Far more Europeans are going on summer vacation this year than last year. 71 percent of them plan to take a break from work, last year it was only 57 percent. This is according to data from the Europ Assistance Group’s Holiday Barometer survey. Among the most popular destinations this year are Spain and Italy, while for the Czechs the traditional trio of countries wins: Croatia, Italy and Slovakia.
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According to Vladimír Juza, the commercial director of Europ Assistance, the reason is inflation and a milder covid-19 pandemic. “According to the survey, interest in traveling is growing. This will mainly be caused by the fact that the covid restrictions have been lifted. Rising inflation, in turn, means that people want to enjoy this summer. According to the black scenarios of economists, maybe for the last time for a long time.”
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The enormous increase in interest in vacations is also noticeable among Czechs, spokeswoman for the Čedok travel agency Kateřina Pavlíková confirmed for Seznam Zprávy. “Trip sales are many times higher than before the pandemic and also the highest in Čedok’s history. In the past month, up to six times compared to 2019. This year has significantly exceeded the demand from the covid years.”
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Petr Kostka, spokesman for the travel agency Exim Tours, agrees. “We have been registering record interest in summer holidays for several months now, sales are even higher than before the pandemic. We see the main reasons for the record interest in the fact that Czechs no longer want to miss their summer vacation after two years,” he told Seznam Zprávám.
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You can click the arrow down to other parts of the chart.
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Europeans most often want to spend their holidays by the sea, the most Italians (66%), the French (65%) and the Spanish (64%). The inhabitants of the Czech Republic, on the other hand, are willing to poison the sea. Only 43 percent of them plan to go there, the least of the countries surveyed. Compared to the others, on the contrary, they mostly go to nature (36%), together with the Poles, they also like to travel to the mountains and on sightseeing tours.
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Czechs and Poles save
The average vacation budget of Europeans is 1,805 euros, i.e. 44,000 crowns. Czechs, however, spend significantly less: they want to pay an average of 28,400 crowns for recreation. In the ranking of the amount of the vacation budget, they finished second to last, ahead of the Poles, who have reserved 969 euros (23,700 crowns).
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Nevertheless, travel agencies have seen an increase compared to the covid years. “The average price of the tour varies according to hotel requirements, type of transport and catering and, of course, other additional services. However, we observe that Czechs are making up for their travel and after two years of the pandemic, they are spending 25 percent more on vacation than before,” says Kateřina Pavlíková from Čedok.
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On the contrary, the Swiss spend the most on vacation, who are willing to spend 68 thousand crowns in conversion. However, people in Switzerland have significantly higher salaries than in the Czech Republic. The Belgians and the English are also happy to pay extra for recreation.
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“The differences can also be seen in the view of people who are not going anywhere. In all countries there has been an increase in the number of people who do not go on holiday because they want to save their savings. While 16 percent claimed this last year, this year it is even 26 percent of all respondents,” says Vladimír Juza from Europ Assistance.
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The French and Swiss plan the longest vacations, who want to go away for an average of 2.1 weeks in the summer. Czechs want to take a break from work for 1.9 weeks, just like Germans and Italians. However, it is common to have a shorter vacation around the world: For example, Americans plan it for 1.5 weeks, Thais for 1.4 weeks.
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Neighboring countries score points
Almost half of Czechs will spend their holidays in the Czech Republic. Most Italians (65%) and Spaniards (59%) marry foreigners, who like to stay at home. Switzerland (25%) and Belgium (27%) are the least likely to want to spend their summer holidays in their own country.
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As Kateřina Pavlíková told Seznam Zprávám, Czechs often spend part of their vacation in the Czech Republic and part abroad. “Some of the clients are staying in the country this year as well or even combining a few days in the Czech Republic and then enjoying a classic beach holiday abroad. In terms of domestic tourism, the Krkonoše Mountains, the Beskydy Mountains, the Jeseníky Mountains, the West Bohemian Spa, Luhačovice and also Prague are leading.
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However, compared to last year, residents of all European countries included in the survey plan to travel abroad more. The Czech Republic recorded the smallest increase compared to 2021 – Czechs want to go abroad by only three percentage points more. The biggest increase is among the Spanish (14 percentage points) and the Portuguese (13 percentage points).
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The Swiss and Belgians travel abroad most often (both countries 78%), while Italians (31%) and Spaniards (38%) travel the least. Spain and Italy are also the most visited destinations. People also often head to neighboring states.
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Among the Czechs, Croatia (12%) and Italy (10%) are the winners. Last year, they most often went to Slovakia, which this year ranked third among the most popular foreign destinations for summer vacations (9%). “Of course, Croatia remains popular, we have already sold more trips to the Adriatic than in the entire 2019 season,” adds Pavlíková.
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Relaxation with the family
Every nation wants to experience a holiday differently. Czechs, Portuguese, Italians and Spaniards like to spend their holidays relaxing. Residents of the Czech Republic also enjoy being with their family (43%), as do the Austrians and the Swiss. Compared to the rest of Europe, however, only a small percentage of Czechs want to spend their vacation reading and learning (6%) or meeting new people (4%). Compared to other countries, Czechs also plan to play sports the most during their summer vacation (15%).
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The vision of time spent with family also affects who Europeans most want to travel with. Among Europeans, Czechs travel the most with their children (41%). They also ranked second behind Spaniards in traveling with a partner (68%). Most often – together with Italians – they also go out with friends (24%). On the contrary, compared to others, they go on vacation with their parents or extended family the least.
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European children most often go on trips during the holidays, mostly in the Czech Republic (73%). Czech children also most often go to camps, together with Belgians, a fifth of them spend their summer this way. Children in Great Britain and Austria most often spend the summer at home, while 26 percent of French children spend their holidays with their grandparents. Conversely, a small percentage of Czech children, six percent, go on vacation with friends.
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The Holiday Barometer survey of the assistance company Europ Assistance, which is part of the Generali group, was conducted in May 2022. Respondents from 11 European countries took part in it, including a thousand respondents from the Czech Republic.
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