ITALY (eTN) – Albatravel in Italy communicated the results of its summer bookings, coming to terms with a changing season, different from all others. The geopolitical situation has greatly influenced tourists who do not give up to their holidays despite it all. This explains some surprising results and confirms the success of the Italian and a few more Mediterranean seaside destinations.
“This first analysis of the season gives us a view of the innovations of the summer destination mix – of a year 2016 – that put us on alert and on defense position due to the geopolitical situation that has significantly influenced the European capitals that usually stimulated large volumes of sales. The group in general performs negative figures, although the European destinations remain among the top selling,” said Fabio Giangrande, Commercial Director of the Albatravel Group, adding that Lisbon reported top sales among others, marking a +28% in sales volumes. Good results were also accomplished for Copenhagen sales (+20%), as well as Budapest and Amsterdam (+10%) in line with 2015.
Other European cities recorded collapses: Paris (-40%), a fall braking “only marginally by Disneyland Paris reservations, which somehow proves to be a stand-alone destination.” There was also a fall of reservations for Istanbul and a down-turn for London, Roma, and Milan.
The representative of one of the largest Italian tour operating groups points out that higher volumes have focused on the Italian Mediterranean Sea resorts with a growth of about 20%, followed by Spain and Greece, both with double-digit growth. Also very positive was the Caribbean area with results generally in line with the previous year which stands at +9% in Mexico, +11% of the Dominican Republic, and the doubling of reservations to Cuba.
“The United States remains an ever-popular destination for Italians with New York in the pole position; [we did] very well the US tour[s], the product on which we have invested a lot, and we reciprocate with a satisfactory +30%, thanks to the relaunch of the section,” remarked Giangrande.
Asia also achieved excellent results with Thailand, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively, at +12% and +18%, and Tokyo (+19%), an emerging destination over the last two years to which Albatravel has dedicated a recent monographic.
“It’s a difficult season to read and complicated to say the least, quite unpredictable, which revolves around the events and that requires us to be ready to sudden changes,” said the manager. “Now, more than ever, the keywords are: flexibility, speed, and adaptability – never miss a sales opportunity.”
