![\"Sharm](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_Sharm-el-Sheikh-Sinai-Red-Sea-Egypt.jpg\")
UK holidaymakers are swapping European holidays for north African destinations(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\nThe swap might be down to prices being lower in the African spots<\/p>\n
11:58, 11 Jun 2025Updated 12:00, 11 Jun 2025<\/p>\n
UK holidaymakers are swapping European holidays for north African destinations(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Thousands of British tourists are swapping traditional European hotspots for destinations in north Africa, according to recent reports from travel companies.<\/p>\n
Travel experts have reported that people are being drawn to the region by its range of high-quality hotels costing much less than similar properties in traditional holiday hotspots such as Spain, France and Italy.<\/p>\n
North African countries Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are all experiencing a boost in visitors from the UK.<\/p>\n
Aviation analysts Cirium have released figures that show 19,847 flights are projected to serve routes from UK airports to those nations this year, more than double the 8,653 that did so in 2019.<\/p>\n
By comparison, the number of flights to Spain and Portugal is forecast to increase by 10% and 9% respectively over the same period.<\/p>\n
These new figures suggest many holidaymakers who want better quality accommodation without having to spend more cash are prepared to take a longer flight, despite airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair having seats that do not recline and no onboard entertainment.<\/p>\n
![\"Tui](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_TUI-earnings.jpg\")
Tui reported that bookings for summer breaks in Egypt are 30% higher compared with a year ago(Image: PA)<\/p>\n
Flights from Gatwick airport to Egypt\u2019s Sharm el-Sheikh take around five hours and 20 minutes – which means spending an extra hour and 45 minutes on a plane compared with trips to the traditional southern Spanish hotspot of Alicante.<\/p>\n
EasyJet launched flights between Gatwick and Cape Verde, off the coast of west Africa, in March, which is its longest route serving England. The flights take six hours and 10 minutes to cover the distance of 2,332 nautical miles.<\/p>\n
Travel company Tui said bookings from flight-only and package holiday customers for summer breaks in Egypt are 30% higher compared with a year ago. It also reported \u201cdouble-digit growth\u201d for Tunisia and strong demand for Morocco.<\/p>\n
Tui\u2019s UK commercial director Chris Logan said these three destinations offer \u201cfantastic value for money\u201d, meaning traditional European destinations find it \u201chard to compete\u201d.<\/p>\n
He told the PA news agency: \u201cThere\u2019s good quality accommodation and great weather beyond the traditional summer season. Even in the winter months temperatures are mild, making them a perfect choice for year-round travel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tui has increased its flights from the UK to north Africa this summer to meet growing demand, with new routes from Stansted to Enfidha in Tunisia and from Newcastle to Agadir, Morocco.<\/p>\n
![\"Panorama](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_Panorama-of-Agadir-Morocco.jpg\")
African destinations such as Agadir can offer a more cost-effective holiday for UK tourists(Image: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n
Online accommodation marketplace Booking.com said it recorded a 68% increase in the number of searches for summer breaks in Tunisia during the first five months of this year, compared with the same period in 2024.<\/p>\n
Nicki Tempest-Mitchell, managing director at travel agency Barrhead Travel, said Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia offer \u201cincredible value for money\u201d which is \u201cproving increasingly attractive for holidaymakers this year\u201d.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cThe investment in high-quality hotels and experiences across these regions is turning the heads of customers who may previously have favoured mainland Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough favourites such as Spain and Turkey are still our top-selling destinations, it\u2019s safe to say north Africa is a region to watch over the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The swap might be down to prices being lower in the African spots 11:58, 11 Jun 2025Updated 12:00,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,299,5187,2406,5006],"class_list":{"0":"post-175560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-european","11":"tag-holidays","12":"tag-tourism"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114664577735001745","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}