eDreams reveals top destinations for 2020

Tokyo has topped the chart as the most favoured city amongst European travellers in 2020, with a year-on-year increase in bookings of 90%, according to eDreams ODIGEO.

Japan has steadily been growing as a holiday destination amongst Europeans in the last year, with travellers from the UK in particular creating a booking bounce of 101% year-on-year in October and November 2019 due to The Rugby World Cup.

Meanwhile, flight bookings from the competing nations within the Rugby World Cup as a whole grew by 38%.

With overseas residents able to purchase tickets for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games via the official ticket website from Spring next year, sporting events are set to continue to be a key driver for visitors to the Japanese capital in 2020.

UK visitors to Tokyo are expected to increase three-fold next year, with UK holiday makers currently recording the highest increase in bookings to visit the Japanese city in 2020. The news follows the Japan Tourism Organisation (JNTO)’s commitment to attract 40 million inbound tourists annually by 2020 and 60 million by 2030.

The second, third and fourth most popular destinations for European visitors in 2020 are exotic beach destinations in the Caribbean and Thailand, while the Porto in Portugal is fifth. 

Pablo Caspers, chief travel officer at eDreams ODIGEO, said: "The incredible 90% increase in European tourists visiting Tokyo will be music to the JNTO’s ears as the country has invested heavily in driving tourism here.

"It is interesting to see how sporting events continue to be a key attraction for holidaymakers, with the 2019 Rugby World Cup acting as a key case study this year on the impact an iconic sporting competition can have on tourism figures.

"We can no doubt expect to see a similar booking bounce in spring 2020 when overseas consumers can start booking tickets for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games via the official ticket website.

"Tourists from the UK are currently recording the highest increase in bookings to visit Tokyo next year. This is despite the Japanese yen being among a number of Far Eastern currencies against which sterling has fallen significantly. Furthermore, it is promising to see that consumers from the UK will continue their appetite for long-haul destinations next year, despite Brexit uncertainty."

The report has been collated using flight booking data from eDreams, Opodo, Go Voyages and Travellink, across major European markets are Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and the UK.

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