European Resilience Against Adversity Sees Easter 2023 Travel Thrive

*THIS DATA WAS PULLED February 28 2023

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With many Europeans looking forward to the Easter break, there is uncertainty if the region's  holidays will go ahead as planned due to the numerous industrial strikes across the continent. This issue, along with the cost of living crisis, which is being described as ‘the greatest threat to travel businesses in 2023,’ could cause concern for the industry about what is ahead for Easter 2023 and beyond.

However, it’s not all bad news. Our data shows that European travellers are showing resilience against these hurdles, and appear keen to make their Easter travel dreams a reality. 

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European Travellers Booking More Easter Travel Than in 2022, Despite Travel Strikes and Cost of Living Crisis 

This year’s European Easter travel dates fall between April 2nd and April 9th, just over a week earlier than in 2022. Looking back to early March approximately half of Easter travel bookings were yet to be made.

When looking at Europe’s outbound Easter travel plans for 2023, both France and Switzerland appear to be more hesitant to book ahead of time, with decreases in bookings compared to 2022 of 32% and 10% respectively. However, travellers originating in Portugal and the United Kingdom are showing keen interest in planning Easter breaks in advance of the holiday, with year-over-year increases in bookings of 60% and 49% respectively. 

As a whole, outbound travel from European countries is looking optimistic, with 80% of the origin markets displaying an increase in Easter travel demand at least a month in advance of the travel period when compared to 2022. This significant increase indicates that many Europeans are looking to get away, despite the ongoing travel strikes and disruptions aforementioned. 

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Travel Marketing Tip: Even if it seems like people won’t be booking travel due to external factors such as strikes or economic downturns, use travel data and insights to find the pockets of travellers who are still looking and booking. This way you can get ahead of your competitors and secure revenue, even at the most unexpected of times. 

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Paris, London, Dubai, and New York Top the Destination Charts for European Easter Travellers

Flight bookings and hotel searches for Easter highlight that there is both travel demand and intent for a variety of global destinations. New York is topping the flight bookings list with 7% of bookings to date, and London is following closely at 6%. When it comes to hotel searches, London also makes an appearance with 9% of the total travel intent, with Paris taking pole position at 11%. 

Although New York is the most popular destination for flight bookings overall, only one other destination outside of Europe, Dubai, falls within the top twenty Easter destinations by flight bookings. Unsurprisingly, when breaking the insights down by travel duration it becomes clear that long haul destinations are much more popular for those looking to travel for longer than a week. Within the top twenty destinations for those looking for a trip longer than one week, the top four consists of Dubai, New York, Abu Dhabi, and Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne metropolitan area. 

Interestingly, when looking at hotel searches as a whole, Dubai, New York, and Sharm el-Sheikh - all of which are considered long haul travel from Europe origins - feature within the top twenty destinations. Travel marketers could benefit from the knowledge that Europeans are willing to travel further afield for Easter, but may be in the planning stages of their trip, and not ready to commit with a booking yet. This is the perfect time to use targeted messaging to highlight the benefits of visiting their property, attraction, or destination to gain their business.   

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Travel Marketing Tip: Travellers' demands change in relation to the length of the trip they are taking. Although it may seem self explanatory that people will travel further for a longer break, don’t overlook those who may want to limit travel time and maximise their time away. For example, London is the fifth most popular Easter destination for Europeans looking for trips longer than one week this Easter. Make sure you don’t miss out on interested audiences by making assumptions. 

As a travel marketer, travel insights are key to maximising results. For the latest travel trends, remember to check out our self-service Global Insights Dashboard.