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Of: Gustaf Tronarp, Ronja Mårtensson
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Charter company bookings for popular destinations during the fall holidays have dropped significantly.
For Apollo, this is a 60 to 70 percent drop compared to a normal year.
– You want to feel last place whether it feels good to travel or not, says marketing manager Annica Smith.
Autumn holidays are usually a popular week for Swedes to travel, both abroad and within Sweden. Even long before the holidays, travel agency flights are often sold out.
But the crown pandemic and the Foreign Ministry’s advice not to travel outside of Europe means that much of the travel industry is almost completely paralyzed.
The situation has also made Swedes more reluctant to book than before.
– Normally trips are booked well in advance, but this year we have not seen the same demand. Instead, people have booked the trip two or three weeks in advance. I think you want to know a little more for sure where you can go and also feel at the end whether it feels good to take the trip or not, says Annica Smith, Apollo’s marketing manager.
Tough Times: Many choose to abstain from travel entirely during the corona pandemic, others await decisions until the end. Something has a really bad effect on the travel industry.
Lower demand for travel
The flights no longer go to Egypt, Thailand and Dubai, but to destinations in Greece, Cyprus and the Canary Islands, among others.
For Apollo, trips during the fall break are down 60 to 70 percent compared to a normal year.
– We have developed a flight program that adapts to the demand of the city with fewer destinations and departures than normal, says Annica Smith.
How long can you manage to have a trip like this?
– I can’t answer that right now. We have less demand and we sell fewer trips than usual. But we are owned by a large German company, so it feels safe, he says.
Tui also struggles with significantly fewer bookings. The number of travelers before the fall holidays this year is a quarter of what it usually is. But communications manager Adam Györki is trying to see the current situation in a positive light.
– We don’t focus so much on having fewer people going, because at the same time there are fewer places to go. The trips we sell are reserved, he says.
The situation is similar with competitor Ving, which has the Norwegian hotel king Petter Stordalen as the largest.
– We have lower volumes than usual, but the trips we organize are largely full, says communications manager Fredrik Henriksson.
However, the company does not want to give exact figures.
– For the fall holidays, we offer approximately 1,000 airplane seats. There are few places left, not so many.
It can be booked at the last minute.
So there are still trips left for those who are eager to get out of Sweden during the autumn holidays. There are also good opportunities for those who want to go on vacation during the Christmas holidays.
– Christmas trips are usually full already during the fall, but we still have tickets left. Some trips to Thailand are up for sale and we plan to go there this Christmas if possible, says Annica Smith.
At the same time, charter companies understand that many people are waiting to book the winter trip.
– You should only book if you feel ready to go out and travel. If you don’t think it feels like a good idea, you shouldn’t buy a trip, says Adam Györki.
– Something positive about all this is that the infection reaches the Canary Islands, which is one of our most popular destinations, says Fredrik Henriksson de Ving.
The travel industry usually has a turnover of around SEK 45 billion during the first nine months of the year. In 2020, that figure was just 15 billion, according to the travel industry organization SRF.
– It cannot be considered anything other than a disaster, Secretary General Didrik von Seth has previously said.
Photo: SRF / TT press image
Didrik von Seth, SRF general secretary, is concerned about an industry in free fall and warns of the consequences if nothing is done.
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