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It may still be months until Christmas and New Year’s, but travellers who are serious about saving for the holidays need to start planning before those decorations hit the shelves. To help them get in the holiday (planning) spirit, we’ve drilled into the travel data and uncovered our most trending destinations, lowest prices, best times to book and travel, and even our best places for hot tub lovers. Get your cheer on below.
Fly far away – in style
Imagine strolling along a tropical beach instead of a frosty forest. When it comes to celebrating somewhere else, Brits are throwing tradition out the window and opting for sun-soaked destinations.
Our most-searched destinations:
A warm winter holiday in Asia
From Mumbai to Manila to Johannesburg, Brits have their sights set on mild destinations all over the world for the festive season. Bangkok leads the list in searches, with a bonus price drop of 4%. But it’s New Delhi that has dropped most in price from last year, by 14%. Those who want to make their Rockefeller Center Christmas dreams come true have good chances this year: Flights to New York are the best value among the top 10, at £550 on average for return economy.
Discover our best weeks to book
Based on KAYAK’s data analysis for last year, Brits found their best-value holiday flight prices two months before departure, for flights within the UK and the rest of Europe. Booking around this time saved them 8% and 4% on average, respectively, vs those who booked at a different time. For flights outside Europe, Brits generally paid the least when they booked one month ahead, at the end of November, when they saved 7% on average vs those who booked earlier or later.
Help save money and your sanity
Did you know that according to KAYAK’s data for the last year, 22nd December was the busiest day to fly over the 12-month period? Keep a cool head and wallet with these tips.
Our best-value destinations: Big savings are right around the corner
We drilled into the numbers to reveal the destinations with our lowest flight prices. Luckily, the British don’t have to travel far to celebrate for less.
1.
Edinburgh, Scotland
This year, spend the holidays in cosy Edinburgh. It’s our No. 1 best-value destination at £94 for an average return economy flight - down 16% from last year.
2.
Paris, France
It’s easy to imagine enjoying the holidays in twinkling Paris - especially when flights are £120 on average, which is 14% less than last year.
3.
Dublin, Ireland
The Green Isle is ideal for opening presents and ringing in the new year. You can fly there for just £122 on average - despite a 45% increase from 2023.
KAYAK's top 10 best-value destinations
Our biggest price drops: Meeting Father Christmas is closer than ever
This year may be the year to make childhood dreams come true. Rovaniemi, Finland, the town that Santa calls home, has gone way down in flight prices.
1.
Rovaniemi,
Finland
What better place to celebrate Christmas than in the land of Father Christmas and the northern lights? Our data shows that Rovaniemi dropped 22% in price from last year, sitting at £390 on average. It’s also a top trending destination.
2.
Prague,
Czechia
The fairytale city of Prague comes alive especially during the festive season. It’s gone down 20% in flight prices on KAYAK year-over-year, sitting pretty at £136 on average.
3.
Christchurch,
New Zealand
See how they celebrate on the other side of the world, in warm weather, in Christchurch. We’re seeing flight prices down by 18% from last year, now at £1550 on average.
Trending destinations: Brits like it both hot and cold
Our hot list for destinations rising in interest almost couldn’t be more diverse. From natural wonders in the north, to beach retreats, to American adventures in Las Vegas and Atlanta, these places are gaining attention.
1.
Rovaniemi, Finland
Rovaniemi took the top spot, jumping 79% in flight searches from last year. Airlines have been introducing direct flights to the town, but its popularity could also be fueled by northern lights chasers. This year’s Aurora Borealis is set to give a strong show.
2.
Goa, India
The tropical destination Goa is up 60% in flight searches vs last year. New Year’s is especially big here, so you can partake in local festivities while soaking up the sun.
3.
Phuket, Thailand
This Thai beach gem gained big in popularity, with a 52% growth in flight searches from last year. In fact, 6 of the top 10 trending destinations are in Asia.
KAYAK’s top 10 trending destinations
1.
