British holidaymakers look to Canaries this Winter
Booking data from one of the UK’s beach holiday specialists shows the Canary Islands are the most popular destination for sun seekers this winter sun season, with Tenerife the most sought after island.
Research from On the Beach reveals that bookings to the Canary Islands are up six per cent this winter season compared to last year, with Lanzarote the second most popular island.
Alicante in the Costa Blanca region of Spain is the third most popular destination followed by Majorca and the Portuguese Algarve.
Top 10 most popular destinations this winter sun season are:
- Tenerife
- Lanzarote
- Alicante
- Majorca
- Algarve
- Fuerteventura
- Gran Canaria
- Malaga
- Costa Brava
- Malta
Overall, Spain is set to reign once again this winter sun season with the Balearic Islands also proving more popular than last year, with bookings up by 20%. This rise in popularity is mainly due to the number of British holidaymakers heading to Ibiza this year with bookings up 47%.
Malta, which welcomes almost two million holidaymakers to its shores each year, is also showing a significant increase in bookings – up 21% on the same period in 2015 – while Greece is enjoying an increase of 19%. Corfu is the most popular Greek Island over the winter sun season, with other islands such as Zante, Rhodes and Santorini also attracting more holidaymakers than last year.
Long-haul popularity
The research also showed a growing appetite for long-haul holidays this winter season with destinations such as Goa in India and Orlando in Florida proving more popular than last year.
Alistair Daly, chief marketing officer at On the Beach, said: “Spain is as popular as ever this winter sun season and this year, we are seeing a significant rise in the number of holidaymakers jetting off to more traditional summer sun destinations such as the Balearics.
“Whilst Spain is by far the most popular destination this winter, hot spots such as Malta and the Greek Islands are rising in popularity and over the next few years we expect more traditional summer sun destinations to become popular during the winter season.”
