Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline, has been flying from Zurich Airport to Addis Ababa three times a week since 31 October. From the Ethiopian capital, passengers have connections to destinations all over the African continent.
There is also an expansion in connections to the Asian continent, with the winter flight schedule in effect since Sunday. Cathay Pacific’s A350 will fly to Hong Kong twice a week from December. Switzerland is also reintroducing this route from Zurich to its flight schedule, with five flights per week. It also increases long-haul flight frequencies to Delhi, Mumbai and Singapore.
Long distance travel is back
And then there is the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Travel bug is back. After nearly three years of the pandemic, the long-distance travel industry is gaining momentum again this winter. Switzerland’s three largest travel providers Tui, Kuoni and Hotelplan unanimously confirm this. “Our customers are so eager to travel, they want to go on vacation abroad again,” says Hotelplan spokesperson Tanja Poell.
It looks like the dry spell is finally over. Kuoni expects long-distance travel this winter to be 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
City trips and package tours
Classic resorts like Mauritius, but also Thailand and Australia are particularly popular. The Caribbean and Central America are also popular destinations. Dominican Republic and Costa Rica are currently the most booked destinations.
“Some destinations even exceed pre-crisis levels. Tui spokesperson Sonja Ptassek, for example, says the Maldives is more popular than ever with travelers from Switzerland. Space can be tight here during peak travel times like Christmas and New Year’s.
According to tour operators, metropolises such as New York and Bangkok are also in demand for Christmas shopping. Probably also because they’re well connected, relatively safe, and easy to get around, says travel expert Frieder Voll, 40, of the University of Applied Sciences in Graubünden. Voll says individual trips, where things pick up more slowly, are also increasingly being planned.
New opportunity for travel agencies
Tour operators and tourism experts notice: Travel agencies are experiencing a turnaround in demand for long-distance travel. “Customers want more security when traveling after the pandemic. Travel agents with their expertise are the right people here right now, says Jürg Stettler (57) of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Hotelplan also mentions a security need of customers. Individual travel provider Globetrotter experiences this in particular. Spokesperson Sandra Studer: “There is a trend towards classic reservations in travel agencies. The reason is the security aspect.»