THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
A recent study by travel firm Skyscanner has shown that Americans are ready to travel abroad again in 2021, with London at the top of the list.
Between August 9 and September 6, 2020, London was the most searched for destination by Americans using Skyscanner to explore economy-class return travel in July and August 2021. Second in the list was New York, while other international destinations in the top 10 included Paris, Tokyo, Rome, Pape'ete (capital of French Polynesia) and Athens.
When comparing searches conducted during between August 9-August 23 and August 23-September 6, Skyscanner also found that searches for economy-class return travel in July and August 2021 grew by 25%, suggesting Americans are keen to get back to traveling in 2021.
Explaining the results, Mark Crossey, a US Travel Expert at the firm, said that "2021 looks like it's going to be a bumper year for travel, with so many Americans desperate to get out and explore the world again. Some are reorganising a "missed" trip, some are using unspent funds and vacation days to upgrade to bucket-list getaways, and some are embracing Americana, using internal flights to discover a variety of hidden gems on US soil. What we can see from our data is growing search and booking numbers, and more even split between domestic and international destinations in July and August 2021."
Crossey went on to say that "US vacationers are obviously keen to enjoy their best-loved international hotspots, with traditional favourites London and Paris taking the top and third spots in the ten searched."
The news will be a positive boost to London after the 2020 pandemic caused a massive drop in inbound tourism for the city and the UK as a whole. Visit Britain's forecast for UK inbound tourism, as of August 25, suggests a decline of 75% in visits to the UK this year, and a drop of 79% in spending on inbound tourism.
There has been talk of an airbridge between New York and London being introduced for the 2020 Holidays, in a bid to avoid quarantines and travel regulations, but with the UK's new rules (starting September 14) limiting gatherings to 6 people, it's unclear if this idea will be possible. Transatlantic business group British American Business has also recently called for a re-opening of Transatlantic air routes between the UK and US, in order to protect Transatlantic trade and business.
With preventing the further spread of coronavirus remaining a priority, the future of Transatlantic travel continues to be unclear, but Skycanner's survey at least shows that Americans are hoping to return to London as soon as possible.
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