European Countries Americans Are Seeking To Visit This Summer, And Predicted International Airfares

We’re almost there. Because of a successful vaccination program, and an agreement between all 27 European Union countries on the need to use vaccination certificates, Americans will probably be allowed to travel to Europe this summer, although a date has not yet been announced for when that travel can begin.

So if you want to travel to Europe, do get vaccinated, and keep your vaccination credentials with your passport. (And is your passport up-to-date?)

Reaction from pent-up Americans who are longing to travel has been swift. Following President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen’s announcement about the E.U. policy decision, the travel app Hopper saw a 47% spike in airfare searches from the U.S. to Europe.

Hopper receives 25 to 30 billion airfare price quotes every day from flight searches across the web (not just in the app itself). Statistics below are based on their surveys.

Where are Americans planning to go? 

• The top five most searched European destinations: 1) Paris, France; 2) Barcelona, Spain; 3) Frankfurt, Germany; 4) Athens, Greece and 5) Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Destinations which saw the largest spikes in flight searches following the recent announcement:

• Denmark (up 84% since 4/25)
• Poland (up 72% since 4/25)
• Portugal (up 60% since 4/25)
• Netherlands (up 59% since 4/25)
• France (up 57% since 4/25)
• Sweden (up 55% since 4/25)
• Italy (up 52% since 4/25)
• Germany (up 49% since 4/25)
• Finland (up 48% since 4/25)
• Spain (up 47% since 4/25)

What travelers should expect to pay for summer travel to Europe:

• Round-trip international airfare for summer 2021 will average $775, up 3% from summer 2020 ($755), but down 9% from summer 2019 ($853).
• Round-trip international airfare is forecast to rise 8% into May, with a more modest 3% increase afterwards into June to peak at $800 in late June.
• Airfare is predicted to fall 6% (~$47) into August and hold steady into September. However, if demand picks up for Europe travel, prices could increase even higher heading into the summer months. 
• There may be deals to be found as travel restrictions get lifted. Since Iceland announced it’s reopening plans on March 17th, airfare from the U.S. dropped 21% from $697 to $550 round-trip in the past month.

International destinations trending for Summer: 

• Among all international searches for summer 2021, Dubrovnik, Croatia (#1), Reykjavik, Iceland (#2), and Tel Aviv, Israel (#3) are trending highest for summer travel. 
• Portugal, Greece, and Iceland are the hottest European travel destinations for summer 2021, as they’ve recently announced reopening plans for vaccinated tourists. 
• Lisbon (#1) and Athens (#2) lead the most booked summer 2021 European destinations, followed by Paris (#3), London (#4), and Dublin (#5). Porto, Portugal (#6) has shot up in summer bookings relative to where it was in 2019.

Countries announcing reopening plans and already seeing surge in summer demand:

• Portugal – a 77% spike following an announcement in the first week of March that it hoped to welcome back tourists from the UK starting in mid-May, joining Cyprus and Greece.
• Iceland – a 93% spike in searches after announcing it would fully reopen to all vaccinated travelers (including U.S. travelers) on March 17th – the biggest surge in search traffic seen to-date in 2021 for reopening internationally.
• Greece – a 42% increase in round-trip searches from the U.S. on April 20th, following its reopening plans to U.S travelers announced on April 19th. Searches for flights to Athens have also shot up 75% since March 9th.
• Lisbon – a 63% spike in searches during the first week of March.

What to expect for summer airfare prices to Europe:

• Round-trip international airfare for summer 2021 will average $775, up 3% from the previous summer ($755), but down 9% from summer 2019 ($853).
• Hopper is forecasting round-trip international airfare to rise 8% into May, with a more modest 3% increase afterwards into June, to peak at $800 in late June. From there, they’re predicting it to fall 6% (~$47) into August and hold steady into September. However, if demand picks up for Europe travel, prices should increase even higher heading into the summer months. 
• Amid easing of travel restrictions, unless demand spikes rapidly enough to outpace the increase in supply, flash sales can be found as airlines attempt to entice travelers to return. For instance, since Iceland announced reopening plans on March 17, round-trip airfare from the U.S. has dropped from $697 to $550, a 21% decrease.