Hanover, 20 June 2018

The Europeans are attracted to the Mediterranean

  • Spain and Greece the most popular holiday countries of Europeans
  • Turkey with a strong comeback in summer season 2018
  • Crete, Majorca and Antalya are the top holiday destinations

Pack the swimwear and off you go to the south: that's where the Europeans are in agreement. This is reflected in the holiday bookings made with the world’s number one tourism business TUI. At the TUI Group, Spain is the number one destination, followed by Greece. Italy and Cyprus continue to be in the top five, which also includes one country returning to the top five. After having seen a decreasing demand from many Western and Northern European markets, Turkey is back in fashion and is the third most popular destination.

The preferred destinations are all in the Mediterranean. TUI vacationers this year prefer to spend their summer holidays in Crete. The other top destinations are Majorca, Antalya, Rhodes and Larnaca in Cyprus.

Although European holidaymakers agree on choosing the Mediterranean for there holidays, still there are some differences in national and regional preferences – right through to some really surprising favourite destinations. For example, once again there is a special feature among German holidaymakers. They continue to spend their summer holidays with a preference for Spain and Greece. But in addition, the Germans also like to travel within their own national borders. This makes them the only ones whose own country is among the top five destinations for the summer. Regarding the most popular holiday regions of TUI holidaymakers from Germany, these are: Majorca, Antalya, Crete, Rhodes and Kos. Three of the five most popular destinations for Germans are thus to be found in Greece.

Greece is also very popular among Northern Europeans. For Norwegians, Swedes, Danes and Finns, Hellas is even the number one holiday destination, as it also is for the Poles and French. The same is the case for the Austrian holidaymakers. Austrians have a particular preference for Crete and Rhodes, with both destinations ranking first and second in the Austrian top five.

The British, Belgians and Dutch, on the other hand, prefer Spain. With Majorca, Tenerife and Ibiza, three Spanish islands form the triumvirate of British and Irish dream destinations. Like the Dutch, British and Irish travellers are also travelling to more distant destinations in the summer. They are the only ones to rank long-distance destinations among the top five destinations: for example, Dutch people like to spend their holidays on the Caribbean island of Curacao in 2018, while the British and Irish are heading for the Mexican holiday paradise of Cancun. The French want to spend their holidays in Greece and also in Italy. Their absolute favorite destination is the Sicilian capital of Palermo.

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.