Germany is Mancunians’ favourite winter destination, flight data has revealed.
A total of 476,031 people flew between Manchester Airport and Germany last December, January and February, making it the most popular place to visit for Mancunians last winter.
The number of people flying to and from the country is also on the rise, having increased from 465,703 in the winter of 2017/18.
The rise in visitors from Manchester to Germany has largely been driven by an increase in the number of people travelling to Dusseldorf, a city known for its fashion industry and art scene.
It also hosts a large Christmas Market every year.
Dusseldorf airport saw nearly 22,000 more passengers going to and from Manchester last winter compared to the year before.
Frankfurt also saw a surge in visitors, and was by far the most popular destination within Germany, with passenger numbers rising from 117,106 in 2017/18 to 121,902 last winter.
As a major financial hub and home to the European Central Bank, it’s likely that many of these visitors were there on business, rather than on holiday.
The second-most popular country for Mancunians to visit on a winter break was the Canary Islands, which saw 435,975 passengers - up from 411,134.
It was followed by Spain (404,752), the United Arab Emirates (346,023) and Ireland (300,155).
Overall, the number of people flying to and from Manchester Airport increased by 7% last winter, rising from 4.6 million passengers in 2017/18 to 4.9 million last winter.
In particular, the number of people flying to and from Thailand soared, from 1,036 to 13,354.
Portugal and India also saw significant increases.
Meanwhile, places like Denmark, Canada and Iceland appear to be falling out of favour, with visitor numbers dropping last year.
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