Costa del Sol and Spain top world holiday booking rankings in encouraging sign for tourism sector reboot

SPAIN tops the rankings for holiday bookings around the globe over the last seven days, with Andalucia and the Costa del Sol the most popular holiday choice region in the world, according to the Travelgate platform.

In what is an encouraging sign for the reboot of Spain’s coronavirus crisis battered tourism sector, the country accounts for just under 32 per cent of summer holiday reservations made in the last week, just ahead of the United States on nearly 31 per cent.

Portugal is the third most sought after destination, with 9.75 per cent of bookings, followed by Italy on 3.61 per cent and France on 2.39 per cent.

By region, Andalucia stands out as number one, with nearly 10 per cent of all reservations. Florida comes in at number two with just over 6 per cent.

But it is two other Spanish destinations which occupy third and fifth place: the Canary Islands with getting on for 6 per cent of bookings, and the Balearic Islands with 4.5 per cent.

Portugal’s Algarve comes between the two, with nearly 5 per cent, while Spain’s Catalonia is eighth with 3.3 per cent and the Valencian Community, including the Costa Blanca, ninth with almost 2.8 per cent.

More than half the reservations for holidays in Spain were made by national tourists. But many Brits are clearly eager for some Spain sunshine, accounting for nearly 22 per cent, while Germans represent just 2.5 per cent.

A further indication that better times are ahead for the travel and tourism industries is Travelgate’s report that bookings in May were up some 77 per cent on April, while the number of cancellations fell significantly.

The platform’s findings are based on more than 20,000 bookings and 3,000 million online searches for hotel reservations.