Travel Agents Report “Brexit” Boost For Britain

London’s Tower Bridge.

American travelers appear to be using the so-called “Brexit Benefit” to their advantage, making London the number-one international destination this fall. On the domestic front, however, Maui has taken over the top spot (last year it ranked third), showing the island’s ever-increasing popularity. Those are just two of the trends uncovered by a survey of fall travel booking data from 1,145 U.S.-based Travel Leaders Group travel agents. 

Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko said Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, which lowered the value of the British pound, has been highly favorable for American travelers on leisure and business trips. “While London has always been among the top international destinations on our list, this is further proof that travelers are very willing to adjust and seize upon a prime opportunity when there’s increased value in a particular destination,” he said.

Ninan said Maui has long been among the most sought-after domestic destinations for American travelers, but had never surpassed Orlando, Las Vegas or New York City for the top spot. Maui’s positioning has been bolstered by having no cases of locally-transmitted Zika virus, he said.

Asked to name top domestic and international destinations they are booking for the remainder of the year, they cited: Maui (34.1%), Orlando (32.1%), New York City (30.5%), Las Vegas (28%), Alaska-Cruise (25.5%), Los Angeles (19.6%), Honolulu (18.8%), San Francisco (17.2%), Chicago (14.2%) and Washington D.C. (12.4%). 

Top international destinations by bookings this fall are London (31%), Caribbean-Cruise (30.1%), Cancun (29.1%), Rome (23.2%), Paris (17.7%), Europe-River Cruise (17.5%), Punta Cana (17.5%), Europe-Med Cruise (13.6%), Montego Bay (10.8%) and Florence-Tuscany (10%).

Forty-five percent of respondents booking Europe said the increased value of the U.S. dollar compared to the British pound amplified clients’ interest in countries within Britain. Of those agents who said clients had increased interest in travel to England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, 61.9% also reported an increase in booking overall to the United Kingdom. 

Europe overall also is up, despite considerable news coverage of several security-related incidents in the region. More than half of top 10 international destinations being booked for the remainder of the year are in Europe , including Paris. 

When asked how 2016 Europe land-based bookings are doing compared with the same time last year, 74.8% of responding travel agents said their bookings are higher than or equal to this time last year (31.1% said “higher” while 43.7% said bookings are even).

For all travel agents who said their bookings of land-based leisure travel to Europe are up over last year, 72.1% said the favorable exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and euro has been a factor. When the same question about overall 2016 land-based bookings was asked, but specifically regarding luxury land-based European vacations, 82.5% of agents who book luxury travel to Europe indicated that their luxury bookings are the same or higher than this time last year (28.8% said “higher” and 53.6% said bookings are equal to last year). The agents also said the stronger U.S. dollar played a factor in bookings for 70.5% of their luxury travel clients. 

When asked about the timing of upcoming leisure travel for the majority of their clients headed to Europe, agents responded: My clients want/need to go to Europe right now (9.4%); my clients are going to Europe within the next three months (30%); my clients are planning to go to Europe in the next 6-9 months (18.6%); my clients are planning to go to Europe in the next 9-12 months (18.4%); my clients are planning to go to Europe in the next 12+ months (10.1%); my clients are holding off on planning a Europe trip (13.5%).

Among those reporting that clients were holding off, the top three responses were terror threats, political uncertainty (e.g. Brexit, elections in key European countries, etc.), and “selecting other destinations domestically.”

Almost 8 in 10 (79%) said their overall 2016 bookings are higher than or on par with last year at this same time (43.1% said higher and 35.9% said bookings are even). When asked for their personal outlook on their business for the remainder of 2016, despite a small decrease from the past two years, a significant majority (94.2%) said they are either positive or neutral.