ForwardKeys: Greece Among Europe’s Top 10 Most Desired Destinations for Easter

Greek Orthodox Easter on Mykonos: The procession of Epitaphios on Good Friday.

Greece is among the 10 most searched for destinations in Europe, according to travel intelligence provider ForwardKeys, as intra-European air seat capacity is set to recoup pre-pandemic levels this Easter.

More specifically, according to ForwardKeys flight search data, Greece is the seventh most searched for destination at 5 percent. In the lead is Spain with 24 percent of all searches, followed by Italy (11 percent), France (8 percent), Portugal (7 percent), Germany (5 percent), and the Netherlands (5 percent). Poland (4 percent), Turkey (4 percent) and Ireland (3 percent) follow Greece.

At the same time, based on seat capacity data, Greece is ranked fourth in terms of scheduled flight capacity for travel this Easter, up by 7 percent over 2019. Leading the way with a 26 percent increase is Turkey, followed by Portugal (12 percent) and Poland (9 percent) – all destinations recording the largest growth in air supply.

The popularity of Southern European destinations reflects the continuing demand for sun and beach destinations, said ForwardKeys analysts, adding that intra-European travel has recuperated quickly in large part due to airlines increasing seat capacity.

Meanwhile, the number of tickets confirmed for travel to Europe this Easter is down by 15 percent over 2019 levels while long-haul arrivals are 17 percent behind. The most resilient source markets, according to the report, are the UK marking a growth of 12 percent over 2019, Portugal and Ireland growing by 1 percent on pre-Covid levels.

“We finally see the comeback of some of the largest European source markets such as the UK, Germany and Spain,” said Head of Market Intelligence ForwardKeys, Juan A Gomez.

“What is particularly encouraging about this strong rebound is the resilience of the British holidaymakers, especially given the high levels of inflation and economic uncertainty in Britain, as well as the turmoil caused in the past months by the local transport´s inability to cope with demand that has resulted in scenes of chaos at airports, cancelled flights and strikes. Destinations betting on British tourists will need to be prepared for any eventuality,” said Gomez.

Indicatively, arrivals from the UK to Spain this Easter are set to grow by 16 percent over 2019.