China is among the most popular long-haul destinations for travelers in the United Kingdom (UK) this summer, according to analysis conducted by Travelport.
As of 14 June 2019, close to 30,000 advanced bookings had been made in the UK through all global distribution systems (GDS) for return flights to China scheduled between Friday 28 June 2019 and Sunday 8 September 2019.
With flight bookings up by 3,402 (13%) year-on-year, China was the fastest growing top ten long-haul destinations for UK travelers compared to the same period the previous year.
The United States (US) is still ranked the most popular destination with over 300,000 flight bookings.
Global distribution systems (GDS) are vast hi-tech reservation networks that allow travel agents, travel management companies and large corporations, among others, to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related items. Globally in 2018, Travelport alone processed 1 trillion transactions through its platform. The company also delivers mobile services and apps to the travel industry as well as advanced analytics products, such as Travelport Business Intelligence.
Paul Broughton, Travelport’s Vice President and Managing Director for Northern Europe, said: “It was interesting to see China become a top ten long-haul summer destination for UK travelers this year, having sat just outside in 11th place last year. A study in 2018 claimed it to be the top bucket list travel destination for one in four people in the UK, so interest in the country does seem to be rising. We are starting to see this translate into increased booking volume and I expect this trend to continue in the years to come as more people recognize just how much the country has to offer tourists.”
