• London, Milan, and Paris are the cities most booked by European travelers
• 130% increase in global bookings with Bangkok, London, and Kuala Lumpur being the top three destinations 

13 February 2023 – Kiwi.com data shows that bookings for travel around Valentine’s Day* have increased by 100% from Europe and by 130% globally, compared to last year. London, Milan, Paris, Barcelona, and Rome were the most popular destinations among European bookings, while on a global level, people mostly booked to Bangkok, London, Kuala Lumpur, Milan, and Manila.

Almost six in 10 travelers (57%) from the European continent chose short-haul destinations for this Valentine’s season. Of these, the most popular countries to travel to were Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, and France; and the most popular cities were London, Milan, Rome, Paris, and Barcelona. On average, tickets cost travelers €88, compared to €72 last year and €124 in 2019. Most travelers that booked return flights with Kiwi.com went for short getaways; 67% went for trips that lasted up to three days. 20% of travelers booked trips for four to six days, and 10% for one to two weeks.

The data also sees that the length of time that people spend at their destination increases depending on how far away they travel. Travelers bound for destinations between 1,500 and 3,999 kilometers away (medium-haul flights, 37% of European travelers) went for longer trips, with 34% choosing to stay for up to 3 days, 31% for four to six days, and 27% for one to two weeks. These destinations included countries such as Portugal, Romania, Turkey, Morocco, and Israel, and notably, the cities of Lisbon, Tel Aviv, Bucharest, Istanbul, and Marrakesh. The average ticket cost €134, 18.5% more than last year but 6% less than in 2019.

Kiwi.com data shows that long-distance trips (at least 4000 kilometers away) were booked by almost one in ten travelers (8%) for Valentine’s Day this year. The United States, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Thailand, and India are top overseas destinations for European travelers. Long-haul flight tickets are the only tickets that appear to be more expensive than they were pre-pandemic, with the average price coming to €513 compared to €465 in 2019 (and €391 last year). Most travelers went for long stays — 43% for one to two weeks, 23% for two to three weeks, 17% for three weeks to two months, and only 12% for four to six days.

Global travel is showing similar results with a sharp resurgence in the popularity of Asian destinations. The United States, Thailand, Italy, Spain, and Malaysia were the five most booked country destinations for this Valentine’s Day; and Bangkok, London, Kuala Lumpur, Milan, and Manila were the most booked city destinations. The booking rate increased the most when it came to to Asian destinations such as Phuket, Denpasar, Cebu, Seoul, and Krabi, and Denpasar in particular was booked 22 times more than in it was in 2022.

The top nationalities traveling around the globe this Valentine’s season are American, British, French, Polish, and Malaysian. On average, travelers are spending around €155 on their trips compared to €78 last year. However, prices remain cheaper globally — the average ticket price in 2019 was €196. Those traveling short-haul (55%) spent €92 on average, medium-haul travelers spent €165, and long-haul travelers spent €531.

*Bookings made at any time to travel between February 3 and 14 of the mentioned year

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About Kiwi.com 

Kiwi.com is a leading global travel tech company headquartered in the Czech Republic, employing over 1,500 people worldwide. Kiwi.com’s innovative algorithm enables users to find better route options and prices other search engines can’t see, performing 2 billion price checks per day across 95% of global flight content. 100 million searches are carried out every day on Kiwi.com’s website and an average of over 60,000 seats are sold daily.

Media Contact

Elena Sokolnikova, PR & Communications Consultant, Kiwi.com
[email protected]