TUI: Spain, Greece, Turkey Most Popular Destinations for 2019

Spain and Greece continue to be among the favorite destinations of TUI holidaymakers in all European markets for 2019, while Turkey is set to see a strong comeback.

According to recently released data, based on TUI Group’s bookings, Turkey is currently recording significant growth in booking numbers across all markets, and the same trend is observed for Egypt.

Spain remains one of the top holiday destinations, while Greece is recording an increase in bookings from the UK this year.

Another newcomer among TUI’s most favorite destinations for German customers is Cyprus. TUI fly is expanding its route network for Summer 2019 and will include Larnaca in its flight schedule with a capacity of 20,000 seats.

Moreover, long-haul travel is becoming increasingly popular across Europe, in particular in the Nordics, France and Germany. Alongside the US, strong demand has, above all, been recorded for Mexico and the Caribbean with Jamaica and Cuba, as well as destinations in the Indian Ocean.

Santorini island.

The “Sunshine Saturdays” phenomenon

As winter continues with sub-zero temperatures, many Europeans are looking ahead to a summer, sun and beach getaway. According to TUI, this applies in particular to the days dubbed “Sunshine Saturdays”.

Santorini, Greece

This phenomenon has been observed across Europe during the first weekends of the year for a number of years: In many countries, Saturdays in January are the busiest days of the year for holiday bookings. The most popular booking day of the year in the UK and Germany was January 12.

The analysis of bookings also shows that the smartphone and tablet are playing an increasingly important role in holidaymakers’ travel plans and bookings. Around half of the group’s European holidaymakers book their trips online, while the proportion of online bookings has grown by 26 percent over the past four years.