Travel Supermarket has revealed that Tenerife is the most popular holiday destination for Brits, as well as listing the best-value hotspots. Rose Dykins reports
Travel Supermarket has revealed the holiday trends it is seeing so far in 2024 from UK customers, and has reflected on booking patterns from 2023.
The holiday comparison website’s new report Pulse Report of 2024 is based on millions of searches carried out by its British customers comparing holidays, car hire, travel insurance, airport transfers and other trip elements.
Tenerife has been the most booked and searched destination for both 2023 and 2024, topping the rankings for Easter and May half-term escapes.
Chris Webber, head of holidays and deals at Travel Supermarket, and author of the report, said: “Tenerife is proving that its year-round great weather and range of beaches, landscapes, culture and accommodation is irresistible to Brits, as it has topped the most searched and most booked holiday destination charts for both 2023 and 2024.”
He adds: “As a UK anomaly, the Antalya area of Turkey was the most-compared destination for people flying from London in 2023.”
Kos is the destination that experienced the biggest increase in holiday searches on Travel Supermarket from 2023-2024. Searches for the Greek island have increased 129 per cent so far this year compares with 2023.
“Tenerife is not far behind,” says Webber. “But all the larger Canary Islands feature in the top ten. There have also been notable increases for Malta and Tunisia, too. With new flights to Tivat, Montenegro was also a major big growth area.”
The cheapest city break and long-haul destinations remain the same for both 2023 and 2024: Brussels is on average £293.35 per person for a three-night city break – and long-haul destination Florida is priced at an average of £1,008.48 per person for a seven-night holiday.
However, the report found a shift in the cheapest short- and mid-haul destinations. In 2023, Costa Brava was the cheapest all-inclusive seven-night destination, with year-on-year searches for the Catalonian region in 2023 up by more than 500 per cent, elevating it to the tenth-most searched destination.
In 2024, Tunisia is currently the cheapest short- and mid-haul destination, with a seven-night all-inclusive holiday averaging £485.17 per person.
North African regions in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt are prominent on the cheapest all-inclusive list, with Hammamet, Hurghada, Agadir, Marrakech and Sharm el Sheikh all featuring in the top ten.
The impact of the cost-of-living crisis combined with hotter summers has led to a rise in travel bookings during the shoulder seasons, when temperatures are cooler and prices are cheaper.
The five most-booked departure dates in 2023 fell within autumn, suggesting a growing willingness from travellers to sacrifice hot weather for cheaper prices. However, the school summer holiday period still sees the most number of people going away on holiday overall.
Finally, the week offering the most value for families looking to get away in summer 2024 is the final week of school holidays in England (August 24-30). The destination offering the best value week-long package holiday is Costa Blanca, with the best value week being July 20-26, where the average price of a holiday is £652.