Brexit boost to UK-bound air bookings as pound plummets
Air bookings to the UK jumped after the Brexit referendum result after the pound plummeted, according to new research.
Data from travel researcher ForwardKeys found a Brexit bounce, with bookings boosted by 4.3 per cent in the 28-day period following the referendum compared to the year before.
Favourable exchange rate movements for the euro meant bookings from Europeans improved by five per cent after the vote, which the company said was "very likely due to the sterling depreciation against the euro".
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But non-European markets reacted more positively, outperforming European markets by 3.7 per cent. In particular, bookings from Hong Kong rose by some 30.1 per cent and by 9.2 per cent from the US.
Worldwide economic uncertainty, terrorism attacks in France and Belgium and air traffic disruption have also been to the benefit to bookings.
The good news isn't likely to be over either: forward bookings show the best improvement in October, thought to be partially explained by the time taken to obtain a UK visa and key events such as China’s Golden Week
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"In the months ahead our data will show whether this post-Brexit bounce is sustained", said ForwardKeys chief executive Olivier Jager.
The data, however, contrasts that from European top-five travel booking site Tripsta, which found European tourists have been put off visiting London after last month's surprise Brexit vote and the political turmoil that has emerged in its wake.