After the last reopening of society, there was a travel bonanza.
Earlier this winter, the travel companies were able to report bright green booking figures for the winter holidays, and a large increase in summer holiday sales.
Since then, war has broken out in Ukraine – something the industry is now noticing.
– Russia’s attack on Ukraine has changed travel sales in Norway, says director Terje Berge in Finn Reise to TV 2.
Thought it was technically wrong
– Overnight, sales have fallen dramatically, he says.
In weeks seven and eight, FINN Reise had higher traffic and more bookings compared to the same time before the pandemic.
After the war broke out, however, the numbers have fallen by more than 30 percent, according to Berge.
– We have had partners at Finn Reise who ask if we have a technical error, but unfortunately we do not, he says.
– DECLINE: Finn Reise noticed a sharp decline overnight after Russia invaded Ukraine, says Terje Berge. Photo: Finn
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Berge says that the war especially affects destinations located east of the Mediterranean.
– To put it simply; The further east the destination is, the smaller the sales.
Choose safer destinations
He says that people now choose what they consider safer destinations.
– Countries such as Turkey and partly Greece are excluded due to the geographical proximity to Ukraine. Therefore, there will be larger tourist flows to, for example, Spain.
Countries in the west, for their part, have benefited from their geographical position, says Berge.
– These countries are considered safer.
Lower interest in travel in the near future
The travel company Apollo has also seen a decline in travel sales in the last week.
– Unrest in the world almost always affects travel sales, says Apollo’s communications manager, Beatriz Rivera.
– TRAVEL SUPPORT: Sales of trips to the Canary Islands have declined after the Russian invasion. Photo: Photo: Lise Åserud / Scanpix
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Rivera says that this happens after a period of steady growth and optimism.
– This time we see that it slowed down a bit again after several weeks with a steady increase, and then especially for travel in the near future.
Apollo sees the sharpest decline in bookings of so-called winter destinations.
– The Canary Islands are the winter’s most popular destination. We generally notice that sales have slowed down, but mainly to the winter’s remaining places to these islands.
– We do not see the same decline among summer trips, Rivera says.
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