Kelty, Scotland
We found that a whopping 81% of accommodations in Kelty on KAYAK have hot tubs. So it’s easy to imagine exploring its forests and lochs during the day and relaxing those muscles in the suds at night.
2.
Reykholt, Iceland
This picturesque village in Iceland has hot tubs in 78% of its accommodations on KAYAK. Picture sitting in your own outdoor hot tub, gazing up at the aurora.
3.
Imerovigli, Greece
This Santorini beauty offers hot tubs in 73% of its KAYAK accommodations. Why not enjoy some romance during your holiday, while catching epic sunsets?
KAYAK’s top 10 places for hot tub lovers
Soak your bones in hot bubbly water while sipping a glass of cold bubbly. These destinations have a large proportion of accommodations with hot tubs found on KAYAK.
Methodology
The Travel Check-In: Christmas and New Year 2024 report is based on an analysis of return economy flight searches made on KAYAK.co.uk and associated brands between 14-06-2024 and 14-09-2024 for travel dates between 14-12-2024 and 06-01-2025, defined as the Christmas and New Year holiday period. Year-over-year data is based on the comparison to the same search and travel periods in the previous years.
All flight prices mentioned are weighted average prices for return flights in economy class, and departing from anywhere in the UK. ‘Domestic’ trips are defined as trips to destinations within the UK, ‘Europe’ as trips outside the UK but within Europe, and ‘Outside Europe’ as trips outside Europe, departing from the UK
Business class data is based on an analysis of return business class flight searches made on KAYAK.co.uk and associated brands between 14-06-2024 and 14-09-2024 for travel dates between 14-12-2024 and 06-01-2025, defined as the Christmas and New Year holiday period. Year-over-year data is based on the comparison to the same search and travel periods in the previous years.
Destination lists are based on an analysis of the destinations with the most roundtrip economy flight searches on KAYAK.co.uk and associated brands. Average return economy flight prices, year-over-year percentage comparisons over search volume and prices are calculated for the destinations.
‘Most-searched destinations’ are defined as destinations with the highest flight search volume, while the ‘Trending destinations’ is based on the destinations with the biggest year-over-year increase in search volume for return economy flights.
‘Best-value destinations’ are defined as destinations with our lowest average return economy flight prices, while ‘Biggest price drops' are destinations with the biggest year-over-year decreases in return economy flight prices.
Destination exclusions may have been applied in cases of insufficient data or according to the official travel advisory at the time when the data analysis was conducted.
Presenting our most affordable and priciest days to depart and return. Average return economy flight prices are analysed for departures between 14-12-2024 and 31-12-2024 and returns between 26-12-2024 and 06-01-2025 for trips in the UK, to Europe, and outside Europe, respectively, departing from the UK.
Potential savings are calculated by comparing the most affordable prices for return economy flights to the overall averages.
The same periods are analysed to highlight the most likely busiest and quietest days to depart and return based on our search volumes.
22nd of December was identified as the busiest day to fly last year based on return economy flight searches made on KAYAK and its associated brands between 01-03-2023 and 31-08-2024 for travel dates between 01-09-2023 and 31-08-2024.
Our flight search data between 23-10-2023 and 14-12-2023 for travel dates between 14-12-2023 and 06-01-2024 is analysed to present the weeks when users found our lowest return economy flight prices on average last year for trips in the UK, to Europe, and outside Europe, respectively, departing from the UK.
Based on hotel searches, made on KAYAK.co.uk and its associated brands in the period between 01-01-2024 and 14-09-2024, hot tub amenity is among the top 10 most used filters.
To showcase the top destinations featuring hot tubs, our Stays catalogue was analysed to identify destinations with the highest percentage of accommodations offering the "hot tub" amenity. The analysis included only destinations with at least ten accommodations that provide a "hot tub" amenity and have received customer reviews in the past two years.
The post Travel Check-In: Christmas and New Year 2024. appeared first on KAYAK Blog UK.
