Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Travel

  • Austrian Airlines to start mandatory Covid-19 rapid antigen tests on two flights

    Austrian Airlines to start mandatory Covid-19 rapid antigen tests on two flights

    On November 12, 2020, Austrian Airlines is starting a further testing phase on flights OS171 (Vienna-Hamburg) and OS172 (Hamburg-Vienna) in order to integrate Covid-19 rapid antigen tests in the travel chain.

    At this step, tests will be mandatory for passengers and the crew on selected flights. This ensures that all persons on board have tested negative for Covid-19.

    The implementation of the free Covid-19 rapid antigen tests will take place in close cooperation with airports in Vienna and Hamburg.

    After taking the test, passengers will receive their results within 10-15 minutes, either via SMS or, upon request, also after consulting medically trained staff.

    The boarding card is only activated if the test result is negative, enabling the passenger to gain entry to the security area and the gate.

    If the test result is positive, the affected passenger will be taken care of by the airport medical service in order to fully clarify the individual’s medical condition. Further steps will be specified with the responsible health authorities.

    In this case, the passenger will be able to rebook or cancel his or her Austrian Airlines flight at no cost.

  • The number of European tourists in Switzerland to fall by a third this winter

    The number of European tourists in Switzerland to fall by a third this winter

    The number of European tourists in Switzerland would fall by at least a third during the winter season, AFP reports.

    In the context of quarantine measures upon entry into Switzerland, the relaunch of external demand has slowed significantly, the Swiss economic institute KOF said in a statement.

    KOF added that increasing the number of overnight stays by Swiss tourists will not be enough to cover the gap left by foreign tourists.

    Overnight stays of Swiss tourists would increase by 8% during the winter season compared to the pre-crisis period. However, the total number of overnight stays would decrease by at least 30%.

    And if the pandemic worsens, the decline could exceed 50%.

    The Covid-19 pandemic will cause an estimated loss of 13.3 million overnight stays during 2020, which is equivalent to a decrease in turnover of 1.6 billion francs (1.4 billion euros) for the hotel sector.

    For the entire tourism sector, the decline in turnover would exceed 10 billion francs. In 2021, the decrease in turnover would be one of almost 6.2 billion francs compared to 2019.

    33.000 jobs were lost in the hotel and restaurant industry in Switzerland in the first half of 2020.

  • Over 80% less visitors for Greek museums and archaeological sites this year

    Over 80% less visitors for Greek museums and archaeological sites this year

    During the six-month period from January to June 2020 compared to the corresponding period of 2019, a decrease of 80.1% was observed in the number of visitors of museums, while a decrease of 78.2% was recorded in the number of free admission visitors and an 86.7% decrease in the relevant receipts.

    The operation of museums had been suspended from March 14th until June 15 th 2020.

    As regards archaeological sites, during the six-month period from January to June 2020 compared to the corresponding period of 2019, a decrease of 85.3% was recorded in the number of visitors, while an 83.2% decrease was observed in the number of free admission visitors and a 90.3% decrease in the relevant receipts.

    The operation of archaeological sites had been suspended from March 14th to May 17th 2020.

  • Ryanair to cut winter capacity from 60% to 40%

    Ryanair to cut winter capacity from 60% to 40%

    Ryanair released its revised winter schedule. Due to increased flight restrictions imposed by EU Govts, air travel to/from much of Central Europe, the UK, Ireland, Austria, Belgium and Portugal have been heavily curtailed.

    This has caused forward bookings to weaken slightly in October, but materially in November & December.

    In light of these weaker bookings, and Ryanair’s plan to operate with a 70% load factors, Ryanair has further reduced its winter schedule (Nov – Mar) taking capacity down from 60% to 40% of prior year.

    Ryanair expects to maintain up to 65% of its winter route network, but with reduced frequencies.

    In addition to the winter closure of bases in Cork, Shannon, and Toulouse, Ryanair has announced significant base aircraft cuts in Belgium, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Vienna.  

    With this greatly reduced winter capacity and load factors of approx. 70%, Ryanair now expects full year (FY21) traffic to fall to approx. 38m guests, although this guidance could be further revised downwards.

  • How the Austrians spent their holidays this year

    How the Austrians spent their holidays this year

    According to Statistics Austria, the number of holiday trips of Austrians with at least one overnight stay (including visits to relatives and friends) was nearly halved this year compared to the first six months of 2019 (-42.7% to 5.59 million).

