Thailand holiday packages bring out overnight lines at tour operator office
Phuket already rivalling Canaries destinations
|
|
|
Those Helsinki residents most eager to secure their holiday in Thailand next winter arrived at the Aurinkomatkat (SunTours) travel agency in Helsinki’s Kaivotalo already at 2 a.m. in the morning. More travel enthusiasts joined the queue at five and half past five.
Aurinkomatkat started the sales of their long-haul winter season holidays at 8:30 on Tuesday morning, and to secure a peak season holiday in a prime location in Thailand one had to get there early.
By eight o’clock there were already more than a hundred people in the queue. "This has been a common practice for years now", affirms Aurinkomatkat office manager Pirjo Rautanen.
"It’s nice out here. You meet old friends. A good thing is worth waiting for", some of the queuers laughed.
In recent years, Thailand has increased its popularity tremendously as a holiday destination among the Finns. The demand has taken the travel agencies by surprise, and supply has been increased appreciably.
Between the year before last and last year, the number of sold package holidays from Finland to Thailand increased by 39 per cent. Furthermore, there are those who organise their own trips via the Net, plus backpackers.
The December 2004 tsunami caused a small notch in the seasonal sales, but its effects remained at a mere four per cent.
For Finnish holiday-makers Thailand has become the new Canary Islands. For example, for Finnmatkat travel agency, for the second year running Thailand’s Phuket is the third most popular holiday destination, after Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
Even the prices are compatible. According to the Tjäreborg travel agency, two weeks in a four-star hotel in Gran Canaria in early December comes with a price tag of EUR 1.099, whereas a holiday in a similar hotel in Phuket costs EUR 1,319.
"The trips are selling incredibly well", marvels Anu-Eveliina Mattila, chief of communications at Finnmatkat. Of next season’s trips to Phuket, 55 per cent have already been sold. "The season lasts from October until March, and it is only April."
When Finnmatkat started selling next season’s package holidays to Phuket at the Finnish International Travel Fair back in January, the Christmas and New Year season and Southern Finland’s spring break weeks were all sold out within an hour.
Tjäreborg, in turn, commenced the selling of their Thailand trips for next winter a month ago. Already more than half of the holidays have been sold.
Aurinkomatkat also reported a record season opening on Tuesday. Thailand is the most popular far-off destination, but Panama, Brazil, and India are also selling well.
Thailand’s popularity is explained by the fact it meets many of the holiday-makers expectations: good hotels, favourable weather, competitive price level, good food, a decent level of hygiene, and great shopping.
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 25.4.2007 - TODAY |
 Thailand holiday packages bring out overnight lines at tour operator office |
|
