Portugal has seen a spike in demand for travel following its inclusion on the ‘green’ list of safe destinations by the government in England on Friday.

The country was one of a small handful declared safe by officials, meaning there is no need to quarantine on return.

In response, bookings to Portugal rose by 663 per cent on Friday, according to new figures from Skyscanner, with trips for May and June particularly popular.
Faro, Lisbon, Porto and Madeira were among the most popular destinations.

Gavin Harris, pricing and deals expert at Skyscanner, commented: “We saw a busy weekend of searches and bookings, as engaged travellers reacted to the news of the green list.

“Our data clearly shows that people want European beach holidays, as Portugal was by far the top searched and booked destination on Skyscanner.

“The green list announcement also drove searches for amber countries like Spain for later in the year.

“The average fare for bookings made over the weekend remained lower than usual, with return tickets to Porto costing on average £101, Lisbon sitting at £114 and Faro at £127.

“Plenty of travel providers are keeping prices low to compete for bookings and there are still extremely attractive deals to be had for spring and summer trips.”