11/08/2019 16:49

France lost superiority

[IMG=18462-4062] On 30th of November a BANKO correspondent interviewed experts of bus tours to Europe with an intention to find out the current situation on this market segment. Almost all experts unanimously acknowledged that the coming season is characterised by the flow-out of tourists from the French destination in favour of Scandinavia and Czechia. Players notice a 30% growth of demand for tours in these countries. It is caused by the recent events in France which made holiday-makers be more cautious with their trips to the country (see news as of 7 and 10 of November). ‘Earlier France topped the list of the amount of applications to the country, we would normally launch additional tours on the New Year’, states Olga Sanaeva, director of "Ankora". Operators took the redistribution of the demand quite ambiguously. On the one hand, the flow to Czechia and Scandinavia is a positive tendency. Yet, on the other hand, market players had to face two problems. First of all, many bus programs include visits to Paris. ‘At least, one third of all trips is tied to this city’, - says Oleg Balakirev, deputy director of DSBW. Secondly, quotas in Czech and Scandinavian hotels, available for operator, are not expecting such a demand. ‘ We have to book additional rooms and services, including those for the New Year’s Eve. Naturally, it is not that easy",- comments Roman Rudenko, director of tourism in "Tour trans-Voyage". As for prices on bus tours, according to experts, they will remain at the same level as previous year: within 500 Euros for a 10-day trip. The cost of the New Year's offers will increase, according to forecasts, by 30 Euros. Meantime, in the chat rooms of the market there is an opinion that these numbers do not reflect the real situation: the package price changes too slowly while fuel and hotel accommodation are constantly increasing. It is hard to alter the situation, since this market segment is still aimed at clients, who prefer economy traveling.