Travelling continues to be a high priority for people. Holiday travel is high on the agenda for this year’s summer season. Greece and Spain are the most popular holiday destinations for Europeans. This is shown by the TUI Holiday Atlas Summer 2022, for which the most popular holiday destinations of European TUI guests are evaluated.
The most popular destination overall is the Greek island of Crete, followed by Mallorca. The top 5 destinations also include the Canary Islands, Rhodes and Antalya. Greece continues last year’s strong trend and is preferred particularly by guests from the Nordic countries and France. In addition to Crete, Rhodes and Kos are in high demand. In Spain, the Balearic Islands dominate, especially Mallorca. Mallorca remains the favourite destination for German guests, while Spain itself is number one for Belgians. Turkey is making a clear comeback, especially with the British and Dutch but also with German guests. The most popular destinations are Antalya and the Turkish Riviera.
THE COUNTRY-SPECIFIC PREFERENCES OF THE TUI HOLIDAY ATLAS 2022 IN DETAIL:
Great Britain: British holidaymakers are heading to the Turkish Riviera this year, particularly to Dalaman, followed by Egypt and Greece. The British are also booking long-haul destinations such as Mexico and Florida, Mauritius and the Maldives, which is a strong indication of the gradual comeback of long-haul destinations.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland: German guests are heading to the Mediterranean. Mallorca is currently the top destination for German holidaymakers. It is followed by Antalya, which is making a strong comeback. The island of Crete is the third most popular choice for German holidaymakers. The top five holiday destinations include two other Greek islands: Rhodes and Kos. Due to the good level of bookings already received for the Easter holidays, TUI is starting the summer season in Greece earlier than before and is already departing for Crete, Rhodes and Kos at the beginning of April. Greece is also particularly popular in Austria. In addition, Austrian TUI guests want to fly to Antalya this year, followed by Majorca and the Croatian Adriatic coast, which is once again one of the five most popular holiday destinations for Austrian holidaymakers this year. The top destination for TUI guests from Switzerland is currently Greece, especially the island of Kos, followed by Majorca and Antalya. Bookings of holidays to Turkey and Spain have doubled compared to last year.
Nordic countries: As in previous years, Greece is the number one destination for Finns, Danes, Norwegians and Swedes. Especially Crete, Rhodes and the island of Samos are in demand among Northern Europeans, followed by Mallorca and Antalya. In addition to Greece, Spain and Turkey, Croatia and Cyprus are among the five most popular holiday destinations this year. Among Swedish and Finnish TUI guests, Cyprus ranks even second in bookings after Greece.
Netherlands: In the Netherlands, Turkey has seen a significant increase in bookings. The country is traditionally a very popular holiday destination for Dutch travellers. In addition to the Turkish Riviera, the Dutch are also travelling to Mallorca, the Greek islands and Portugal this year. The Netherlands Antilles, with the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, are also very popular this year.
Belgium: Spain is the most popular holiday destination for Belgian TUI guests in the coming summer season. In order to meet the growing demand for Spanish destinations, TUI Belgium has further increased flight capacity by deploying additional or larger aircraft – especially to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and the Costa del Sol. In addition to Spain, Greece is also very popular. A quarter of TUI’s Belgian guests are flying to the Greek islands this year. Turkey’s comeback is also impressive, with around 20 per cent more bookings than at the same time in the pre-crisis year 2019. The Turkish Riviera shines with high-quality all-in resorts and excellent value for money. Tunisia is also back in the list of the five most popular destinations for Belgian TUI guests.
France: As last year, Greece is the top destination for French TUI guests again – especially the Greek Mainland and the island of Crete. French TUI guests are also attracted to Sicily, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. TUI’s own club hotels under the Club Marmara and Lookéa brands are particularly popular with French TUI guests. Nine more hotels will be added to the 26 club hotels worldwide this year. Bookings in the two French hotel brands are already 20 per cent higher than last year.
Overall, we have seen good demand in all European countries in recent weeks and at the same time a trend towards higher-value holidays. TUI guests are planning a higher budget for their summer holidays. At the end of January, average prices for the summer were still up on the previous year at +22 per cent. The reasons for this are the product mix as well as the increased demand for higher-value offers and more additional services, for example upgrades in hotel or room category as well as excursions and activities in the holiday regions.
The trend towards short-term bookings continues and we expect summer 2022 to be close to pre-crisis levels.
