Beach holidays are almost sold out. City breaks, cruises, spas and ski resorts still have room for last-minute bookings.
This spring is the first winter holiday season without interest rate restrictions in three years, and this is clearly reflected in the demand from travel agents interviewed by Yle.
The winter holidays for schoolchildren take place in weeks 8-10 in February and March.
Aurinkomatkat and Tjäreborg’s trips to the south are almost sold out.
He says that sales have increased significantly since spring 2022.
– January-February was in Omicron’s grip, and the war affected demand in March.
Especially the Canary Islands, Thailand, Madeira and the Malaga region are popular destinations.
– There is more demand now than in 2019 before the pandemic. That is probably explained by the fact that many people who wanted to travel last winter, so there is still pent-up demand.
During the winter holiday weeks, through Aurinkomatto, you can still go on city holidays to Barcelona and Alicante, for example.
Travel capacity will be increased towards March, when more beach holidays will become available again.
Gran Canaria is a classic destination for Finns
Tjäreborg’s sales also reflect people’s enthusiasm for travel.
There are only a few individual places available for the winter holiday weeks.
The most desired destination is Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. Spain’s Sunshine Coast is also popular with self-employed tourists.
According to him, Tjäreborg’s sales have not yet risen to the pre-pandemic level, but they are approaching it. There are about 15–20 percent fewer trips available than in 2019, but the trips that are on sale sell well.
Inflation does not seem to affect the travel agency’s customer numbers. According to Virtanen, the prices of trips have not increased significantly. Due to the travel break caused by Corona, some are putting even more money into their trip.
– We will take more upscale hotels and additional services, such as all inclusive and an apartment with its own swimming pool. Some want luxury in the middle of everyday life.
However, the majority of customers think carefully about the budget of the trip and look for a suitable price-quality ratio.
– Living in our destinations, such as Spain and Greece, is even more affordable than in Finland, if you think about the prices of food and drinks.
Train packages add new dimensions to travel to Tallinn and Stockholm
The company also sells travel packages to other Baltic countries, Nordic countries and Central and Southern Europe. According to Palonen, trips are still very much available to many destinations.
– Now, for the first time in three years, there is really good demand, but we are still far from the passenger numbers of 2019.
Cruise hotel packages are available to destinations such as Tallinn and Stockholm. They can also be combined with train trips from Tallinn to Tartu, Narva or Rakvere, and from Stockholm to Copenhagen, Oslo or Umeå.
There are many options for accommodation.
– Finnish leisure travelers are interested in spa hotels and four-star hotels in the city centers. For families, the demand for larger apartments increases during ski holidays.
Spa holidays are still available
In Finland, the winter holiday season looks promising in the Naantali and Ruissalo spas, but there is still room for those looking for a holiday destination.
The spa’s background company, Sunborn Saga Oy, is preparing for an occupancy rate of about 80 percent, which is a big improvement on last spring.
However, the future causes uncertainty because the impact of inflation on customers’ decisions is unknown.
– Tourism is among the first sectors to suffer when consumers’ purchasing power decreases. The good news is that we have yet to see a significant drop in customer numbers due to inflation.
According to Hakkarainen, the price of energy has hardly affected prices or operations, but its consumption is monitored daily.
After the lifting of travel restrictions, Nordic and Central European tourists have returned to the spas of Ruissalo and Naantali, but Asians are still staying away.
Russians were not a significant customer group for the spas of Southwestern Finland.
On the other hand, in the Imatra spa located in South Karelia, the absence of Russians can be seen and felt.
However, the share of Finnish customers has increased, which makes the situation easier. During the winter holiday weeks, the occupancy rate is a third higher than last year, but there is still room for those who want it.
Enjoy snow sports and nature in a chalet accommodation
However, some companies in the tourism industry benefited from the pandemic, such as Lomarengas Oy, which rents cabins around Finland.
The peak level has now decreased by ten percent, but sales are still above the time before the corona virus.
– It’s great that nature and sports destinations like this are popular.
When the snow situation is uncertain in the south, destinations in the north attract people. Favorites of winter athletes are Ruka, Tahko, Vuokatti, Pyhä, Levi, Ylläs and Saariselkä.
– Renting a holiday home is often a cheaper option for families than a hotel, and there is a wide range of options at different prices.
Lomarenka’s cabins are almost full in week 8, but there is still plenty of space in weeks 9-10.
Kohonen is happy that the number of foreign tourists has increased again.
*You can discuss the topic of the story until Tuesday 14.2. until 11 p.m.*