Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave the green light for vacations in ten countries. Now bookings are starting to come in – and it is to Greece and Spain that Swedes prefer to travel.
”"We don't see the summer as lost," says Tui's press manager Adam Györki.
After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lifted its restrictions on ten European countries, there has been a clear increase in holiday bookings, especially to Spain and Greece. The number of searches has also increased significantly. At Ticket, they are seeing a fivefold increase during the midsummer weekend compared to recent weeks.
”"Our stores have also noticed a sharp increase in interest in summer travel, and many questions are not only about price and selection, but also about possible quarantine or medical requirements upon arrival at the travel destinations, as customers want to make sure they are booking their summer trip to a country without any such requirements that could put a damper on their vacation," says Michael Kapil, Marketing Manager at Ticket.
With charter giants Tui and Ving, most people have chosen to travel in August or in the fall.
”"Sales of summer travel were 225 percent higher last week than the week before. We don't communicate in absolute numbers, but we see an upward trend," says Tui's press manager Adam Györki.
But it's still low levels and supply is limited. From March until last week, Tui barely had a single booking – and those who had already booked had their bookings cancelled until July 15.
Many trips for summer 2021 are now being marketed on the charter companies' websites. At Ving, summer bookings for next summer have doubled compared to the same period last year.
But Adam Györki at Tui does not agree that 2020 would be a lost year.
”"We don't see the summer as lost, however, it will take time to adjust our communication. We have focused on next summer and winter above all, but believe that sales will come in strong even though in many ways they will be significantly lower than previous summers."”
From July 1, charter airlines will begin flying to certain selected destinations.
”"The focus will be on package tours with scheduled flights. We will then gradually review which of our most popular hotels, Sunwing, Sunprime and OBC, will be able to open first. More details about our summer program will be forthcoming," says Fredrik Henriksson, Head of Communications at Ving.
Charter companies are prepared to scale up operations in line with demand. Right now, interest is lukewarm for trips in July, but better for August and early autumn.
”"It's not just about the pandemic, it's about planning too. Not everyone can leave on such short notice," says Adam Györki.
The most popular charter trip, according to Tui's bookings, is to Crete, followed by Rhodes and Mallorca. Greece is one of the countries in Europe that has fared best in the corona pandemic with around 200 deaths. In Spain, the death toll is significantly higher, just over 28,000. In contrast, only around 220 have been reported dead from covid-19 on the Balearic Islands, to which Mallorca belongs.
”"Spain has previously topped the list. The fact that Greece is more popular now may be due to its lower numbers," says Adam Györki.
For the winter holidays, some bookings have also come in with both charter companies, with the Canary Islands being the most popular destination at the moment. However, bookings for winter trips are still below normal levels.
SAS also sees an effect after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lifted the restrictions, but here it is also an increase from a low level.
”"We have increased from small levels and have seen a clear effect after the restrictions were lifted. It is mainly booked to Spain but also to Greece, Portugal and France," says Freja Annamatz, press manager at SAS.
From July 1, Norwegian will resume ten international routes from Sweden.
”"We are noticing a positive response," says communications manager Charlotte Holmbergh Jacobsson, but otherwise does not want to comment on the booking situation for the airline.
Source: di.se
