Mykonos has the X-Factor as Tulisa Strikes a Chord With Viewers

CHESTER, England, October 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Tulisa proves most influential judge ever with 433 per cent rise in online flight searches for Mykonos
Kelly Rowland helps drive 50 per cent rise in searches to Miami
X-Factor increasingly inspires British travellers to visit the stars' holiday hotspots

Following this weekend's ITV1 X-Factor episodes, which saw 32 contestants singing for survival at the 'judges' houses' around the world, there has been a surge in interest to the featured destinations according to TravelSupermarket.  

This year's judges and their locations have proved much more popular than last year's line-up. While Cheryl Cole's destination last year, Ascot, showed no uplift in searches, Tulisa's trip to Mykonos, Greece led to a whopping 433 per cent rise in interest for flights since the shows aired.

The new judges' locations trumped that of mainstay Louis Walsh. Louis's destination, Barcelona, has seen uplift in searches of just 22 per cent. However Los Angeles, as visited by Gary Barlow and the boys has seen a 43 per cent increase while Miami, which was visited by Kelly Rowland and the girls, received an increase of 48 per cent compared to the previous week.  

As well as flights, online searches for package holidays for the featured locations also saw a significant increase. Searches for package holidays to Mykonos increased by 255 per cent after the show and the increase for Miami was 30 per cent.

TravelSupermarket compared the following searches on its site for this week versus last week* - before the weekend's much anticipated episodes - to determine which destination has the X-Factor:

1. Mykonos, Greece (Tulisa Contostavlos) - uplift of 433 per cent
2. Miami, USA (Kelly Rowland) - uplift of 48 per cent
3. Los Angeles, USA (Gary Barlow) - uplift of 43 per cent
4. Barcelona, Spain (Louis Walsh) - uplift of 22 per cent

The results show a marked increase compared to last year - signaling that our desire to copy the jet-setting lifestyle of our favourite judges is well and truly on the increase. Last year Louis led the way when he took his hopefuls to Shannon with the Irish location seeing an uplift in searches of 83 per cent. Marbella, as visited by Simon Cowell, saw searches climb by 45 per cent and Sydney in Australia - as visited by Dannii - saw an increase of 42 per cent at this stage of the competition in 2010.

Overall, this year's destinations were bolstered by flight searches totaling a whopping 546 per cent, compared to just 170 per cent in 2010.

Peter Smith, travel expert at TravelSupermarket said: "People enjoy being inspired by TV, celebrities and films for their holidays, so the concept of 'screenspiration' isn't a new trend. It in fact opens up a whole new world of possibilities that people might not have considered before. 

"We all have our daydreams of visiting the beautiful places we see on screen, but it seems that we are now looking to live the dream and are pricing up these destinations.

"My advice is to do some research into the destinations you are interested in before booking, particularly when looking at the best time of year to go. Greece for example is lovely and warm in September when the programme was filmed, but will be cooling down though the autumn and winter months and could leave holidaymakers disappointed.  

"Once you have an idea of when to go, holidaymakers should shop around to make sure they get the best price on their flight and hotel, or their package deal."

Notes to editors:

* Travelsupermarket compared searches from between 8pm on Saturday 1 October to 12am (midnight) on Sunday 2 October to the same period the previous week

About TravelSupermarket

TravelSupermarket is an online comparison service where customers can find the best value travel options for their needs and purchase over the internet. The website compares flights, car hire, hotels, cruise, package holidays plus dynamic packaging by searching hundreds of travel websites. The information supplied is unbiased and is designed to save the customer time and money.

The site thrives on offering its users accurate real time availability by taking information directly from suppliers such as Opodo, British Airways, Thomas Cook, First Choice, Radisson, Sol Melia, easyCar, Auto-Europe and many more, ensuring users are presented the best possible price at all times. It searches:

• Over 650 scheduled, low cost and charter airlines from 39 individual suppliers
• Over 200,000 individual hotels from over 42 individual hotel suppliers
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• 1,000s of individual package holidays from over 34 suppliers

Additionally, TravelSupermarket also compares prices on travel insurance and on airport car parking.

TravelSupermarket is part of the Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com is a website where consumers can compare personal finance products, save money and apply online. The website has several service areas including personal loans, credit cards, mortgages, current accounts, savings accounts, motor insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, mobile phones, broadband and shopping.

Emma Morris
TravelSupermarket
[email protected]
+44(0)1244-220-671

SOURCE travelsupermarket.com