More winter sports holiday bookings due to early Christmas school break

The number of winter sports holiday bookings has increased in recent days. This is partly because the caretaker Cabinet has brought forward the primary school Christmas holidays by a week, says travel organization Sunweb. TUI has been seeing an upward trend since last weekend due to strict lockdown measures in Austria being lifted.

Austrians and holidaymakers who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, or who have recovered from a coronavirus infection, no longer face a lockdown. Rules for people vaccinated or recovered remain in force to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This includes closing restaurants by 11 p.m., and the late-night closure of all catering businesses.

Austria will require that people vaccinated with the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine get a booster shot, starting in January. In addition, a person's final vaccination jab must have been administered less than nine months ago. Otherwise, their Covid pass will not be considered valid.

The number of bookings for winter sports holidays has doubled at Sunweb since Tuesday. According to TUI, Austria is and remains the most popular winter sports country for the Dutch. "Other winter sports destinations such as France and Italy are also on the rise," said a spokesperson. "The measures that apply in these countries, such as wearing a face mask in the elevator, do not seem to be an obstacle to traveling for winter sports."

On Tuesday, it was announced that primary schools in the Netherlands will close next week to reduce the number of coronavirus infections. Children also do not have to participate in distance learning during that week, such as online lessons. According to current plans, primary schools will reopen on January 10, though that is subject to change.

After that announcement, Sunweb saw a tripling of the number of bookings for a sunnier holiday. The travel organization said many families with young children want to visit sunny destinations in December. "In addition to Egypt, the Canary Islands of Gran Canaria and Lanzarote are also very popular," according to the tour company.