Package holidays will be cheaper next summer, travel agencies expect

The prices of package holidays will drop next summer, travel agencies expect. Cheaper kerosene and declining demand are pushing the prices for a flying holiday to a sunny destination lower. After years of skyrocketing prices, travel agencies expect them to drop by around 8 percent compared to last year, De Telegraaf reports.

“People showed catch-up behavior in the period after the coronavirus. They had saved money, and when they started traveling again, they spent a lot,” said Hans van Hoffen, director of the VakantieDiscounter. At the same time, the price of kerosene exploded, making flying much more expensive.

“A flying holiday is the sum of a number of factors. The two most important are the price of flying and the price of the hotel. Well, the flight price is decreasing. The purchasing price for kerosene is now a lot lower than last year,” said Corendon CEO Steven van der Heijden.

And due to declining demand, the large hotels in the Mediterranean where travel agencies purchase their accommodations have a weaker negotiating position. “They obviously took significant advantage of the extreme demand [after the pandemic],” Van der Heijden said. “Hotels are now taking a much more moderate stance. At least, many hotels do.”

“Booking patterns are recovering,” Van Hoffen agrees. “The pent-up demand is gone. Prices are still high in the early booking season, but they will drop.”

These predictions are at odds with the aviation industry, which has been warning that air travel will soon be unaffordable due to rising airport charges at Schiphol, higher taxes at a national and European level, and potential price increases due to Schiphol’s downsizing.