FLIGHT bookings to the UK rose significantly in the aftermath of Britain’s referendum vote to leave the EU, according to research data released by ForwardKeys.
In the 28 days before the June 23 poll, flight reservations were running 2.8 per cent behind the same period last year. In the month after the Brexit decision, bookings were up 4.3 per cent, resulting in a 7.1 per cent increase in the period under observation.
Most of the traffic is driven by demand coming from the US and Asia-Pacific, buoyed by the pound’s fall against the Euro following the referendum.
Bookings from Europe were up 5 per cent while non-European arrivals were up by 8.7 per cent on average.
Hong Kong bookings to the UK rose most by 30.1 per cent while flights from the US was up 9.2 per cent. Meanwhile, traffic from Canada was up 7.4 per cent and from the UAE by 7 per cent.
Flights from China to the UK remained steady however, likely due to the need for visas to travel to the UK.
“It’s now confirmed that Brexit had an immediate, positive impact on inbound tourism to the UK, which is converting into better than anticipated arrivals,” said Olivier Jager, ForwardKeys co-founder and CEO.
“In the months ahead, our data will show whether this post-Brexit bounce is sustained.”
