Hanover, 18 December 2017

TUI Holiday Atlas 2017: Europeans’ favourite destinations for a post-Christmas break

Traditionally, many people use the time between Christmas and New Year to pack their suitcases in order to escape the Christmas hustle and bustle. The TUI Holiday Atlas 2017 shows Europeans’ favourite holiday destinations for a post-Christmas break. The Atlas also offers an overview of the most popular trending travel destinations.

The Cape Verde Islands are a popular trending destination
The Cape Verde Islands are one of the top trending travel destinations. An increasing number of customers from all Scandinavian countries but also Dutch travellers appreciate the mild climate and sunshine offered by the African island state. A popular destination among German and Austrian holidaymakers is Jamaica, which has even seen an increase in bookings of more than 50 per cent in Germany. French travellers increasingly spend their post-Christmas break in Finland’s snow.

The Canary Islands again top the list this year
With their diverse islands and spring-like weather all year round, the Canary Islands again top the list of the most popular destinations this year. Gran Canaria holds top ranks on the list of the most popular holiday destinations in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. British, Irish and Belgian travellers prefer going to Tenerife. German tourists, by contrast, prefer to spend their festive season break in Fuerteventura’s sun. With Thailand ranking top, Austrians prefer to escape to a long-haul destination, while the most favourite winter break destination of Swiss travellers are the Maldives.

Differences between top ranks in European countries
The second and third rank on the list of top travel destinations vary most strongly between the regions: While a particularly large number of French holidaymakers will spend their Christmas break in Morocco, British, Irish and Belgian travellers prefer going to Mexico. On the list of top festive season destinations, the Dominican Republic ranks second in Switzerland and third in the UK, Belgium and France. Generally, the clear focus is on warm-weather Christmas destinations. However, Dutch travellers rank Austria second on the list of their top destinations behind the Canaries. Germany is an exception as it is the only destination occupying top ranks among Germans themselves, many of whom like to spend their holidays in their own country, at least in terms of the number of bookings made via tour operators.

Holidays aboard a ship
Cruises are also becoming increasingly popular and are in vogue for the Christmas and New Year break. Each of TUI Group’s three cruise lines – TUI Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Marella Cruises – offer their passengers festive packages. Holidaymakers travelling aboard ships of Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet, for instance, enjoy their festive break in Honduras, Chile or South Georgia. Itineraries for passengers travelling with the Mein Schiff feel-good fleet include the Canaries, South East Asia or the Persian Gulf. Passengers aboard Marella Cruises spend their Christmas break in the sunny Caribbean or in Colombia.

Info: Numerous offerings for all destinations are still available for those wishing to book a holiday for the festive period at short notice. As a general rule, however, holidaymakers should be aware that they should be more flexible in booking their Christmas holiday the later they book.

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 19 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.  

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.

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