• 42.5% increase in bookings made in 2021 compared to 2020 – reaching 70% of pre-pandemic volumes
• US, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Mexico were most booked destinations on Kiwi.com
• 27% booked trips within three days before departure
• 60% of bookings to travel in 2021 were made in the last three months of the year

14 January 2022 – Despite the international travel restrictions and the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, 2021 was a year in which the tourism sector began to show signs of recovery.  With a 42.5%* increase in bookings compared to 2020, the United States positioned itself as the most popular destination on Kiwi.com in 2021, followed by Italy, Spain, Turkey and Mexico. 

Domestic destinations and cheaper fares 

Kiwi.com travelers visited 210 countries and 2,842 cities in 2021, traveling a total of 7,929,606,856 km, which is approximately 197,869 trips around the Earth.  Bookings were mainly focused on domestic and intercontinental travels, with half of all reservations being made for journeys within Europe.  

Kiwi.com customers’ average spend on tickets for travel during 2021 was €219 – that’s 12.7% less than in 2020 (€251) and 27.7% less than in 2019 (€303).  Forty-one percent of travelers spent less than 100 EUR and 25%, between 100-200 EUR. Kiwi.com data reveals that the average spent on short-distance trips stands at €138; medium-distance at €241; and long-distance at €682.  

Mario Gavira, Vice President of Growth at Kiwi.com, comments on the drop in prices of tickets, a trend that, he anticipates, will continue in 2022: “Regular airlines will continue to operate a reduced flight network since it is likely that their most profitable segment, business travel, remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels. This will give low-cost airlines more options to expand to new routes. Low-cost airlines demonstrated last year that they can operate higher capacities at a profitable level with extremely attractive prices for travelers thanks to their reduced cost base and their ability to generate revenue with other services.

He added: “We also saw strong demand for our unique content as Virtual Interlining provides our customers alternative routes to their destinations that other providers cannot offer. This was particularly relevant for customers where our flight combinations provided the only way to reach their destination” 

The booking window in 2021 has been, on average, 18 days, compared to 26 days in 2020 and 30 in 2019.  Last-minute purchases were very popular among passengers in 2021, with 27% of passengers booking their trips just three days before departure.  Passengers booking one or two weeks before the departure made up a total of 18% and one quarter bought their tickets three weeks to two months in advance.

Searches for travel on Kiwi.com in 2021 exceeded 21 billion clicks, with Barcelona, Cancun, Dubai, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Moscow, New York, and Paris being amongst the most searched destinations. 

Travel behavior

In total, more than 220 different nationalities traveled in 2021 with Kiwi.com.  Travelers from the United States traveled the most, followed by Russians, Ukrainians, Italians and Romanians.

The most popular travel months in 2021 were towards the end of the year – December, October, and November, accumulating almost 60% (59.97%) of the bookings made to travel during 2021.

Kiwi.com data shows that people in 2021 booked their trips mostly on Tuesdays between the hours of 17:00 and 20:00 around the world, The most popular travel days in 2021 were Fridays (17.72%), followed by Thursdays (14.68%) and then Saturdays (14.08%). 

Over half of the bookings made during 2021 (54.3%) used Kiwi.com’s unique technology to travel with a  self-connect itinerary, which enables users to book flight options with over 750 carriers.  In 2021, Kiwi.com offered 1,636,359,075 Virtually Interlined combinations for it’s customers to choose from. 

The computer remained the preferred booking tool (45%), while the mobile phone accounted for 38% and other devices (such as tablets) for 17%.  Despite the fact the computer is the preferred booking tool, the Kiwi.com app saw 1,430,167 app downloads in 2021 and 2,097,778 active app users.

Drop in the rate of travel cancellations

The advanced pace of vaccination and the lessening of restrictions during the greater part of 2021, and prior to the impacts of Omicron, has helped lower cancellation flight rates globally.  Kiwi.com data shows that in 2021, the cancellations were at 11.16% – 19.22% lower compared to 2020. Cancellations by passengers dropped by 24%, while those carried out by the carriers have fallen by just over three times (3.14).

* Reservations made in 2021 to travel in 2021 and onwards. All other figures relate to trips booked and made in 2021.

– Ends –

Notes for Editors

Full document with Kiwi.com infographics: 2021 Infographics for PR _ Kiwi.com

About Kiwi.com

Kiwi.com is a leading travel tech company headquartered in the Czech Republic, employing over 1,000 people worldwide. Kiwi.com’s innovative Virtual Interlining algorithm allows users to combine flights across legacy and low-cost airlines into one single itinerary. Kiwi.com performs 2 billion price checks per day across 95% of global flight content enabling customers to find better route options and prices other search engines can’t see. Fifty million searches are carried out every day on Kiwi.com’s website and over 40,000 seats are sold daily.

Media Contacts

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