The vacation period is still far away, but a large part of Romanians have already made their reservations, taking advantage of the massive discounts through early booking, according to market specialists who have analyzed the trends and scheduled budgets for this year.
Many Romanians have already booked their holidays through early booking. Archive photo
According to a market study, over 60% of respondents bought their vacations during the early booking period (39% of Romanians book their vacations approximately 6 months in advance, and 22% book 9 months in advance), 20% make reservations 3-4 months in advance, 11% 2 months in advance, and 7.8% choose vacations just a few days in advance (last minute).
The main reasons why tourists choose early booking packages are the lower prices (65%), but also the fact that they can take advantage of certain advantages or bonuses (payment in installments, upgrades), the comfort that the vacation has already been planned (35%) and the possibility to choose from the best accommodation options and destinations (25%).
Budgets between 350 and 500 euros
40% of Romanian tourists can afford to spend between 350 and 500 euros per person for this year's main holiday, and 32% between 500 and 1,000 euros, according to a study.
About 91% of respondents say they are confident they will go on vacation this year. Those who will not go on vacation, believe that they will not go because of lack of money (53%), lack of time (17.7%) because they have other priorities (17.5%) or for other reasons (11.3%) such as health problems.
Also, the data shows that 39% of respondents plan to take two one-week vacations this year; about 37% plan to go on a single week-long vacation; 12% of respondents plan to go on more than two vacations of one week each; 7.2% believe that the duration of the vacation will be shorter than a week, and 4% of respondents do not know how many vacations they will go on and how long they will last.
Bulgaria and Greece, on first places in preferences
40% of respondents say they can afford to spend 350 – 500 euros per person for a week on their main holiday this year, 31% say they can pay between 500 and 1,000 euros, 17% would pay less than 350 euros per person, 10% would be willing to pay between 1,000 and 1,500 euros, and 2% would pay over 1,500 euros.
Around 54% of Romanians would like to stay 6-7 days on vacation, 18% would stay 9-10 days, 14% would stay 4-5 days, and 14.1% would go on vacation for more than ten days.
Regarding the destination, the Travel Planner analysis shows that 52% of respondents would choose Bulgaria for their main holiday this year, 18% would go to Greece, 10.5% to another European country; 10.1% would go to Turkey; 5.3% would choose Romania for vacation, and 3.7% would go outside Europe.
Good accommodation at a fair price
Asked what would make them consider their vacation as nice, maybe even perfect, 70% of study participants mentioned good accommodation conditions at a fair price; 49% about relaxing and being able to forget the worries at home and at the office, 44% about the fact that they can spend quality time with their loved ones, and for 37% of Romanians the places they can visit and the information they can find out on vacation are important.
Also, 70% of respondents say that the occurrence of a problem with accommodation would be the main factor that would spoil the holiday. Next are a family member's illness (58%), transportation issues (31%), disagreements between family members or with a group of friends (15%), and the need to work for work (10%).
Almost 60% of Romanians want all-inclusive holidays
58% of respondents say they would prefer all-inclusive services for their vacation, 46% ultra all-inclusive, 22% half-board, 15% bed and breakfast, and 6% no meals included.
Around 68% of the respondents want to travel by personal car, 27% choose the plane, 4% use the bus, and 1.2% prefer the train.
