Revealed: Where Aussies are flocking in Europe to escape summer crowds
Rising temperatures, too many tourists and increasing costs means travellers are now rethinking their Euro summer plans. They are heading to these destinations instead.
Australians are heading to cooler destinations in Europe during the northern summer as they grapple with increasingly high temperatures and overcrowding.
Travel industry bosses say holidaymakers are looking at Scandinavian countries and visiting southern Europe destinations such as Italy and Greece in spring and autumn.
“We’re seeing a shift in booking patterns, with more Australians opting for shoulder-season travel, from March to May and September to November, to avoid peak crowds, high prices and extreme summer temperatures,” explains James Thorton, chief executive of small group adventure tour company Intrepid Travel.
“Rising summer temperatures and over-tourism concerns are encouraging travellers to explore cooler destinations and adjust their travel timing.”
Thornton says there has been a notable increase in bookings for cooler countries, including Norway, which was up 40 per cent for June to August this year compared with the same time last year, Iceland, up 21 per cent, and Britain, up by 30 per cent.
Northern Europe is also seeing strong growth, with Estonia (up 36 per cent), Lithuania (27 per cent), and Denmark (6 per cent) gaining popularity for the northern summer. Meanwhile, bookings to Portugal for this year outside of peak seasons have increased by 6 per cent and Italy by 16 per cent.
This jump in demand for what has become known as “coolcations” has also been seen by travel agents Flight Centre and Travel Associates, with a rise in bookings for countries such as Estonia.
“A recent Flight Centre Travel Group global survey showed that nearly eight in 10 travellers often find attractions and destinations too crowded to fully enjoy and they would consider visiting a less crowded alternative when booking their next trip,” says Flight Centre Travel Associates Australia New Zealand general manager Rachel Kingswell. “Coolcations are emerging as a perfect way to do this.”
She says Flight Centre has seen a surge in bookings to Northern European countries like Estonia, up 60 per cent compared with the same time last year, Denmark’s Faroe Islands up 33 per cent, and Finland up 10.4 per cent. “The trend continues from last year where we started seeing a significant lift in bookings to Norway, Sweden and Denmark,” she says.
Online travel agency Webjet’s bookings show Australians still love travelling to cities such as London, Athens, Paris and Rome, but milder climate alternatives are also drawing interest.
Webjet Group managing director Katrina Barry says Croatia is emerging as a popular destination for Australians “seeking new and more affordable destinations”. She also says demand is growing for cooler cities such as Edinburgh, Copenhagen and Stockholm because they offer “European charm without the heat or the crowds”.
Intrepid Travel recently opened an office in Copenhagen due to rising interest for more travel in Scandinavia. It is adding eight new itineraries to its existing 23 Northern Europe small group tours, and is planning to start tours to Greenland in June. Travel to the autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark is on the rise following an upgrade to its international airport in the capital, Nuuk, allowing larger passenger jets to land for the first time, and direct flight connections from Copenhagen.
Kingswell says rising costs are also prompting more Australians to travel overseas at different times than in the past.
“Choosing to travel in off-peak and shoulder season is becoming more popular as people balance the desire to travel with lingering cost-of-living pressures,” she says. “Two in five people have told us that they would most likely travel in the off-peak season this year while a similar number said they’d opt for shoulder season.”
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