Big rise in online searches for flights

Online searches for flights in August shot up 44% on May levels, according to research by digital marketing agency Greenlight.

The greatest leap was for flights to domestic destinations and the Republic of Ireland, which rocketed 55%. On the long-haul front, searches for flights to the US dominated.

Greenlight’s latest Flight Sector Report showed there were 3.9 million searches for flights on Google UK in May, compared with 2.7 million three months earlier.

Almost a third – 31% – were for short-haul, but a quarter were for long-haul destinations.

Spain accounted for one in 10 short-haul queries and Ibiza entered the 10 most searched for destinations alongside Malaga, Barcelona, Alicante and Lanzarote.

However, Turkey and Rome fell out of the top ten.

New York, Florida and Las Vegas were among the most searched for US destinations, however searches for flights to New Zealand and Canada, which were in the top 10 in May, were less prolific in August.

Overall, skyscanner.net was the most visible site in the organic listings for flights. It was visible to 2,194,044 searches which saw it achieve a 56% share of visibility.

Travelzoo.com was the most prominent advertiser in the paid listings, attaining a 72% share of voice.