travellers in EMEA are exhibiting strong confidence, with increases in trips booked further in advance (greater share of 60-89 day and 90+ day booking windows).
Destination choices
A significant 53% of EMEA travellers are opting to explore Europe, marking a 4% increase from the previous year.
According to Skyscanner’s Travel Trends Report 2024, there’s an increasing demand of UAE and Saudi travellers craving culture, with many European capital cities trending for 2024. In addition, Italy is one of the most alluring holiday destinations, with its iconic monuments and irresistible cuisine, appearing three times on Saudi’s top trending destinations list.
Shorter trip lengths to top destinations
Across all regions, average trip lengths are slightly down or flat year-on-year for many popular destinations.
Spanish and Greek destinations dominate the most popular destinations searched on Skyscanner, with Bangkok, New York City and Sydney also popular for long-haul travel.
Trending destinations
Destinations with the biggest year-on-year increases in search volumes reflect a mix of wanting to explore new places, as well as those with new route connections.
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Victoria, Canada; Marmagao, India; Panama City; Bol, Croatia; Pristina, Kosovo; and Lampedusa, Italy are all experiencing significant search volume growth with EMEA travellers
Ayoub El Mamoun, Skyscanner Travel Expert: “Our latest Horizon insights reveal a travel landscape that is both familiar and evolving. While traditional seasonality is returning and popular destinations remain in demand, travellers are also seeking value and exploring options closer-to-home. Across Skyscanner’s platforms we have seen incredible demand at the start of the year and we expect this to continue as we head into the summer.”
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At the start of 2024, Skyscanner saw record travel demand, outperforming the global flights market and was the fastest growing metasearch in 2023.
Skyscanner continues to be a strategic partner for some of the biggest brands, airlines and DMOs in the world; working with companies from across the travel ecosystem including DMOs like Visit California to promote destinations, powering the next generation of AI travel tools such as Bing Chat and Layla, as well as helping airlines promote their unique offers via NDC and launch new routes based on data intelligence.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
