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SUSTAINABILITY SUCCESS Overtourism dominated the headlines, but some positive steps were made. The Spanish Tourist Office’s sustainability efforts and promotion of shoulder-season tourism started to bear fruit, with UK arrivals in the first quarter of 2025 hitting 1.6 million, up from 1.4 million in 2024, and continued flattening of the peak months. Meanwhile, Greece introduced a cruise passenger tax for Mykonos and Santorini (pictured) to reduce overtourism and protect the islands’ infrastructure.


RISING STARS Albania continued its ascent, with P&O Cruises announcing it would return to the Balkan destination for the first time in almost a decade in 2027. Operators including Olympic Holidays and Tui added Albania this year, and new Ryanair flights from Birmingham to capital Tirana will make the country more accessible in 2026. Recovering from setbacks to their tourism industries last year, Jordan (pictured) welcomed a third more UK travellers in the first seven months of the year, while the Hong Kong Tourism Board reported a 14% year-on-year rise in UK visitors in the first half of this year.


FIRM FAVOURITES


Spain topped a YouGov poll in May of destinations Brits were most likely to visit in summer 2025; almost 16% of the 5,000 people surveyed said


Spain was the destination they wanted to visit next. The UK was a close second, followed by European favourites Italy, Greece, France and Portugal. Turkey (pictured) staged a late summer comeback after its popularity was hit by higher prices, according to easyJet holidays boss Garry Wilson. He told Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Conference in September that hoteliers in Turkey had helped operators by introducing offers to stimulate late demand.


EVERY COUNTS


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RULES OF ENTRY The trade welcomed the EU’s confirmation that its biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) would come into effect from October 12, to replace manual passport stamping. The installation will be phased, with the rollout due to be complete by April 10, 2026. Other destinations also made improvements, with Thailand introducing an online arrival card for international visitors.


globetravelawards.co.uk


November 2025 43


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