The Swiss are once again paying more for vacations this year than before coronavirus
Published: Wednesday, Jul 10th 2024, 14:40
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When it comes to their vacations, customers in Switzerland continue to treat themselves to more than before the coronavirus pandemic. According to travel provider Tui Suisse, willingness to pay is around 10 to 20 percent higher than in 2019.
This means that the price level is roughly stable compared to last year, Managing Director Philipp von Czapiewski told the media at an event on Wednesday. There are three reasons why Swiss customers are paying more than before the pandemic, he added.
A "small part" of this is due to the general rise in prices, said von Czapiewski. "However, the main reasons are higher-value categories - in other words, those who previously booked a vacation in a four-star hotel are now more likely to treat themselves to a stay in a five-star hotel - and an average longer travel duration."
This has to do with the experiences during the pandemic, when people could not or were not allowed to travel and pursue their hobbies. "The pandemic was a catalyst for the focus on more leisure and relaxation," explained the Managing Director of Tui Suisse.
More vacations in autumn
In other areas, however, the situation is increasingly normalizing after the pandemic. Travel is now being booked much earlier again, said von Czapiewski. During and after the pandemic, customers booked their vacations at extremely short notice in some cases because travel restrictions were still in place.
"Now our guests - especially the regular guests who know exactly where and to which hotel they want to travel - are happy to be able to book well in advance again," explained the Tui Suisse boss. The company has even noticed that bookings for the coming winter are coming in earlier than ever before.
Experience bookings are booming
Overall, the tour operator is very positive about the current year. "And that applies to both summer and winter," says von Czapiewski. In addition to bookings for flights and hotels, the excursions offered by Tui are also becoming increasingly popular. "With 1.25 million excursion guests, we set a new record last year," he said. These excursions include things like quad bike rides in the desert, visits to nature parks, wine tastings and camel rides.
Another current trend is the shift away from the classic vacation periods towards off-peak times. "Of course, midsummer is still the busiest, but there is an increasing shift into the fall," says von Czapiewski.
Tui has therefore secured additional capacity on its aircraft to popular fall vacation destinations such as Turkey, Greece, the Canary Islands and Egypt. 1500 seats on flights have been added. And popular hotels have extended their season into November.
Additional capacities taken over from FTI
Tui has also taken on additional capacity due to the insolvency of its competitor FTI. Around 300,000 hotel rooms were taken over by negotiating with hotel associations, partners and even ministers at important destinations in Spain, Turkey, Greece, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates immediately after the news of FTI's insolvency. Many of these rooms had previously been offered by FTI, but not all of them.
"But especially in the course of the FTI insolvency, it is of course also a matter of us taking over contingents that we can continue to manage in the long term," said von Czapiewski. He also did not rule out taking over FTI hotels once there is an overview of which hotels are to be sold.
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