Cyprus Mail 1 December 2020 - by Andrew Rosenbaum
Paphos was one of the most searched tourist destinations last summer, according to research by Sojern, a specialist in travel advertising and research. But news of vaccines have only provided a slight overall boost to travel in Europe.
“Specifically, from the week of June 14 to the week of October 25, flight searches to Paphos grew the fastest (in comparison with Tel Aviv, Mykonos, Ibiza) peaking at over 100 per cent,” analysts from Sojern told the Cyprus Mail in an interview.
As regards hotel searches, Cyprus has been consistently ahead of Greece for the entire calendar year, according to the Sojern Index.
“Taking a look at a selection of key southern European destinations it is clear that travel intent generally peaked late June/early July (when restrictions were lifted and borders were opened), followed by a gradual decline, plateauing out in November,” the analysts explained.
However, southern Europe has seen inbound travel intent slowly increase as of November, suggesting travellers are still optimistic that they will be able to visit these areas in the coming months.
“What is interesting is that when looking back to the summer months (mid-May to mid October), the interest was high and we saw a peak in flight searches (100 – 150 per cent) and hotel searches (50 per cent),” the analysts said.
Unsurprisingly, flight searches to all the destinations are lower now due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the analysts said, but there is a good chance of an increase in interest as next summer approaches.
Vaccines provide small improvement
The news of the availability of vaccines has seemingly had a positive impact on travel intent around the globe,” the analysts continued. “Sojern data shows that following the huge drop in European travel since the week of 18th October (a result of recently implemented lockdowns), the news of the vaccine boosted traveller enthusiasm and has resulted in a slight uptick in travel searches.”
Vaccine announcements have also helped firm up travel dates, according to the research.
“When looking at searches made in September and October for future flight departure dates, they were pretty flat, with March showing a very slight uplift. However, the news appears to have accentuated this trend, highlighting a clear demand for travel in March 2021,” Sojern explained.
“However, bearing in mind the trend in the summer months (this year and in previous years based on our data), to stay ahead of the game for 2021, travel marketers should be planning now if they want to capture more market share for the upcoming summer peak season,” the Sojern analysts pointed out.
