The late arrival of the Easter weekend means that more Swedes are choosing to travel within Europe this year. In light of Trump's latest statements, the USA, however, feels less attractive to Swedes. "The desire for a trip to the USA is minimal," says Claes Pellvik, Head of Communications at Ving.
The Easter break is just around the corner and many Swedes are taking the opportunity to go on a holiday abroad. However, the destination they choose has changed since last year. European destinations are gaining ground, while the US is declining.
Since the beginning of the year until the beginning of March, pressure on US travel has decreased by approximately 30 percent at the travel agency Ticket, TT recently reported. A trend that many in the industry are seeing.
”"We are seeing a significant decrease in new bookings, and there are also those who choose to cancel their trips," Didrik von Seth, CEO of the Swedish Travel Industry Association, told the news agency.
He is convinced there is a Trump connection.
Claes Pellvik, Head of Communications at Ving, is ready to agree. However, he points out that the reduction in bookings to the US began already after Covid, but was linked to the high price picture.
”"The combination of a weak krona and the recent turbulence, with talk of boycotting American goods, has meant that the desire to spend quite a lot of money on a trip to the US is minimal," he tells Di.
Ving still has some travelers to the country, but the bookings were made a long time ago.
”"Large trips have usually been booked well in advance, so those trips are still being carried out. But the new influx of trips to the US is low. Especially trips like 'it would be great to go to New York for a week'. There we see a significant decline from an already low level compared to before the pandemic," he says.
At Ving, demand for travel within Europe, and especially to the Canary Islands and Cyprus, has been extra high this year.
”"The fact that Easter was much earlier last year plays a role. At that time, there was high pressure on travel to places like Cape Verde and Thailand. People needed to get further away because of the heat," says Claes Pellvik.
The same trend is noticeable his TUI, where Gran Canaria, Cyprus and Mallorca top the list of Easter destinations.
MOST BOOKED DESTINATIONS AT EASTER AT TUI
1. Gran Canaria, Spain
2. Cyprus
3. Majorca, Spain
4. Phuket, Thailand
5. Rhodes, Greece
6. Antalya Coast, Turkey
7. Tenerife, Spain
8. Hurghada, Egypt
9.Crete, Greece
10. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
European destinations also top Ticket's list of most booked destinations, with Amsterdam standing out with a six-fold increase in bookings. Despite recent political turbulence and economic uncertainty, Claes Pellvik believes that the desire to travel remains high.
THE MOST POPULAR CITIES IN EASTER AT TICKET
1. Amsterdam
2. Barcelona
3. Málaga
4. London
5. Alicante
6. Paris
7. Majorca
8. Berlin
9. Larnaca
10. Rome
Source: Ticket
”"You may not want to sell shares and funds at this time, but from what we can see, Swedes are still finding the budget to book trips for the summer," he says.
Booking a sun trip for Easter can be difficult at the last minute, says Claes Pellvik. Anyone who is late but still wants to get away should instead consider a weekend trip to London or Paris.
”Or Eastern Europe, if you want to save a penny,” he says.
THE MOST AFFORDABLE CITY DESTINATIONS IN EUROPE
1. Bucharest, Romania
2. Sofia, Bulgaria
3. Tirana, Albania
4. Riga, Latvia
5. Belgrade, Serbia
6. Warsaw, Poland
7. Gdansk, Poland
8. Vilnius, Lithuania
9. Krakow, Poland
10. Budapest, Hungary
Source: DI.SE-Forex metropolitan index.
