Wars, fires and a weak Swedish krona do not stop Swedes from traveling.
At the top of the list for autumn travel is Greece, followed by Spain.
Reports of high electricity prices, rising mortgage rates and a looming recession are pouring in. However, charter companies see no impact on bookings for autumn and winter trips.
”"There are a few trips left for the Christmas holidays, but otherwise we are completely booked," says Sandra Miller Kinge, communications manager at the travel company Apollo.
She has not noticed any decline in demand, and customers are traveling as much as before. Many of Apollo's booked trips are to the Spanish Canary Islands, mainly to the islands of Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. The most popular destinations for autumn are no different from those of summer. Greece and Spain are the destinations for Swedes when they go on charter trips.
”"What used to be classic summer destinations have now become popular even in the fall. The countries around the Mediterranean have had longer tourist seasons, of course the increased temperature could have something to do with it," says Sandra Miller Kinge.
This year has been a record summer for forest fires in Europe. The worst has been in Spain with over 40 forest fires. But Sandra Miller Kinge says they have been lucky, no fires have come close enough to the company's destination.
”"The fires have not affected travel demand. Nor have we seen any effects from travel destinations becoming more expensive with inflation and the weak krona.".
Travel giant Tui, which is Sweden's largest charter company, says that sales are also going well, but the company is noticing that an old Swedish favorite is increasing again.
”"Ahead of winter, we see a high booking rate for trips to Thailand. It's cheap to live there and an advantage over European countries is that the currency is not the euro," says Adam Györki, head of communications at Tui.
However, the war in Ukraine has made travel to Asia more expensive. The sanctions mean that planes are no longer flying directly over Russia, as they used to. Instead, flights are forced to take a more southern route, which is longer and more expensive.
The company's customers are also choosing to book longer vacations than before. Swedes are now choosing to stay abroad for two to three weeks.
”"We have speculated that it may be about electricity prices here in Sweden. People may be going abroad for a long time so they can turn off the electricity at home for a while," says Adam Györki.
Source: DI.SE
