Surge In Online Searches For Africa Holidays

Greenlight, a leading digital marketing agency, has released the latest findings of their research on online holiday search trends in the UK during November 2011 with their ‘Holiday Issue 11’ report. November 2011’s report findings were consistent with the findings of Greenlight’s previous editions (February 2011 and August 2011) with searches for European holidays topping the list accounting for a 47 per cent share in November. However, interestingly, there was a sharp increase in the number of searches for Africa holidays in November with a growth of over 60,000 searches when compared to August, putting holidays in Africa ahead of North American holidays for the first time in 2011 with a 17 per cent share of online searches.

Greenlight’s study revealed that the search term “Egypt holidays” was used 60, 500 times, which comes as no surprise since the Egypitian Tourism Authority recently stated that the UK was one of the largest source markets for the nation’s tourism in 2011, coming second only to Russia. Egypt has long been a popular holiday destination for UK holidaymakers and may have well been the single largest contributor to the peak in interest in Africa holidays noted by Greenlight during the month of November- a month where many look to get their last fix of sunshine before the winter season sets in. Sharm el Sheikh, with its pristine waters and a kaleidoscope of colour bursting from its coral reefs, has been a major draw for holidaymakers from the UK, earning itself a reputation as one of the best holiday destinations for divers.

According to the figures released by the authorities in Egypt, the recent turmoil did little to discourage over a million Britons from booking their holidays in Egypt, with the average stay for Brit in Egypt lasting a little over 11 days. While Egypt may have proved to be popular with British holidaymakers in 2011, the broader picture is far less rosy. The political crisis has left its scar on the nation and by extension the Egyptian tourism industry which accounts for 10 per cent of the nation’s GDP. Revenues for Egypt’s tourism sector declined by as much as 30 per cent in 2011 as a result of safety concerns with just 9.8 million holidaymakers arriving in Egypt in 2011 compared to 14.7 million in 2010. As the country elects a new head of state in 2012 and continues to make steps towards full democracy, industry insiders feel confident that Egypt will be able to repair the image of their tourism brand.

By: Susan Crown

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According to the latest findings unveiled by Greenlight, Africa holidays have been leading the way in online searches by topping the list of most searched holiday terms on the internet, surpassing North American holidays for the first time ever and recording a whopping 17 per cent share of online searches in 2011.