THE HAGUE (ANP) – Dutch people remain cautious about booking their summer holidays. Travel industry association ANVR (De Algemene Nederlandse Vereniging van Reisondernemingen) observes that people do want to go on holiday, but due to some unrest surrounding air travel, they are opting more for certainty.
“The Dutch seem somewhat hesitant to book air travel holidays. For example, due to the news surrounding the kerosene shortages,” says ANVR director Frank Radstake. “More customers are enquiring about what happens if things go wrong. They want certainty.”
The destinations chosen by travellers are also undergoing a slight shift. Due to the war, the Middle East is naturally less popular. According to Radstake, people are now choosing well-known European destinations around the Mediterranean more often. For long-haul destinations, people are opting more frequently for Cape Verde and Curaçao.
European destinations
The latest hard figures date from March, from the ANVR booking monitor. In that month, the war in the Middle East had already begun, but the threat of kerosene shortages still seemed far away. Compared to the same period a year earlier, 1 percent fewer holidays were booked. That slight decline may be related to caution, and partly for that reason, consumers are opting for certainty, as travel organisations also observe. However, they do not wish to speak of a dip in bookings. “The Dutch are cutting back on many things, but not on the sun,” stated a Sunweb spokesperson based on their own figures. “In a market heavily influenced by geopolitical unrest and rising prices, more and more Dutch people are choosing all-in-one holidays. Certainty is particularly popular among young people.”
Corendon says it sees no hesitation among summer holiday bookers, but according to the organisation, there is a shift in destinations. The provider notes that people are choosing European destinations more often during the holidays. “Mediterranean destinations are popular. Turkey, in particular, is catching up.” Corendon also sees an increase in bookings to the Dutch Caribbean islands.
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