The wider dissemination of COVID-19 vaccines is proving to be a pivotal factor in the comeback of the international travel industry, according to international flight booking data research from ForwardKeys, a travel analytics research firm.
"Vaccinations appear to hold the key to reviving international travel, as countries that make clear promises to welcome vaccinated travelers are being rewarded by strong surges in flight bookings," said ForwardKeys Vice President Insights, Olivier Ponti.
As a case in point, "Greece and Iceland, which have announced that they will welcome vaccinated visitors this summer, have seen inbound flight bookings pick up dramatically from the moment of their announcements," the research said.
When Iceland's government reopened its borders to vaccinated travelers on March 17, the number of air tickets climbed to 158 percent over the same week in 2019.
Additionally, such destinations as Israel, the U.S. and the U.K., which have ramped up vaccine distribution, "have seen outbound flight bookings climb more steeply than elsewhere," with confirmed air tickets for travel between July and September up 12 percent from the same period in 2019, the research said.
Meanwhile, seven of the top European travel destinations are in Greece, with Mykonos' summer booking at 54.9 percent of where they stood during the same period prior to the pandemic.
Mykonos was followed by Ibiza, Spain, whose bookings were at 49.2 percent; Greece's Chania ( 48.9 percent), Thira (48.1 percent), Kerkyra (47.5 percent) and Thessaloniki (43.7 percent); Spain's Palma de Mallorca (41.2 percent); Greece's Heraklion (36.6 percent) and Athens (33.2 percent); and Portugal's Faro (32.8 percent).
"From a commercial perspective, the outlook is likely to be a little better than the numbers portray because travelers are booking longer durations," Ponti said. "Furthermore, if restrictions are eased in both origin markets and destinations, there are grounds for further optimism because there is strong pent-up demand and, during the pandemic, people have shown themselves willing to make bookings at significantly shorter notice than they used to."
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