Finns invest in Christmas tourism despite the tight economic situation, according to representatives of travel agencies.
More and more Finns want to spend either a snowy Christmas in Lapland or the Christmas holidays on a paradise island under a palm tree.
Domestic holiday cottages and foreign trips purchased through travel agencies have been booked for Christmas this year more enthusiastically than last year.
Travel agency TUI Finland reports that there are only 30 percent of foreign travel destinations left for the Christmas holidays.
Also at TUI, the booking situation for Christmas trips has grown by almost a third since last year. It is estimated from both travel agencies that last year the coronavirus and the travel regulations decreased the enthusiasm for traveling during the Christmas period.
It is reported from TUI Finland that the travel agency has not reached the pre-booking numbers or travel capacity for Christmas 2019 this year.
Aurinkomatkat also operates with a smaller volume this Christmas. On the other hand, it has tightened this Christmas in terms of bookings over 2019’s numbers. The same is also said about Lomarenkaa, which arranges holiday cottages all over Finland.
The most popular travel destinations at Christmas are still the Canary Islands, such as Gran Canaria and Tenerife, as well as Thailand.
White Christmas in Lapland is still attractive
After the corona year 2020, the increased interest in domestic tourism continues and this is also visible during the Christmas holidays.
Lomarenkaa has just under a third of its capacity to offer cabins for Christmas. Most of the available cabins are in southern Finland.
Lomarenka’s Christmas cabin bookings have also increased by 20 percent from last year.
The economic situation does not dampen the desire to travel
According to a survey conducted by TUI Finland in September, more than half of the respondents stated that the economic situation will not affect traveling in the next 12 months.
The survey also revealed that the most important thing when making a travel reservation is to get value for money. According to representatives of travel agencies, this can also be seen in booking behavior. On the other hand, pre-bookings for Christmas are made even earlier, but at the same time, the number of last-minute bookers is increasing.
Many are looking for the best price/quality ratio for their trip. The popularity of advance bookings is still on the rise.