    The decline is mainly due to the second quarter of 2020 (-61.3%), with domestic trips falling by 27.9% and trips abroad by even 91.2% in this quarter.

    The proportion of people with at least one holiday trip decreased in the first quarter of 2020 by 7.4 percentage points to 30.0%, in the second quarter of 2020 by 26.7 percentage points to 19.8%.

    Half of the trips lead to Italy, Croatia and Germany

    In the first half of 2020, people residing in Austria spent more than three quarters of their holiday trips (76.0% or 4.25 million) in Austria, which was a decrease of 21.8% compared to the first half of 2019. For short holiday trips between one and three overnight stays, the domestic share was 81.4%.

    The number of holiday trips abroad decreased by 69% to 1.34 million in the first half of 2020 (short trips: -58.9%; main trips: -75.2%).

    The decline in holiday trips in the first half of 2020 was particularly marked for popular international destinations like Germany (-60.2%), Hungary (-28.9%), Italy (-86.4%) and Croatia (-79.0%).

    The number of long-distance trips (holiday trips outside Europe and Turkey) decreased by 57.6% to 179.000.

    More than one third of holiday trips to visit family and friends

    Due to Easter, the proportion of visits to relatives and friends during this travel period is traditionally very high and was also the most important travel motive in the first six months of 2020: 38.8% of all holiday trips abroad were made for this reason (first half of 2019: 21.9%), for domestic trips this share was 35.1% (first half of 2019: 32.3%).

    The proportion of free accommodation was correspondingly high: 44.1% of all holiday trips were spent with friends or family or at second homes (first half of 2019: 29.8%), for domestic holiday trips the share was even 45.6%. 40.8% of the holiday trips were spent in hotels or similar establishments.

    Furthermore, travel motives differ depending on the destination: For domestic holiday trips, the second most important travel motive after visiting friends and family was sportive activity holidays (33.1%), 14.1% looked for recreation, 4.2% chose wellness and beauty.

    The main reasons for travelling abroad – apart from visits to family and friends – were cultural trips (20.9%) and sportive activity holidays (9.5%).

    Private car most frequently used for travelling

    In the first half of 2020, the private car was still the most frequently used means of transport for travel: 83.3% of domestic trips and 48.9% of holiday trips abroad were made by car.

    The proportion of vacations for which people travelled by car is thus higher than in the same period of the previous year (77.7% of domestic trips and 43.7% of trips abroad).

    The share of air travel abroad decreased from 37.6% to 33.7%, especially in favor of travelling by car (increase from 43.7% to 48.9%). The number of flights abroad fell by almost three quarters (-72.2%).

  • Wizz Air will fly from the 10th airport in Poland, Rzeszów Jasionka

    Wizz Air will fly from the 10th airport in Poland, Rzeszów Jasionka

    Wizz Air announced the launch of its operations at the tenth airport in Poland – Rzeszów Jasionka, starting 6 November.

    Wizz Air will offer a new service to Eindhoven from Rzeszów Jasionka, first on Mondays and Fridays and from December 20 on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

    Tickets for the new connection are available for sale. Prices start at PLN 69.

    Adam Hamryszczak, CEO of Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, said: ”Today’s announcement is a real milestone in the history of Rzeszow-Jasionka airport. Our strategic goal is to diversify our business partnerships therefore we highly appreciate the decision of Wizz Air to start operating from our airport. I hope this new route marks the beginning of a long-term co-operation and further route development.”

  • Austrian tourism revenues fell by 31,7% this year

    Austrian tourism revenues fell by 31,7% this year

    From May to August, tourism revenues in Austria fell by 31.7 percent compared to the previous year, Heute reports.

    The corona crisis has caused massive slumps in Austrian tourism. According to an estimate by the Vienna Economic Research Institute (WIFO), tourism revenues fell by a nominal 31.7 percent to EUR 7.22 billion between May and August compared to the same period of the previous year.

    The biggest drop was in Vienna (minus 81.1 percent) and the lowest in Carinthia (minus 13.7 percent). Styria (minus 17.4 percent) and Burgenland (minus 18.4 percent) recorded a relatively low decline in tourism revenues between May and September.

  • Global airlines lose $418 million a day

    Global airlines lose $418 million a day

    Global airlines are losing $418 million a day, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday, urging governments to provide additional aid, Reuters reports.

