MORE and more Europeans are taking wintertime holidays and travelling in search of the sun, preferring beach holidays to winter sports. The traditional winter skiing holiday in the Alps has suffered market losses.
According to the latest survey of the World Travel Monitor by IPK International, more and more European holidaymakers are fleeing the cold winter temperatures, preferring destinations where the sun almost always shines. The survey, which was commissioned by ITB Berlin, shows that over the past seven years the number of Europeans taking wintertime holidays has risen by around 50 per cent. Overall, during the winter of 2013 Europeans undertook around 127 million holiday trips abroad. This means that compared to summer holidays, winter holidays have gained a significant market share. According to the survey beach holidays were much more popular than trips to snowbound destinations.Over the past seven years, in terms of their market share, European winter trips abroad have increased by 30 to 40 per cent. UK and German citizens, in particular, yearn to travel abroad in winter, it turns out. Over the last seven years, they have regularly swapped places in the rankings for the nation that goes on more winter holidays than any other. In 2013, Germany headed the list, followed by France and Russia. In recent years Russian travellers have made up a disproportionately large share of the market. Overall, there has been significant growth in the number of foreign holiday trips undertaken by Russians. Winter holidays abroad have always been very important for the Swedes. According to the survey 52 per cent preferred holidaying in the cold winter months to trips abroad in summer. For 50 per cent of those polled in Finland, France, Spain, Italy and Croatia winter holidays abroad were also very important.By contrast, holidays to snowbound destinations made up only seven per cent of Europeans’ winter trips abroad. However, when it comes to skiing trips or holidays in the snow domestic destinations are generally preferred to those abroad. In recent years, in terms of their market share wintertime beach holidays have increased by four cent, while winter sports holidays have fallen by three per cent. At the same time other types of holidays have more or less retained their market share.