American tourists are flocking to European destinations, new data shows.
Post-Covid pent-up demand has collided with the strong dollar, according to the latest figures from travel agency Trip.com, with a 678 percent surge in searches for U.S. to UK flights in the first six months of 2022, compared to the same period last year.
And, Spain came a close second regarding consumer interest, with a 614 percent increase in flight searches from the U.S., followed by Italy (577 percent) and France (491 percent.)
Trip.com’s Americas chief said travelers appeared to be taking advantage of the weaker European currency.
“We believe the increased value of the strong U.S. dollar versus the weaker euro and fall in the value of Pound Sterling means that US travelers have so much more buying power in Europe, which has helped to mark the continent’s return once more as a major destination for the U.S. market,” said Rich Sun, Trip.com Group’s general manager for the Americas.
The difference in value translates to a 10-15 percent discount, compared to the same time last year.
And what has helped Mallorca this summer has been the launch of direct United Airlines flights from New York to Palma.
From the start of June, some 600 tourists from the US and Canada have arrived in Mallorca each week on the United Airlines flights from Newark Liberty International Airport and the flight programme continues until the end of September with demand having been extremely strong.