Eastern Europe

Passenger numbers have continued to recover in 2023, albeit failing to achieve pre-pandemic levels. Although there are no longer any COVID-19 related travel restrictions still in place which could impede travel, including airline travel, there are…

Airlines in Croatia become a far more competitive category during 2023 as the numbers of airline passengers being carried continue to increase amidst rebounding demand during the post-pandemic era. Indeed, by the end of the year, the airlines…

The low cost carriers category looks set to record faster growth in current value sales than its full service counterpart in Hungary in 2023. This is partly because due to their focus on offering more affordable fares, leading low cost operators such…

Air passenger traffic levels in 2023 demonstrate that consumers remain eager to travel, despite skyrocketing ticket prices. That said, the higher ticket prices, resulting from higher costs for operators, more robustly support value growth, while…

Low cost carriers remained the largest category of airlines in Romania in 2023 in terms of both value sales and passengers carried as it recorded stronger growth in passenger numbers than full service carriers, although full service carriers recorded…

In 2023, air passenger traffic continues to recover from the harsh fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with retail value sales nearing pre-pandemic levels. Slovaks are returning to similar air travel patterns as seen before the pandemic, spurred…

Following an uplift in price points in 2022, the rise in flight ticket prices slowed down in 2023 due to stabilising energy prices, high levels of competition on the landscape, and growing flight capacity. However, a return to 2019 prices is not…

The cost of a typical day in the sun on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast – the area that makes up what is now known as the fast-growing Bulgarian Riviera – remains far cheaper than most of its rival European resorts. This makes Bulgaria very attractive…

During 2023, strong value growth was recorded in booking in Croatia, with both booking offline and booking online recording robust double-digit growth rates, although somewhat predictably booking online was the big winner during the year. The regular…

Hungarians traditionally pay close attention to foreign exchange rates when planning trips abroad, particularly summer holidays, as fluctuations can cause travel expenses to increase significantly in a short period of time. This was the case…

In order to look at the trends in booking, we look at the overall trends in travel. Polish consumers are re-embracing the opportunity to travel again after the pandemic restrictions were lifted, and we are seeing strong trends in both domestic travel…

The dynamic sales growth that was recorded in bookings in 2023 was mainly the result of the strong interest that many local consumers have in placing early bookings when planning leisure travel. This boom in booking travel and tourism products and…

Consumer demand for outbound travel remains strong in 2023, despite the ongoing cost of living crisis, and this has enabled travel intermediaries to register a strong performance in terms of booking sales. Travellers are taking advantage of…

The cost of living crisis has not had a significant impact on Czech consumers' appetite for travel. Following the pandemic, Czechs are looking to travel abroad after two years of travel restrictions, when many consumers spent holidays at home. As…

Lodging suffered significantly during the pandemic with the number of room nights booked and value sales dropping dramatically. Nonetheless, most lodging establishments and hotels managed to endure the crisis although many have been financially…

2023 saw many of Croatia’s lodging operators facing huge pressure on their margins as the impact of high inflation hit their cost structures from two angles. On the one hand, dramatic increases in the cost of fuel and numerous other inputs over the…

Much like Budapest, smaller cities and regional areas in Hungary have witnessed significant increases in lodging supply in recent years, particularly since the easing of the pandemic and the ending of related restrictions. A key driver of growth in…

Lodging (destination) is recovering in Poland, with both opportunities and challenges seen. In fact, there are a number of challenges faced by those in the lodging industry in Poland. Notably, here we cite the weakened purchasing power of consumers…

The very favourable performance recorded in lodging in Romania during 2023 can be seen as the consequence of rising occupancy rate, which led directly to dynamic growth in room nights as well as spurring the development and opening of new hotels. The…

Lodging operators remain under intense pressure with regards to price in 2023. All operating expenses have increased at an unprecedented rate (well above the general inflation), putting upward pressure on lodging prices. With the cost of living…