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Many people believe that the car is a safer option than a bus, train or plane for Christmas trips. In big cities, rental cars will soon be full.
Many people are now booking a car for the Christmas trip and in the big cities companies are starting to fill up. Stock Photography.
On Lucia Sunday and the following Monday, the Christmas rush for the country’s rental car reservations began, a week earlier than normal, according to Anders Trollsås, CEO of Biluthyrarna Sverige, which brings together roughly 470 individual companies from around the country with 92-95 percent of the rental cars on the market.
– I know that some of the players from Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö are almost complete. It’s still possible to get a car, but there aren’t many days left, he says.
In the rest of the country, there is also good pressure on reserves, according to Anders Trollsås, but in general it is easier to get a car even if it varies locally.
The fact that bookings are increasing now is a welcome development for the car rental industry, which has had a difficult year as a result of the pandemic.
– When the pandemic hit in mid-March, it was completely dark and April got even more cursed. We had a 40-50% decline through the summer, says Anders Trollsås.
In the spring, the Swedish Public Health Agency issued a recommendation to avoid domestic travel for more than two hours from home, a restriction that was later lifted in mid-June.
– When they lifted the two hour rule, it was correctly lowered with reservations. The summer was really great, but then it was heavy again in October, November, and early December.
Businesses see a trend both during the summer and now before Christmas for customers to rent cars for slightly longer periods.
– People may think that if they still have a car, they can take it a little earlier and use it for all their errands like the Christmas tree and Christmas presents.
