The number of Hungarians planning to travel by air to European seaside destinations increased by around 50 percent compared to the same period last year, while bookings for city breaks rose by 18 percent. At the same time, the number of reservations for overseas trips was 19 percent lower than a year earlier, according to the latest booking data released on Tuesday by the online booking portal repjegy.hu.
The company highlighted Tirana as one of the biggest surprises among the most popular destinations. The Albanian capital jumped from 24th place to 7th place on the booking list, recording a 259 percent increase in passenger numbers. Two low-cost airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair, operate regular flights to Tirana, which may have contributed to its remarkable growth in popularity.
Croatia also showed notable growth, particularly due to the expansion of available routes. Bookings to Dubrovnik increased by 329 percent, as several airlines launched services to the city for the first time this year. Zadar recorded a 90 percent increase in bookings, accompanied by a broader range of flight options.
For most of the top European destinations this summer, average airfares have fallen compared to last year. Among the most popular destinations, ticket prices decreased by 12 percent for Rome, 22 percent for Bari, 15 percent for Paris, 17 percent for Tirana, and 16 percent for Alicante.
In the statement, Zoltán Holczinger, head of the online division of repjegy.hu, noted that the picture is more mixed for overseas destinations. While bookings overall have declined, average ticket prices to some destinations have increased significantly. For example, average fares to New York are 35 percent higher than a year ago.
(MTI)
