Travel agencies are already selling full steam next winter’s southern vacations, when mask requirements have been removed from airplanes and the restrictions on arrival have been reduced. The favorite destinations are almost the same as before.
Finns’ interest in tourism is returning to the pre-corona level. Finns are already booking holiday trips full of carbon dioxide for next winter and beyond.
In the spring and winter of 2020, the corona pandemic that landed in Finland practically reduced Finnish travel to the south for two, even three winters. This year we have returned to normal, but many have preferred sudden departures.
For months, they haven’t dared to book trips for fear of new travel restrictions. Now the situation is changing.
Travel agencies are already selling full steam next winter’s southern vacations, especially since mask requirements have been removed from airplanes and restrictions on arrival have been reduced. The sales targets are tough.
TUI Finland expects winter travel sales to reach close to the pre-coronavirus level.
– In several weeks, we are already selling at the same pace as in 2019. Of course, the capacity is not quite the same as it was then, but if necessary, we can easily add more flights, Aaltonen says.
The world situation creates uncertainty
The Finnish tourism industry association SMAL estimates that this year we will still clearly lag behind the tourism numbers of the pre-corona period, as you can see from the table below. The beginning of the year was still tinged by numerous travel restrictions around the world, and they have only been eased or removed extensively in recent months.
The Canary Islands attract
Finns’ winter travel favorites have remained the same. The Canary Islands are clearly number one.
– Last week’s best-selling destinations were: Gran Canaria first, Tenerife second, Thailand’s Phuket third, Cape Verde fourth, Laura Aaltonen enumerates.
– It’s nice to notice that people are booking Thai holidays in the same way as before.
Tjäreborg’s Virtanen lists the Canary Islands and Madeira as the top destinations, Cape Verde on the west coast of Africa.
– Thailand has been a favorite for years, but at least it won’t be as big for us next winter as before. At least at the moment, there isn’t that much demand there. For us, it is more towards Cape Verde or the Canary Islands, says Virtanen.
The overflight ban extends the flight time
The fact that the corona restrictions are still partially in force there can subtly dampen Thailand’s popularity. For example, a mask must still be worn in shops, banks, buses, taxis and at attractions.
In addition, we no longer fly there over Russia, but have to detour a bit. Hooking extends the flight time by perhaps an hour. However, holiday flights to Thailand are direct, there are no layovers.
TUI’s new destinations include the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Self-employed travelers, on the other hand, have their own favorites.
– In terms of scheduled flights, the Maldives are still the favorites of self-employed travelers, as before, but there have also been a lot of bookings for Mauritius. It seems to be the new object of interest in winter, Tjäreborgin Virtanen estimates.
The price lives according to demand
What about the price? There is no fixed price, it is decided by demand. The biggest peak in demand for trips to the south falls on school vacations, Christmas and ski vacation weeks.
– Our pricing goes according to demand, i.e. automatically. If there’s a lot of demand, then it’s more expensive, and if there’s little demand and a lot of places, it’s cheaper, Aaltonen explains.
According to Virtanen, travel agencies have been using dynamic pricing for years. Prices vary depending, among other things, on the time of the trip.
– If we look at this summer and winter, we are operating in pretty much the same price categories as before the corona, At least there have been no huge increases there yet. The future will show how fuel prices will affect travel prices, Virtanen states.
For example, a two-week Christmas holiday trip to Cape Verde can currently be taken for a good couple of tons, but clearly more expensive packages are also available. No wait, you don’t have to trade for anything yet.