    IATA expects the airlines to report losses of up to $77 billion in the second half of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) restrictions continue to affect global travels.

    Since the pandemic broke out, governments have provided $160 billion to airlines through cash injections, secured loans, wage subsidies and tax cuts.

    Without additional government assistance, 4.8 million jobs are at risk of being lost in the aviation industry, IATA warned.

    ”Financially, 2020 will be the worst year in aviation history” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s DG & CEO said recently. ”By comparison, airlines around the world lost $31 billion in the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. There is no benchmark for the scale of this crisis” he added.

  • 7.3 million tourists were accommodated in Poland in H1 2020

    7.3 million tourists were accommodated in Poland in H1 2020

    In the first half of 2020, 7.3 million tourists were accommodated in tourist accommodation establishments and 19.4 million overnight stays were provided for them, latest Statistics Poland data show.

    Compared to the same period 2019, this was lower by 54.3% and 51.5% respectively.

    Compared to the first half of 2019, the occupancy rate of accommodation establishments also decreased from 37.6% to 23.8%.

    Tourism is one of the sectors directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions
    on the movement of people introduced in Poland in mid-March this year and the reduction
    in activities related to the provision of hotel services since the beginning of April resulted
    in a significant decrease in the number of persons accommodated in tourist accommodation
    establishments.

    After the above restrictions were lifted in May, some accommodation establishments did not resume operations and, despite a gradual increase in the number of tourists accommodated in accommodation establishments, the occupancy of establishments did not reach the level of the same periods last year.

  • Wizz Air and Ryanair to launch new routes from UK to Romania

    Wizz Air and Ryanair to launch new routes from UK to Romania

    Wizz Air has announced two new routes from Iași and Craiova to Birmingham in Great Britainm, starting from 23 and 24 October 2020. Tickets are available at fares starting from RON 89.

    The flights from Iași to Birmingham will commence on 23 October and be operated twice/week, on Wednesday and Sunday, while flights from Craiova to Birmingham will start on 24 October and will be available on Tuesday and Saturday.

    This is the second route from Craiova to Great Britain and the eight in the Wizz Air network from Craiova, while from Iași, the new service is the third connection to Great Britain, taking the entire network of routes from Iași to 20. 

    Ryanair to launch a new route from Oradea to London Stansted

    Ryanair announced a new London Stansted route to Oradea, with a twice weekly service commencing in December 2020, as part of Ryanair’s London Stansted Winter 2020 and Summer 2021 schedules.

    Ryanair has launched a seat sale with fares available from just £14.99, for travel until the end of January.

  • Almost 70% less tourists arrived in Bulgaria in August 2020

    Almost 70% less tourists arrived in Bulgaria in August 2020

    In August 2020, the number of arrivals of visitors from abroad to Bulgaria was 747.1 thousand or by 67.9% less in comparison with August 2019.

    A collapse in all trips purposes was registered:

    • holiday and recreation – by 81.6%,
    • professional – by 60.6%,
    • others (including as guest and passing transit) – by 47.6%.

    Transit passes through the country were 50.4% (376.4 thousand) of all visits of foreigners to Bulgaria.

    The share of visits of ЕU citizens was 63.1% of the total number of foreigners’ visits to Bulgaria in August 2020 or by 67.4% less in comparison with the same month of the previous year.

    A drop in the visits of citizens from all observed countries was registered. The visits of foreigners in the group ”Other European countries” decreased by 64.1%.

    In August 2020, during the continuing epidemic situation in the country, the number of the trips of Bulgarian residents abroad was 470.9 thousand, or by 37.7% under the registered in August 2019.

  • Ryanair cuts flight capacity in October by another 20%

    Ryanair cuts flight capacity in October by another 20%

    Ryanair announced that it would cut its October capacity by a further 20% (in addition to the 20% cut already announced in mid-August).

    Ryanair now expects its October capacity to fall from 50% to approx. 40% of its October 2019 levels, but expects to maintain a 70%+ load factor at this reduced schedule.  

    The airline confirmed that these capacity reductions were necessary due to damage caused to forward bookings by continuous changes in EU Government travel restrictions and policies, many of which are introduced at short notice.

    In some countries (most notably Ireland), where the Govt have maintained excessive and defective travel restrictions since 1 July, Covid-19 rates have risen in recent weeks to 50 per 100,000 pop. – more than double those of Germany and Italy – where intra-EU air travel was freely permitted since 1 July.