The increasingly intense debate about climate change has made Swedes hesitant to fly on vacation.
The major charter giants are seeing a change in booking pressure ahead of the summer.
All three major charter giants Ving, Tui and Apollo are reporting lower booking pressure for this summer compared to last year. The trend is that more and more Swedes are waiting to book their summer trips.
All three believe that the record-breaking summer of 2018 is contributing to the delay in bookings. But another aspect is the rising awareness of the climate impact of travel.
”"Whether climate anxiety affects travel in the longer term is too early to predict and it is not something we want or can speculate about. There is an increased demand on us tour operators regarding sustainability issues, which we welcome and are actively working on. Sustainable tourism is in everyone's interest," says Anna Hagberg, information officer at Ving Sweden.
”"There are many aspects that affect how we travel. But the desire to travel is great and households continue to have strong purchasing power, despite increased amortization requirements and a weak Swedish krona."”
The changed booking pressure does not necessarily mean that travelers can make bigger cuts on their last-minute trips than they usually can.
”"It is still too early to say what the price level for last-minute summer trips will be like. Generally, you get the best deals when you are out in good time," says Clara Larsson, press officer at Apollo.
At the travel company Travel Beyond, which offers exclusive package tours, the season's summer bookings have not yet started.
CEO and founder Helena Andrén also sees a tendency for customers to wait to see what the Swedish summer will be like, but has also noticed a greater interest in the climate impact of travel.
”"Customers often have high profiles in society and we see a difference in that they are more often than before keeping a low profile with their travel if they are in a position where they could receive media or social criticism for it."”
According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, international travel per Swede has more than doubled since the early 1990s, and in the Swedish Transport Agency's forecast from autumn 2018, the number of air passengers is expected to rise by an average of 3.1 percent annually until 2024.
It is now estimated that we take an average of one trip abroad per person per year.
Source: di.se
