Call, call! – Ticket holidays, you are talking to Maren Tjøtta. The interest rate increases. Food becomes more expensive. We don’t need to talk about the electricity price. But due to the corona pandemic, it is almost four years since Europe has been completely open. Then we pack the swimming trunks that fit in 2018 and will probably still fit, take sun protection factor 15 with us and close the suitcase. We are going to the South. At Ticket holidays in Stavanger, general manager Maren Tjøtta has to put the phone on hold when news comes to visit. It is almost red-hot. – It’s busy. People want sun and warmth, she says, before taking a deep breath. Maren Tjøtta is general manager of Ticket holidays in Stavanger and Sandnes. Photo: Kristoffer Apall / news According to this year’s Reisepuls survey from Virke, seven out of ten Norwegians plan to have a summer holiday in 2023. Half of these want to go on holiday abroad. Spain is most popular. Travel company Apollo reports a 5 percent increase in summer holiday sales in December, compared to the year before the pandemic. Here, most people want to go to Greece. At the same time, sales have increased by 20 per cent compared to the same time last year. – So you can probably say that we are back to “normal”, says communications manager at Apollo, Beatriz Rivera. Apollo Communications Manager, Beatriz Rivera. Photo: Johnny Syversen / Apollo In fact, the holiday season is already underway. On Monday morning, Stavanger Airport Sola was full of Norwegians who needed a top-up of vitamin D between the rain showers and the danger warnings. – We are going to Torrevieja. It was actually quite spontaneous to travel now. I think I ordered on Christmas Eve. Then I was bored, says Alva Hesje to news. Increased by 27 per cent Ving also confirms that summer sales are well underway Sales of summer holidays in early 2023 have increased by 27 per cent since the same time in 2020. That is, before the pandemic hit us. – So far we are satisfied with the summer sales 2023, but it is in the next few weeks that we will see if the demand is as we hope and expect, says Ingrid Osa in Ving. Worried about holidays on credit That the sale of southern trips for the summer is increasing despite higher interest rates, sky-high electricity prices and a general price increase for foodstuffs does not, however, surprise Terje Hamre in Norsk Familieökonomi significantly. – It is a little surprising that there is such a large increase from before the pandemic, which was a normal year. But it is the case that many people in Norway still have good finances, says Hamre. He points out that we Norwegians generally prioritize warmth and holidays, and that we are happy to travel. But he is worried that more people will pay for their holiday on credit. – It is not a new phenomenon that people do it. But with such difficult times many people are now in, perhaps one should be more sober. A family of four to the South costs money, he says. The travel agencies report more summer holiday bookings to the South than before the pandemic. In January too, there is a larger influx than before. Kristian Haslerud and Karina Norfolk are going to Marrakech in Morocco. Photo: Einar Espeland / news Been sitting on the fence Managing director Maren Tjøtta believes one of the reasons is that people have now been sitting on the fence for three years. – Everyone wanted to travel before the pandemic too. But then it spread over a slightly larger time perspective. Now, however, you don’t need travel forms and corona tests, so now there are a lot of people who want to travel, she says. Apollo notices that the increased expenses are also affecting our travel habits. But that doesn’t dampen the desire. – The holiday is something we prioritize. On the other hand, we think more about the economy when choosing a destination, hotel and, not least, travel period, she says. Rivera encourages people who are going to more southern regions this summer to book as early as possible. – The prices of trips are controlled by demand, so it certainly pays to book early. This is of course particularly true if you want to holiday in popular destinations and on joint holidays, she says. 50 per cent of all Norwegians are planning a holiday abroad in 2023. 29 per cent of these will visit Spain and perhaps Mallorca, like these German tourists. Photo: Clara Margais / DPA Prices are increasing Tjøtta in Ticket says that it will be more expensive to travel south in 2023 than before the pandemic. This is because there are fewer planes and not as good access now as in the past. – At the same time, there is greater demand because everyone has been waiting for three years to travel. And as we know, price and demand are linked. The hotels are also more expensive, she says, and interjects: – But now I have a bit of a queue on the phone.
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Norwegians book the Syden holiday in January – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
