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Great heat and fires, followed by storms, hit the countries of southern Europe this year – which are also traditionally popular holiday destinations for Austrians. This has already been reflected in holiday behavior this year, said Helga Freund, managing director of Ruefa travel agencies, yesterday at a press conference in Vienna: bookings for trips to Great Britain rose by 19 percent, to Denmark by 51 percent and to Norway by 37 percent. Canada, Iceland and Ireland were also in demand in the summer.
There has also been a boost in demand for cruises in the North and Baltic Seas. Freund sees opportunities for Austria with tourists from southern Europe, for example.
Basically, Ruefa can look back on a strong travel summer: the tourist office subsidiary achieved a 14 percent increase in sales compared to the previous year. However, only around 85 percent of the level of the pre-Corona year 2019 was achieved. This despite the fact that travel has recently become more expensive: the prices for package holidays have risen on average between eight and ten percent this year.
Austria fell out of the top ten
Greece was once again the front runner for summer holidays, followed by Spain and Turkey. Austria slipped to eleventh place.
After Austrians booked at very short notice during Corona, a trend towards earlier inquiries could be observed again this year. Co-managing director Michele Fanton predicted a trend towards long-distance and year-round destinations for the winter season. The current booking situation is 55 percent higher than last year, but is only 89 percent of the 2019/20 season. Cruises would also be trendy again.
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