Bookings surge after England World Cup exit
Holiday sales have surged in the wake of England’s World Cup defeat on Saturday.
Bookings on Sunday and Monday increased by 35%, but Portugal has gone out of favour after the country’s team knocked England out of the tournament, according to lastminute.com.
Almost 80% of the bookings were for departures in the next two weeks, with this weekend (July 7, 8, 9) looking particularly popular.
Travel director John Bevan said: “Three-quarters of searches on lastminute.com since England’s defeat have not included a specific destination, people are choosing to ‘show me all’ which highlights the public’s desire to get out of the country and get over Saturday’s heartbreak.
“Last week Portugal was the fourth most searched destination on lastminute.com, but since Saturday it’s fallen down to 15th place.
“We expect interest will bounce back but at the moment the loss is still a bit raw. But we hope that English holidaymakers don’t boycott the Algarve for long as a result of the match.”
Lastminute.com’s top-selling destinations in the 48 hours after England was knocked out:
- Egypt: Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada
- Greece: Crete, Kos, Rhodes, Corfu
- Spain: Majorca, Ibiza, Costa Brava
- Turkey: Olu Deniz, Kusadasi
- Italy: Lake Garda, Sardinia
- Greece: Crete, Kos, Rhodes, Corfu
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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