EasyJet holidays has reported a hike in the number of consumers searching for package holiday deals during the festive period compared with a year ago.
Airline EasyJet and its sister tour operator said bookings had taken off for its biggest-ever Big Orange Sale, which is offering up to 20% off more than two million flight seats across Europe and up to £300 off package holidays until February 5, 2024.
In terms of package holiday sales, easyJet holidays reported visits to its website and app were up by more than 40% on Christmas Day and up by nearly 80% on Boxing Day in comparison with last year, with 4pm to 6pm the busiest time of day for bookings.
All inclusive, seven night breaks were the package holidays most in demand during the first week of the sale, with Tenerife, Lanzarote and Hurghada the most popular for beach breaks, and Paris, Amsterdam and Iceland leading the way for city breaks of three to five nights.
In the first week of the sale, flights in January have proved the most popular, reflecting demand for last minute winter sun packages. Bookings to Tunisia during the start of the sale were up on last year as were Hurghada and Almería in the Spanish region of Andalusia.
Geneva, Lyon and Innsbruck have been the most popular destinations for ski breaks at the start of the sale. It follows the addition of three aircraft in Switzerland and a 20% increase in the size of its ski flying programme year on year.
In the first week of the sale May was the most popular summer month for flight bookings, with consumers looking for package deals during the school half term to destinations including Palma, Malaga and Faro. August remains set to be the most popular month for package holiday bookings.
Since the start of the sale Faro has been the most-booked peak summer destination while there are early signs of increased popularity this year for Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, Agadir in Morocco, Malta, Verona and Valencia, according to the company.
In terms of easyJet flights booked in the first week of the sale, Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Alicante and Malaga from the UK were the most popular, while Hurghada, Rovaniemi in Lapland and Milan were among the destinations to see the biggest rise in sales compared with a year ago.
Other flight destinations, including Prague, Nantes, Berlin, Bilbao, Verona and Almería in Spain also increased in popularity for Brits compared to 2023.
The booking trends follow research by the company in November showing 67% of Brits were more likely to travel abroad in 2024 than in 2023, with 77% saying they would prioritise spending money on a holiday over anything else in their yearly budget, up from 70% last year.
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: ”Year after year we continue to see the value and importance of holidays to consumers, which is evident in this traditionally busy booking period for holidays.
“It’s great to see North African destinations seeing a resurgence in popularity alongside last minute winter sun, city and ski bookings for the new year.
“Destinations in Spain and Portugal remain firm favourites for our customers time and time again, while the popularity of easyJet holidays packages shows no sign of slowing down, with all-inclusive breaks proving most popular for 2024.”