Research by travel analytics firm ForwardKeys has placed Greece at the forefront as one of the most “resilient destinations in Europe” for the summer.

Mykonos tops the list of 10 European destinations with bookings for European summer at 54.9 percent of pre-COVID-19 (2019) booking levels. Spain’s Mediterranean island of Ibiza comes second at 49. percent and Chania is third on the list at 48.9 percent.

With the exception of Spain’s Palma de Mallorca (41.2 percent), and Faro in Portugal, which at 32.8 per cent is at the bottom of the list of top-10 European destinations, the remaining five destinations are in Greece, reported the Greek Travel Pages (GTP).

The other Greek destinations on the list are Thira in Santorini which is reporting bookings at 48.1 percent of pre-pandemic levels, Corfu (47.5 percent), Thessaloniki (43.7 percent, Heraklio (36.6 percent) and Athens (33.2 percent).

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ForwardKeys said the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations was the key to reviving international travel. It said countries such as Greece and Iceland that are set to welcome visitors who have vaccinated for COVID-19 have noted an increase in inbound flight bookings.

It said that Greece was also experiencing a rise in flight reservations from key markets such the USA and Britain. Greece is at the top of the list of popular destinations for British travellers with confirmed tickets to travel between July and September up 12 percent on 2019 levels.

Three key markets where COVID-19 vaccination rollouts are moving quickly, Israel, the USA and UK, have witnesse a faster increase than anywhere else in the number of outbound flight bookings.

“Vaccinations appear to hold the key to reviving international travel, as countries that make clear promises to welcome vaccinated travellers are being rewarded by strong surges in flight bookings. We are seeing a revival of confidence in outbound travel from countries where there has been a successful rollout of Covid-19 vaccines too,” said Olivier Ponti, VP Insights, ForwardKeys.