The Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands is the lifeline for charter companies during the winter season.
But bookings are slow so far – only a quarter as many this winter compared to a normal year.
The Canary Islands will be the sole destination in the three largest charter companies' online catalogues in the coming months. The charter company TUI does indeed arrange travel for airlines that travel to other destinations, but just like its competitors Ving and Apollo, it has chosen to concentrate its own offering on the Spanish archipelago off the northwestern coast of Africa.
”"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs still advises against travel outside Europe. There are not many more places in Europe than the Canary Islands where it is hot right now," says Adam Györki, communications manager at TUI.
Charter companies have adapted their trips to make them safer from a health protection perspective, including by reducing crowding on transfer buses and removing the option of self-service at buffets. However, the booking statistics are grim reading for finance departments – the figures suggest that many Swedes are hesitant about traveling abroad during the pandemic.
”"Bookings are about a quarter lower than in a normal winter. It's difficult for us to know what it will look like going forward, it all depends on what happens in the development of the pandemic," says Györki.
Representatives for Ving and Apollo give a similar picture of the booking situation ahead of the winter. Ving's communications manager Fredrik Henriksson says that many of the bookings are made after the New Year.
”"During the autumn holidays, we had full flights, some weeks are more sought after than others. Now we see that people are starting to book, but above all, many are booking for next year. That's where we see the greatest pressure right now, both in terms of new bookings and customers who have brought forward bookings," says Henriksson.
Apollo's Sweden manager Erika Butterworth says that bookings up until the New Year are around 30 percent of normal, but for the months of January-March the figure is 40 percent. Apollo has – just like its competitors – lowered prices and added generous cancellation protection to sell more trips.
”"We're talking to a lot of people who want to travel but are unsure about what will happen, and there are those who are wondering what their neighbors will say if they travel. At the same time, we have a larger group of people who say they've had Covid-19, that they have antibodies and that they're taking the opportunity to travel now," says Butterworth.
Source: TT
