As Easter approaches, flight bookings are on the rise, especially in Spain and Portugal. Swiss tourists are once again thirsty for holidays abroad, but we can’t even talk about baby boomers, who are starting up tour operators. Demand remains significantly lower than before the crisis.
Since buying their house in Portugal, Sandra and José have spent all their vacations here. This ritual was driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. So looking forward to coming back at the end of the week. “We will have less freedom than here, but we decided to leave anyway,” says Sandra. Between staying at home in Switzerland or staying at home here, they have a choice. “At least we change air,” added José.
This Valais couple is one of the many Swiss who have decided to leave Switzerland during the Easter holidays. Since Spain and Portugal were removed from the list of countries at risk of coronavirus by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) just over ten days ago, flight reservations for these destinations have exploded, according to the companies.
Many people have a great need to rediscover the trips they have not been able to make in recent months.
“The lifting of the quarantine rules has boosted demand strongly. In one week, we recorded five times more bookings for Spain and Portugal from Zurich,” explains Meike Fuhlrott, a Swiss spokesperson. Easyjet, which operates around thirty connections with these two countries, almost half of which from Geneva, has observed a similar development.
No mass reservations yet
“We have seen that many people have a great need to rediscover the trips they have not been able to take in recent months. They want to enjoy the sun and the sea”, explains one in Switzerland. Faced with this growth in demand, the Lufthansa subsidiary has expanded its offer around the Easter period, as well as for spring.
This observation is shared by the largest travel agencies in the country. “We have seen an increase in traffic on our website, without this necessarily translating into reservations,” however tempered Bianca Gähweiler, communication manager at Hotelplan. And to add that people have “a great appetite” for holidays abroad, but that they have not even taken the massive step of buying.
We haven’t seen a ‘Mallorca boom’, but it could still happen
The volume of reservations remains incomparable to the pre-pandemic situation, note the tour operators, even if they refuse to give precise figures. The DER Touristik Suisse SA group, which notably owns Kuoni and Helvetic Tours, however, articulates an order of magnitude which corresponds to a drop of around 50% compared to 2019.
Switzerland, favorite destination
Switzerland, spared from the obligation to attempt PCR or quarantine on return, dominates the ranking of preferred destinations on Hotelplan as in DER Touristik. Egypt, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Turkey and the Maldives complete the list of top vacation spots. In Europe, only Mallorca and the Canary Islands stand out.
“We have not seen a ‘Mallorca boom’, but it could also happen during the Easter holidays,” notes Bianca Gähweiler. Hotelplan, like other Swiss travel agencies, advises its customers to wait until the last minute to make their reservations, in order to have more visibility on travel conditions. “We no longer speak of ‘last minute’ but of ultra last minute”, we say.
Quarantine, a major obstacle to travel
Whether or not to meet a quarantine on the return trip is apparently the main obstacle to booking. The list of countries at risk of coronavirus is therefore carefully examined by travelers and industry players. Sign of its importance, apart from all the most famous holiday destinations currently, no one is listed except the Maldives.
For Sandra and José, the exclusion from Portugal was a relief. “We had booked our flights a long time ago. Until last week, Portugal was still on the list of countries in danger and we were convinced that we would not leave,” remarks José. “Financially, we can’t afford to quarantine him for ten days after the holidays,” he said.
The last update of this list was announced on Wednesday by the FOEN. From Thursday March 25, there will no longer be a need to quarantine on return from the UK, Ireland and the US, among others. On the other hand, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Jamaica, Paraguay and Tanzania will be placed on the red list from April 5.
Didier Kottelat, with Céline Brichet and Séverine Ambrus