The recent announcement of the new traffic light system by UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps saw Portugal as the clear choice for holidaying Brits this summer. As such, there has been a massive spike in bookings, searches, and flights from the UK to Portugal.
Comparison site TravelSupermarket reported that 29% of all package comparison searches in the UK were for Portugal, with the majority being for the Algarve, Madeira, and Lisbon. They aren’t alone, with online travel agency eDreams ODIGEO also reporting a 115% increase in searches for trips to Portugal last week alone.
Airlines are accounting for the sudden rush, such as travel company TUI adding flights from Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol to Madeira and the Algarve. Similarly, Ryanair announced that it was adding 175,000 seats on flights from the UK to Portugal this summer.
All in all it means that Portugal is going to see a whole host of British tourists from May 17, when the new travel rules come into effect.
