Summer holidays taken in 2024 are slightly shorter and more expensive, according to travel agency TUI’s recent figures taken from the Flemish region in Belgium.
Individuals in Flanders who travelled with TUI spent an average of 7.8 nights on holiday, compared to 8.3 nights in the summer of 2023. For car holidays, each person spent around €531 on average, similar to last summer. However, the average cost per person for flying holidays increased by 3% to €1,431.
Between Friday 28 June and Sunday 1 September, TUI noted a 5% increase in Flemish travellers compared to the previous summer.
TUI suggests families are opting for more frequent holidays, which are shorter in duration. High early bookings during the rainy spring and excessive demand for sunshine holidays made last-minute bookings more challenging.
It also appears that those who book their holidays with TUI tend to be creatures of habit. Regarding flight holidays, the top five destinations remained unchanged. One-third headed to Spain as usual, followed by Greece (22%), Turkey (18%), Tunisia and Egypt (both 4%).
Though Egypt is traditionally a winter destination, it saw 30% more TUI travellers from Flanders. Albania, with 40% more travellers, saw the most significant increase. Cape Verde also saw a rise of 22%.
For TUI’s Flemish car holiday individuals, the favourite routes included Austria (30 percent), France (26%), and Italy (15%). However, Slovenia grew more popular with a 22% increase.
City trips favoured Rome, Barcelona, and London, with New York seeing three times the number of Flemish TUI travellers than the previous summer.
