Tripadvisor Reveals Fastest Growing Destinations For Brits This Summer

Tripadvisor data reveals Zakynthos and Santorini are trending for international travel, while Torquay is top of the list for staycations

With lockdown restrictions beginning to lift, travel is on everyone’s minds again — albeit largely domestically for the time being. In fact, Tripadvisor site data shows that travellers in the UK searching for British staycations this month has increased by 384% compared with the first week of January¹.

And it’s not just hotel searches that are going through the roof. Brits are so excited to get out and about, with searches for experiences (attractions and tours) by UK travellers this month increasing by 128% compared with the first week of January and restaurant searches are up 100%.

With travel finally a possibility again, Brits are no doubt excitedly thinking ahead to the summer and where they might be able to head off on that long awaited holiday. According to a recent Tripadvisor survey, almost half of Brits (47%) are planning to travel this summer, rising to 50% and 51% respectively when looking at Gen Z and Millennials.

And it seems that Brits have missed travelling so much over the course of the past year that this summer, they’re not holding back. Almost half (44%) plan to make up for lost time by taking two or more holidays, while one in eight (13%) plan to take at least three. This is also evident in the length of trips Brits are planning as more than one in seven (15%) will take a trip of at least 11 days, while more than one in 20 (6%) intend to have a holiday that is over 14 days, rising to 7% for both GenZ and Millennials.

More than one in three (41%) of Brits who plan to travel this summer will be taking a staycation, compared with one in seven (14%) who plan to travel internationally, should restrictions allow. GenZ travellers are the most likely to travel abroad this summer with over one in six (18%) saying that they plan to do so.

Tripadvisor search data shows that the most popular travel weeks for Brits this summer are weeks commencing 28 June and 26 July, but which destinations are on the up for Brits this summer?

When looking at the UK destinations which have seen the biggest year-on-year increase in searches for domestic travel this summer, Devon’s Torquay comes out on top, followed by the Lake District’s Windermere and Yorkshire’s York in second and third place respectively.

Internationally, Greece is trending heavily as six of the top ten spots for Tripadvisor clicks from UK travellers are Greek destinations. This is possibly owing to the fact that Greece has recently been vocal about its hopes to re-open its doors to tourists in mid-May, providing that they have been vaccinated, have antibodies or can provide a negative Covid test.

The islands of Zakynthos and Santorini in particular are piquing the interest of Brits this summer with four of the top ten located here. Tsilivi (also known as Planos) in Zakynthos takes first place as the fastest growing year-on-year for Brits, followed by Cong in County Mayo, Ireland and  Soufriere in St Lucia coming second and third respectively.

Here is a full list of the fastest growing domestic and international destinations based on the biggest year on year increase of searches: