TUI Belgium looks back with satisfaction on the past Christmas holidays. The flights achieved an average load factor of no less than 94%. A large part of the bookings were only made in the month of December itself, so a few days before departure. On 15 November, for example, the average load factor was only 44%. The decisions of the Belgian Government certainly had an influence on this last-minute wave: unpleasant winter in Belgium itself due to cancelled activities has prompted many families to spend a week in the sun to break through this gloomy period.
Encouraging result and safety first
The comparison with the Christmas holiday of 2020 is easily made: last year the entire world was given a code red and all package holidays had to be cancelled. Compared to Christmas 2019, 23% fewer Belgians went on holiday by plane this year. TUI considers this a positive result, given the circumstances. These figures confirm the increasing conviction of Belgians that a carefree holiday abroad is perfectly possible if the corona guidelines are respected locally. The flight itself is also safe because all protocols imposed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are adhered to. The air in the cabin is also completely refreshed every 3 minutes by high-performance HEPA filters.
More than 70% of holidaymakers went to Spain
Almost 40% of travellers opted for the Canary Islands. No less than two-thirds of them booked a trip to the island of Tenerife, which makes it the absolute top destination. This percentage could have been higher, but many last-minute bookers found that they were too late to reserve their favourite hotel.
The Spanish Costas account for 33% of bookings. The flights to Alicante and Malaga were 98% occupied. In addition to the success of package holidays, TUI has noticed that during this period many Belgians traditionally look for their second residence on the Costa Blanca or on the Costa del Sol.
Non-European destinations are attractive again
Flights to popular non-European destinations have only been restarted since October after an internal evaluation of the sanitary condition and the possibility of a pleasant holiday experience on-site. As a result, they had a short booking season before the Christmas holidays.
Forty percent fewer plane seats were offered to these countries than during the Christmas holidays 2 years ago. The available flights left almost fully booked: the Dominican Republic and Mexico achieved 98% occupancy, Cape Verde, Jamaica and Cuba 94%, Egypt 90% and Turkey 88%. The flight to the brand new destination Havana, which TUI launched on December 24, was also 95% full.
Second week significantly cheaper
The Belgian spent an average of €1600 per person for his flight holiday, €31 more than in 2019. Those who departed on the New Year’s weekend travelled on average €500 cheaper than during the first weekend. The cheaper second week is an annual phenomenon due to the law of supply and demand. After all, families prefer to leave as soon as possible and have a few days left between their return from vacation and the restart of the schools.
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