Flight bookings to the UK jumped since June, driven by the sharp fall in the pound following the vote to leave the European Union. Overall, there were 4.3% more flights booked to the UK in the 28 days following the vote than last year. Bookings from Hong Kong leapt by 30.1%, while they were up by 9.2% from the US and 5% from Europe. Travel researcher, ForwardKeys, said Brexit had had an “immediate, positive impact” on tourism to the UK, BBC News reported. The organization, which analyses 14 million reservation transactions a day to monitor future travel patterns, said, “The most favorable exchange rate in decades is probably the major driver for the uptake in bookings to Britain.” While the pound has fallen about 13% against the dollar since its peak on 23 June, the day of the referendum, it has also fallen about 10% against the euro. A lower pound cuts the cost of a holiday for foreign visitors to the UK. “In the months ahead, our data will show whether this post-Brexit bounce is sustained,” said Olivier Jager, ForwardKeys chief executive.
