Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

The Independent UK

Travel

Amelia Neath

These are the holiday destinations that have seen the biggest drop in flight price this year

United Kingdom Japan Skyscanner Albania Sarajevo Tirana

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Locations across Europe and as far away as Japan have been named as the best value-for-money places to fly to as UK departure prices drop.

Destinations across the globe have seen a decrease in their flight prices this year due to a combination of factors, such as airlines launching new routes, which open up these destinations for the first time and/or a higher frequency of low-cost carrier flights.

The top value destinations have been calculated on how much their price dropped by per cent for economy class return flights booked from the UK between 1 January 2024 and 30 June 2024 for travel throughout 2024 and compared to the same period in 2023

Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina has seen a 45 per cent drop in flight prices out of the UK, having the largest decrease in airfare out of any other destinations in 2025, according to Skyscanner’s Travel Trends Report.

This is in part due to new routes that have launched from London Stansted to Sarajevo, allowing visitors to experience the capital’s Ottoman-era old town, its top-tier cafe culture and the centuries-old Baščaršija Bazaar.

Sarajevo has seen a 45 per cent drop in its flight fares in 2024 (Getty Images)

Okinawa in Japan has also seen a 39 per cent decrease in its flight prices, giving UK travellers the chance to visit the southern Japanese prefecture, exploring its rich landscape of natural beauty, castle ruins and heritage sites worlds away from the metropolitan buzz of the country’s largest cities.

In third is Albania’s capital, Tirana, with a 36 per cent drop in prices, with new flight routes available to UK tourists from Birmingham and Bristol.

Dubbed the next big Mediterranean holiday destination, Albania has been attracting more and more visitors to their sandy beach hotspots in recent years, while its neighbours Croatia and Greece have traditionally been more popular.

Okinawa, a natural beauty spot in Japan, has had its flight prices reduced by 39 per cent (Getty Images)

Tirana is known for its vibrant nightlife, architectural landmarks such as the Pyramid of Tirana, and exceptional Albanian food scene, yet it is also a short distance away from the Ionian Riviera coast, which is lined with charming villages and great-value hotels.

While Skyscanner says that while many Brits are continuing to prioritise travelling abroad, the impact of the increasing cost of living in the UK means that budgeting does remain a key factor when choosing where to book a trip.

The cost of flights, as well as how much hotels will set back a traveller per night, are the top determining factors when choosing a holiday destination for almost half (47 per cent) of 20,000 Skyscanner poll respondents globally.

Travellers can get to Albania’s capital in Tirana for 36 per cent less in price than the year before (Getty Images)

Price is not the only factor, as food (54 per cent), the natural landscape (49 per cent) and culture (44 per cent) will also influence where a traveller chooses to fly to.

Naomi Hahn, the vice president of strategy at Skyscanner, said: “Skyscanner’s Travel Trends report reveals that 2025 will be the year of collective travel experiences. Now, more than ever, travellers are increasingly seeking travel experiences that foster community and collective discovery.

“We’re seeing a range of experiences and interests from sport to astrology, as well as art and culture, that are bringing people together for a shared adventure.

“The cost of living, though, remains top of mind, and our money-saving tools continue to rise in popularity. Our ‘Everywhere’ search, showing prices from the lowest to highest from airports to global destinations, is still one of the top search destinations for travellers globally this year.”